When CEO Brad Charron joined Aloha by 2017, the company was in disarray. The plant-based protein brand had up to 70 employees, was losing money and overextended in its retail commitments and product lines. Something had to change.
“We started from scratch,” says Brad. “We blew it up and started again. »
The first thing to do was to restructure the team and get rid of the bloat. The company went from 70 employees to fewer than 10. Brad also closed the company’s physical offices and went completely remote, two years before the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2022, the company was profitable again. Brad estimates Aloha will hit $100 million in revenue this year from its sales of protein powders, bars and drinks.
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Focus again on the product
One of the first things Brad did to turn the company around was to re-evaluate its core products. He reduced the product categories and improved the products that remained. The team refined the taste and texture and added macronutrients.
Aloha also invested in better branding and packaging. “Like any consumer good, it has to be taken off the shelves or posted on the website,” says Brad.
![An Aloha bar with a monstera leaf and chocolate chips](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/7032/files/Aloha_Flatlays_Marble_Ingredients-3_1.jpg?v=1705984676)
Rethinking retail
“I never wanted to lose money on any account,” says Brad. His pragmatic approach, therefore, was to walk away from retail deals that no longer served the company. One example was CVS, which focused more on pharmacy and beauty than protein bars.
Instead, Brad sought out retail partners such as regional grocers and health food markets, including Harris Teeter and Thrive Market. “I began developing a retail strategy of working with retail partners in regions that would embrace the brand,” he said. And like any good partnership, he learned the business model of his retail partners, to understand how they could help each other.
All the insights gleaned from retail have been translated into the direct-to-consumer industry. “I could come at it naturally from a position of strength, instead of just trying to throw things at the wall and see what hits,” Brad says.
![Aloha protein bars arranged on a table](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/7032/files/2S0A9301_1.jpg?v=1705984775)
Finding partners to stay slim
Even though Aloha is now on its way to becoming a nine-figure company, the company still has only 20 employees. Brad emphasized the importance of using technology and working with partners that enable your business to grow sustainably.
This is one of the reasons he turned to Shopify. When his company had fewer than 10 people, he couldn’t spend the budget on a custom online store. “To be completely honest, you don’t have the resources to do much of anything, let alone build a website from scratch,” says Brad. Shopify’s out-of-the-box tech stack helped Aloha get its online business back on track.
Motivate with an employee-owned structure
For Brad, it was important that Aloha belonged to employees because it would help inspire all employees to take smart risks.
He says he was cautious about putting the company in a decisive position: “I wasn’t prepared to sacrifice all the hard work and efforts of the people who were working to make this thing viable.” »
Brad never liked the idea of investors getting paid before employees. He therefore felt that an employee-owned structure was fairer. This way, when the company wins, everyone wins.
To learn more about Aloha and how Brad and the team rebuilt the company to profitability, listen to his full interview on Shopify Masters.