Mitch Gould, founder and CEO of Nutritional Products International (NPI), is set to bring his decades of retail sales experience to the ECRM Vitamin, Weight Management & Sports Nutrition Session, scheduled for Sept. 14-17 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Gould, who has sold millions of dollars in consumer products to major retailers such as Walgreens, CVS, Walmart, Target, GNC, and Vitamin Shoppe, views ECRM as a pivotal opportunity to connect with retail decision-makers from multiple channels in a single venue.
“I've spent my career traveling the country, sitting down with buyers and building relationships with major retailers,” Gould said. “ECRM brings many of those opportunities together under one roof. Instead of flying from city to city for individual meetings, you can have productive conversations with retailers over several days in one location.” Gould emphasizes that the value of ECRM extends beyond mere efficiency, noting that “Retail has always been a relationship business. There is something different about meeting people face-to-face, having dinner together, talking outside the formal meeting environment and getting to know the people behind the business. ECRM creates that kind of atmosphere.”
Gould's retail experience spans decades, encompassing work with manufacturers, consumer brands, and major retailers across the health, wellness, and nutrition industries. He later developed NPI's “Evolution of Distribution” platform, which provides domestic and international brands with a streamlined approach to entering or expanding in the U.S. market. This platform integrates sales, marketing, logistics, and retail distribution services under one operation. “ECRM fits naturally with the way we approach retail expansion at NPI,” Gould said. “It gives us an opportunity to sit across the table from retailers, understand what they are looking for and introduce them to brands and products that may fit their customers.”
Gould will attend the September session on behalf of NPI and the brands the company represents. His participation underscores a key industry insight: despite technological advancements, personal relationships remain crucial in retail. “Technology has made business faster, but relationships still matter,” Gould said. “When you can bring efficiency and personal relationships together, that's a powerful combination.”
Mitch Gould is a third-generation retail distribution and manufacturing expert with more than 25 years of experience launching and scaling consumer products across sports nutrition, health and wellness, skincare, hardware, and beverages. He has worked with iconic consumer brands such as Igloo, Rubbermaid, Sunbeam, and Miracle-Gro, as well as high-profile celebrity brands including Steven Seagal, Hulk Hogan, Chuck Liddell, 8× Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman, and martial arts pioneer Bob Wall. Over the course of his career, Gould has played a key role in helping shape the growth of the U.S. sports nutrition category, supporting the expansion of performance-focused products across major retail and e-commerce platforms, including Amazon, Walmart, GNC, CVS, and Walgreens.
Nutritional Products International (NPI), founded by Gould, is a U.S.-based retail consulting and distribution firm that has helped numerous domestic and international brands successfully enter and expand within the U.S. market. NPI works closely with manufacturers and major retailers to guide products from concept to shelf, providing strategic support across retail introductions, regulatory readiness, operations planning, and market visibility through its proprietary Evolution of Distribution® platform. The company is known for helping brands navigate the complexities of U.S. retail efficiently while building long-term, scalable growth.
