Mitch Gould, founder and CEO of Nutritional Products International (NPI), will bring decades of retail sales experience to the ECRM Vitamin, Weight Management & Sports Nutrition Session, taking place Sept. 14-17 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Throughout his career, Gould has sold millions of dollars in consumer products to many of the country's largest retailers, including Walgreens, CVS, Walmart, Target, GNC, Vitamin Shoppe and others.
For Gould, ECRM offers something that once required countless individual trips, appointments and sales calls: the opportunity to connect face-to-face with retail decision-makers from multiple channels in one location. “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 said the value goes beyond efficiency. “Retail has always been a relationship business,” Gould said. “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 and includes working with manufacturers, consumer brands and major retailers across the health, wellness and nutrition industries. He later developed NPI's “Evolution of Distribution” platform to provide domestic and international brands with a streamlined approach to entering or expanding in the U.S. market. The platform brings sales, marketing, logistics and retail distribution services together 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. “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.”
The importance of this event lies in the evolving nature of retail, where digital tools have transformed how buyers and sellers interact. Yet, as Gould emphasizes, the core of retail success remains personal connections. ECRM's format consolidates numerous meetings into a few days, offering a unique efficiency that can significantly impact how brands like those represented by NPI gain shelf space in major retailers. For the health and wellness industry, this session could be pivotal in determining which products reach consumers, influencing market trends and availability of vitamins, weight management and sports nutrition products.
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. His work has centered on bringing muscle-building, recovery, and performance-oriented products to a broader consumer audience.
Nutritional Products International (NPI) is a U.S.-based retail consulting and distribution firm founded by retail distribution expert Mitch Gould. With more than three decades of experience, Gould has helped domestic and international brands successfully enter and expand within the U.S. market, representing high-profile brands and celebrities including Steven Seagal, Hulk Hogan, Ronnie Coleman, and Wayne Gretzky. 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.
