In Episode 25 of BrandBusters, James and Sean sit down with Dylan Menter, founder of Bear Balanced, the world’s first creatine gummy brand. A Marine Corps veteran, SpaceX alum, and host of the How to Entrepreneur podcast, Dylan has built Bear Balanced into a category-defining brand in the booming sports supplement space.
In this episode, we dive into:
-The surprising origin story of Bear Balanced and how a gym mishap led to an industry-first innovation
-Why gummies have become a dominant format in supplements and how they compare to traditional powders in bioavailability and effectiveness
-The biggest challenges in launching a novel CPG product, from IP protection to manufacturing hurdles
-The role of Meta and Amazon in Bear Balanced’s explosive growth, including key insights on digital advertising and demand generation
-Lessons learned from navigating TikTok Shop, influencer marketing, and finding the right content strategy for high-performing ads
-Dylan’s "oh sht"* moment—how a $100K manufacturing disaster nearly sank the brand and the critical lessons learned in vetting suppliers
Dylan brings raw, unfiltered insights into what it takes to build a successful DTC brand, scale through paid media, and survive the ups and downs of entrepreneurship. If you're growing a CPG brand or thinking about launching one, this is a must-listen!
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