Uri Minkoff knows a thing or two about getting a brand off the ground. Starting in 2005, he and his sister founded the luxury brand Rebecca His Minkoff, which he eventually sold a majority stake in two years ago. In his early years, he started his own technology company, Fortis Software, and led the company for about 10 years before returning to a joint venture with his sister.
And it turns out that Minkoff and his father co-founded the business in the late ’90s, and that Minkoff only now started getting serious about it.
BodyHealth is a nutrition and supplement company founded in 1997. The company was born out of Minkoff’s father’s clinic, and Minkoff also helped launch it. This clinic is called Lifeworks. “And we built what is now either the largest or second largest general medicine clinic in the country,” Minkoff said.
Through that clinic, Minkoff and his father recognized the need for supplements and medicines aimed specifically at top-level athletes. “One of the things that we found early on, and what doctors found clinically, is that protein, especially protein digestibility, is a big problem. [and] Absorbent. ” So a lot of people were trying to take protein supplements, but their bodies weren’t actually absorbing it.
Over the years, BodyHealth launched more products but focused on the medical retail sector. Over 20 years, its distribution locations have expanded to over 2,000 of his clinics. Mr. Minkoff is not actively leading or focused on growth. But now he’s setting the site up for further growth for his BodyHealth, with a particular focus on direct-to-consumer sales.
Minkoff said on the Modern Retail Podcast that he realized a few years ago that “there’s no reason why we shouldn’t tell this story and amplify this.” “Let’s repackage so it’s relevant for consumers, not just on doctors’ shelves.”
So far, it’s working fine. BodyHealth is expected to be on shelves in 1,000 stores by the end of the year. It hit Erewhon shelves in August, something Minkoff is extremely proud of.
What has helped BodyHealth grow, especially over the past year, has been the direct connection with customers, Minkoff said. The brand has a vibrant Facebook page with over 30,000 members where his most loyal customers share ideas, feedback, and recipes. “Our email list is growing exponentially because of the content we put out,” Minkoff said.
Minkoff’s success in business also helps inform how he builds BodyHealth. “I’m obsessed with building companies,” he said. “I’m obsessed with creating products for the end consumer. And that’s exactly what I’ve been doing all my life.”
Here are some highlights of the conversation, lightly edited for clarity.
The story behind BodyHealth
“This system has been around since 1999. Its genesis is that we had this clinic and there were two different types of patients in that clinic: on the one hand, those who were seriously ill; There are some patients who are reaching the end of their lives. On the other hand, there are patients who were Olympians or Olympic athletes. I started to realize, “Are there gaps in treatment programs between these different patient populations?”And we had access to every known nutritional supplement. [and] The medicine was there. And from a supplement standpoint, I was purchasing well over 100 different brands. But sometimes we find gaps. So we’re going to work with chemists to address these gaps. That’s why BodyHealth was founded. We worked with chemists to solve some of the gaps that we didn’t understand what existed in the market. As a result, it has been distributed in approximately 2,000 different clinics over the past 20 years. That means it’s actually medical-grade, rigorously tested nutritional ingredients. And we’re just beginning to tell that story. ”
How does Minkoff strategize for retail expansion?
“It’s not all play, it’s always everywhere. It’s a premium product, it’s doctor’s medical grade. Let’s choose the best. So we went from zero to 500 to 750 stores now. , I think we’ll probably have close to 1,000 stores by the end of the year…but I said, [to a person on my team], There’s one store I want to go to more than anyone else. This is just perfect for us. And I said, look, I want to be Erewhon. And we’re very excited to be rolling out a number of his SKUs in Erewhon and all of its stores this month. And we’re very excited about it. ”
DTC remains an important channel
“It stands to reason that over time, probably 30% to 40% of our activity will be on site. Right now, I think it’s probably 55% to 60%. [from] our site. So we try to control the growth of other channels so that our site is always above 30%-35%. I’ve been through fashion cycles, but this area is a little different. However, there is a possibility that we will have a tough season and the number of stores will suddenly decrease or something else will happen. Or maybe another pandemic will occur. And at the end of the day, my e-commerce site gives me direct access to my customers there. And if our business can survive on that basis, you know, 30%, 35%, 40%, then we’re always healthy. I think everything else is positive.”
