I volunteered to search for a brand that would fit within our company culture and be interested in a sale. I called more than a dozen doctor brands and eventually narrowed the field to three potential suitors who seemed to be a possible match. I visited each of these and was surprised at what wouldn’t work for NOW. Synthetic Vitamin E, DHEA, artificial sweeteners, DLPA and other blacklisted items at NOW were too abundant in the brands we looked at. If we purchased one of those companies, we’d inherit products that we didn’t allow in NOW brand and that would be costly to change. In the end, we were unable to find a brand that met our acquisition qualifications, especially our quality standards. So we proceeded to plan B to build a brand with healthy and natural ingredients which we would want to use ourselves. In 2007, with the help of industry veteran Evan Zang, we came up with the brand name Protocol. We added the ‘For Life Balance’ part in order to have legal claims for our future doctor brand. (www.protocolforlife.com) We proceeded to lay out a game plan that would enable us to realistically and eventually become the # 1 brand sold to doctors. Protocol For Life Balance was launched in July 2007 with about 100 products. We quickly expanded our sales force, attended many physician conferences and aimed to introduce innovative and proprietary new products exclusively for Protocol for Life Balance™. Our flagship new product, ProtoClear™, was introduced in mid-2008 and quickly became the door-opener we needed. ProtoClear™ is a unique, high-protein, pea protein-based, detox powder mix that tastes better than competing brands. We fortified the product with many extra ingredients and managed to keep the finished product hypo-allergenic, instant and non-GMO for a superior elimination diet supplement. MAP PRICING STRATEGIES Every business sets prices in a strategic manner. Costs have to be covered and pricing has to be viewed as acceptable or fair to customers. Certain margins need to be made for any for-profit business or it won’t be able to survive. The practice of picking prices is a delicate matter with much expertise in each business. Just search for an airline ticket at various websites and you’ll see how much energy goes into setting the right price for the right flight. In the U.S., the laws regarding how manufacturers price their products to consumers have changed. Until 2007, it was difficult for brands to require retailers to sell at their suggested retail prices. They might withhold shipments from retailers who discounted too deeply, but the brands didn’t have full authority to set retail prices. This changed in June 2007 when the Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 to make it easier for manufacturers to require retailers to stick to their “suggested” prices. This is known as Manufacturers Advertised Price or MAP strategies. This ruling overturned a previous anti-trust statute that said MAP agreements were illegal. Suddenly, brands such as Sony, Cisco, Samsung, Black & Decker and thousands more began implementing and enforcing MAP policies in order to control prices to consumers. The brands often hire outside companies such as NetEnforcers, MAPtrackers, Cyveillance and others to police their policies to help enforce their pricing plans among retailers. Within the natural foods arena it soon became apparent that many supplement brands were instituting MAP pricing of their own. Brands such as New Chapter, Garden of Life, Flora, Renew Life, Solgar, Enzymatic Therapy, Nature’s Way and more initiated retail pricing controls so that 2006-2009 107
