Darin Olien of Shakeology was recently featured in an article in Bloomberg BusinessWeek. As an increasing number of health-conscious Americans are seeking nutrition from whole foods instead of mass-produced vitamins, Shakeology is experiencing tremendous growth. Sales of Beachbody’s Shakeology aren’t based on scientific evidence – it’s based on testimonials of happy customers. When people use Shakeology and lose weight, get more energy and lower their cholesterol – they start spreading the word. Word of mouth remains one of the most effective forms of advertising, especially for health-related products.
Darin Olien joined Beachbody, the company that promotes P90x and other home fitness programs, to create Shakeology: a superfood-rich powder that can be consumed in place of a meal or in addition to your diet to ensure you’re getting the benefits of superfoods you wouldn’t normally eat.
The detailed BusinessWeek article describes the story behind Shakeology, and Olien’s travels around the world to find grains, fruits and nuts that offer health benefits to people who consume them. Shakeology currently makes up 20% of Beachbody’s total revenue – and the blending of the shakes is all started by Olien in a small bedroom of his Malibu bungalow. The room features floor-to-ceiling shelves containing jars of powders obtained from fruit, seeds, grains, and roots obtained from his world travels. He keeps track of what benefits each of the superfoods should provide, and tests his shake blends himself before sending it to a food lab for final formulation, monitoring the effects of each of his blends on his own body.