Create a Wellness Destination in Your Store with Wellwerks and Nüwerks

Hello and welcome to GrocerPod. My name is Sean Kosednar. I'm coming to you from the 2026 Innovation Showcase. Emily Detweiler, Vice President of AWG Brands and Kristen Kirkpatrick and Joe Matillo from WellWorks and NewWorks are here.

We're going to be talking about how these are brand new brands to the AWG Brands portfolio. But before we get to them, I want to remind you to please subscribe to GrocerPod. means new episodes will be downloaded for you each week. You can find GrocerPod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music, or any other platform you use to listen to podcasts.

Welcome to the show, Emily, Kristen, and Jo. Thank you. Thanks for having us, Sean. So, big trend right now is just wellness in general.

Kristen, talk to us about how those trends are going and what it means for AWG member retailers. Yeah, absolutely. So, wellness in general. That's a great way to put it, because what we've seen for the past decade is a lot of trending towards protein, towards fiber, you know, towards looking at things like electrolytes.

Now we're seeing creatine. But I think what we see the most of is adaptation of those trends. So last year could have been proteins exploding. This year could be fiber.

So the point here is that consumers are looking for very specific, what I would call functional products, where they walk in with something very specific in mind. And that could be based on a goal. That could be based on a chronic condition that they have. That can be based on, you know, hey, I'm exercising and I heard this podcast about having this beforehand.

But it is very specific. So I feel like meeting the consumer where they are, making it easy, making it attainable and at a price that makes sense is really important. Right. And so if someone walks in and they can't easily find that high protein popcorn or a bar that they really enjoy, they'll go somewhere else to look for it.

So I think that's why it's so important to be able to have these products that are easily placed and, you know, taste great as well. So Emily, how do these two WellWorks and NewWorks fit into the portfolio of AWG brands? Great question, Sean. So the new WellWorks and NewWorks brand are really going to fit into the lifestyle portion of our portfolio of AWG brands.

And we're really excited about this because it will be a true wellness destination. So we've partnered with WellWorks and NewWorks to be able to offer an exclusive brand for AWG members, which means that you can only find WellWorks and NewWorks products in AWG member retailers in all of the states that we serve. So the great thing about this is that you really can create an entire wellness destination right out of the gate. So we're going to have over 50 products in the portfolio, and our member retailers can start by creating a destination right there in their store.

They can either start with an in-aisle display, or they can do a great end cap. We've got a really nice end cap solution that we're displaying here at the Innovation Showcase. And actually, if you buy the NCAP, you get the head card free, which is always a fun way of being able to help promote the brand right out of the gate. So again really nice products within the mix that I sure Joe will tell you all about Yeah Joe why don you tell us about some of these products that are going to be available Well thanks Sean I really appreciate that The brands are really divided up into three major buckets We have functional foods, functional beverages, and a modern nutraceutical line.

And they're all designed to be merchandised together as that destination that Emily referred to. And we have everything on that shelf from protein granolas to a full gummy line with vitamins and also a lot of need state type gummies for sleep, relaxation, or even focus. In addition to that, you'll see protein probiotic oatmeals. Really the key thing about the entire line is that we're bringing in clinically studied science-backed ingredients into this particular line.

and that's really to drive the innovation on the shelf. We are really changing the game from bringing these clinically studied ingredients that normally follow a much longer path to the consumer shelf, we're bringing those directly to shelf for AWG member retailers to really become an innovation destination for AWG members. Emily, maybe you can speak to this. What was the thought behind having this destination this section versus having like the oatmeal with the oatmeal, the popcorn with the popcorn.

Like what was the thought there? Sure. So by creating a destination, we know, as Kristen was mentioning, people are really coming in with the need state or the idea. They have a goal.

They have a purpose or a why from a health perspective that they're really trying to achieve. So by grouping these products together into a destination, whether you do it on an end cap or whether you do it as, you know, a four or an eight foot section in aisle, you're really creating a destination for that shopper to come and find a variety of products that they're looking for. And we've got, like Joe was mentioning, we have a nice variety of products between protein bars. We've got snacks.

We've got popcorns and different type of saltier snack type of substitutes, if you will, think of it that way, so that someone can still have a snack and yet have protein in it or other clinically backed ingredients. So it really gives the opportunity for someone to still almost indulge because they taste great and yet they're still getting the nutrients that they're looking for. So by putting those products together, it really has the opportunity for shoppers to know that they can get multiple needs served essentially all at the same time.

And I think they would kind of blend in at the shelf if you merchandise them in aisle. Could you do it? Absolutely you could, but they'll create a much stronger bang for your buck if they're merchandised altogether. And Kristen, you were saying that these trends are coming up and they're very popular and people are coming in looking for these specific things.

I would also think grouping them together would allow people to say like, oh, here's a whole category of things that are good for me. It's not just this one thing that I saw on TikTok and like I'm coming in looking for this and I can actually find other, other, you know, similar products as well. Yeah that absolutely right Sean So I think about my patients I a dietician by practice right So I see patients every single day I think about all my patients that are on a GLP Wagovi or some aglutide or ozempic things like that And so what they are doing is they are walking to the grocery store, in their head is protein.

I need more protein. How do I get more protein? And so yes, they might go to other areas and get chicken or eggs, things like that. But they want the convenience, and they also want things that are not considered meals, right?

So something that's grab and go, something they can put in their glove compartment, their purse. So that's a great example. They walk in and they can say, oh, I really need a bar and that popcorn looks great. And I'm going to look at something else.

And by the way, I might also take like that sleep gummy because I can't sleep either right now. So I think that's the key is like looking at people with very specific needs. And I would add to that also multi-generational as well. So families walking in, you could have kids that are teenagers that would be interested in one product, whereas the parents and grandparents or interested in another.

So it's serving different needs and then serving different populations even within a household. Yeah, Emily, pricing obviously important to all consumers. Where do WellWorks and NewWorks kind of fit in in terms of other AWG brands? Yeah, so great question.

We are definitely going to have some really sharp price points here. You know, it's interesting because a lot of these products don't necessarily have a direct compare. So when we're thinking about our best choice products, we're always trying to be about that 20% less than the SRP of the national brand equivalent. Some of these products have, I'll call it somewhat similar types of products, whether it's the protein popcorn might have a cloud popcorn, for example.

And we are definitely trying to make sure that we can maintain that lower price gap versus those. The other thing to consider, though, is that many of these products don't necessarily have, it's like comparing apples to oranges. because of the fact that we have added functional ingredients or added protein, things like that, you might not have a direct compare. However, we are still trying to make sure that where possible, we are going to be less than any somewhat similar type of national brand if there is something out there, while still allowing retailers to make margins anywhere between 29% and 34%.

Awesome. Joe, what's the difference between WellWorks and NewWorks when it comes to products? Wow. Sean, that's a great question.

So WellWorks represents our functional foods and beverages line, and NewWorks is our modern nutraceutical line. So there are very different specific audiences, audiences that need to supplement their diets, as Kristen referred to in various cases of GLP-1 users, or anybody really in their everyday lives that are just not getting enough vitamins, minerals, whatever it might be. So NewWorks is there to help them with the supplementation side of things. any stores that are looking to you know add these brands what do they need to do and what do they need to like think about when they're adding them to their store great question I would say that in for in terms of what they need to do first and foremost these products will be available through Hernando expanded variety so you'll want to make sure that you're placing those orders through Hernando and in terms of some of the ways we will support the brands just like we do with all of the other AWG Brands products we will have a variety of marketing support materials available we have the digital success kits We have all kinds of content that our member retailers can utilize on their websites and social channels So that would be a great way to help support the brand, help make sure that we're educating the shopper so that they know to come into the member stores.

Likewise, we'll have some demonstrations available, things like that to really help support at retail. And you know, one of the other important things about the brand is the fact that it's a living, breathing brand. It is really going to be there to change and to provide the innovation destination, as Emily started off with, where there's going to be fresh items that are coming out on a quarterly basis to ensure that we're really capitalizing on what the latest science might be, what the latest studies are, what the latest science-backed, clinically-studied ingredients going to do for folks.

And so that's really an important part that we really are excited about to bring to retailers is that innovation destination for their customers. Also, before we get out of here, is there anything else our member retailers need to know about WellWorks and NewWorks? Well, I would just tell them to make it happen and get ordering because your shoppers are looking for these products. So the best thing that you can do is get started and bring this in as a destination.

You know, one of the things that we didn't quite yet talk about is the fact that there's a need for this in all markets. So certainly your urban formats, but even in your rural formats as well. And actually, Kristen, you had done some studies about that. Why don't you share a little bit?

Yeah. So we looked at some studies looking at rural areas and really underserved populations that don't really have access to high nutrient density. So when we think about this concept, I say to my patients, I use the term getting more a nutritional bang for your buck, right? So every time you eat something, there should be some benefit.

There should be something contributing to longevity or a reduction of risk in some way. A lot of these underserved populations don't have that available or they don't have it available in a lot of varieties. So maybe they have two or three options, but these consumers are really seeking out more. So putting well works and new works in rural communities where this could be the only store you have in a certain mile radius gives the opportunity to have really nutrient-dense options, to have the supplemental options that we have, to have protein things that are outside of the perishable items.

So it just gives more variety of things that have more nutrient density. Yeah, and a lot of our member retailers have convenience stores, and if those are functioning as the grocery store for that community, not a lot of great, healthy-for-you things to eat generally. And so stocking up with either of these two brands, could be very effective. Yeah, absolutely.

Well, we encourage all of our member retailers to jump on board and really get going with their WellWorks and NewWorks destinations in store. Well, Emily, Kristen, and Joe, thanks for stopping by today. And thank you all for listening. I want to remind you to please like and subscribe to GrocerPod.

That way you can stay up to date on all the latest things going on around AWG. And until next week, this has been Shanka Sednar with GrocerPod.