Dan Lourenco & Ryan Hughes #2 – GHOST x TMNT and the Future of Collabs

1:00 – The official announcement of Ghost’s collaboration with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Dan comments that there were some frustrating leaks, but when was the last time people were so excited about a sports nutrition release that they couldn’t wait to leak it?

Ghost is partnering with the legendary Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in four supplements with a new OOZE flavor!

“It’s annoying but humbling” says Dan, and Ryan comments that this was the entire point of the Ghost brand – to make things exciting again.

2:15 – Ghost is now strategic about when they release collaborations. They don’t just want to trot everything under the sun.

GNC is involved in this release in a few ways (and their HQ is nearby some incredible tacos). Dan and Ryan were at the hotel, and being silly, just decided “We should do a Turtles collab” and fired off an email to Nickelodeon at 1am.

4:10 – Mike backs things up and explains the entire collaboration – four different supplements, a new one in Ghost Gamer Non-Stim, and a new flavor named OOZE.

Of the Space Jam Collabs, Ghost Legend’s Monstars formula is the further derivation from the original

6:15 – It’s become an easier story to tell to new partners. When pitching a new idea to a potential partner, Ghost already has social proof. They pitch their idea, and can essentially ask “Are you guys in or out?” — and then they get feedback and dial things in.

10:00 – Why use the UK version of Legend? Dan explains that this was an international release, and Legend UK works in the countries they were targeting.

The Secret of the Ooze

Additionally, the feeling of alpha-yohimbine (from rauwolfia) in the US Ghost Legend isn’t as “clean” as you’d want for a Leonardo-based supplement.

14:00 – Mike asks Ryan if it’s OK that two of their major products have ingredients he doesn’t actually prefer (Legend with rauwolfia and Burn Non-Stim with GBB). Is this an issue as a founder of the company?

Answer: “This brand is far bigger than Dan and Ryan.” Ryan can’t love every single product. He still takes Legend, but prefers the Space Jam Tune Squad version better, which was his favorite pre-workout.

“One of my favorite details about this release is that it’s international from day one.

I feel terrible every time we announce a really cool innovation or cool limited edition and it’s just for everyone here in North America, and I feel bad. This is a global world we’re living in, Ghost is global, we’re in 55+ countries around the world and growing.”

– Dan Lourenço

17:15 – Dan explains the differences between beverage formulation vs. powder formulation. If Ghost can spend 10-15 cents more per tub to make a better powder, they do it. But when it comes to beverages, that’s a harder decision. Every penny counts with energy drinks, which they’ve learned close with Anheuser Busch. You have to fight for certain ingredients.

Ghost has to educate partner companies like Anheuser Busch about what certain ingredients are like. He reiterates Ghost’s mantra, “Formulate for the 1%, build the brand, the marketing, the message, and the flavors for the 99%”.

The inclusion of AstraGin and NeuroFactor are in Ghost Energy for the 1%, undoubtedly, and Ghost fought for those to be included.

21:00 – Ben asks, is Ghost growing with their demographic, or are they grabbing new young people continuously?

Every birthday, they add a year to the core demographic of Ghost. The answer is both though – they’re rocking with folks for the whole ride, but are bringing new consumers in quite consistently. The new holistic health products (like Glow and Greens) have brought in many new customers and fans.

The Ghost demographic is far broader than most realize.

23:30 – With so much success in Ghost Energy and the major SKUs, is it worth doing “small-time” formulas like a glucose disposal agent (GDA) that won’t have nearly as much traction?

Ghost doesn’t think about that. In fact, their huge limited-edition collabs often take more work than an “evergreen” SKU, and they’re not even around forever. Dan and Ryan don’t look at everything with ROI in mind.

The collabs are about engagement and fun – not always about money. Ben mentions that chocolate and vanilla sell best — Dan and Ryan lean into their shoe comparison, looking at Nike: the core, evergreen SKUs are like the “dad shoes” in the shoe industry that make more than all the crazy collabs. The success of the core SKUs enable the fun collabs.

“The industry before Ghost was ‘fake perfect’”

– Dan Lourenço

29:00 – Does Ghost segment their teams with different product categories? It’s one unifying brand, but as they scale, there are some members who have more specific strategies, especially with Ghost Gamer.

30:00 – Mike can tell that Ghost is jumping into gaming and esports head-first.

Ghost is doing it, but they’re doing it authentically. Dan tells us that a wise man once said that “Authenticity is undefeated.” It’s an emerging category, but too many companies are painting gamers with a broad brush. It’s not like that. What gamer exactly are they trying to reach? The ultra-competitive type, or the “everyman’s gamer”?

PricePlow Podcast #035: Dan Lourenco and Ryan Hughes at Ghost Tell All

There are many worlds within the gaming community that brands can target – but most consumer product goods (CPG) companies don’t. “There’s a long history of brands taking a pre-workout, slapping the name ‘neuro’ on them, and then telling gamers that it’s for them”.

36:00 – Regarding the OOZE flavor and the future of collabs.

Dan: “One of my favorite details about this release is that it’s international from day one. I feel terrible every time we announce a really cool innovation or cool limited edition and it’s just for everyone here in North America, and I feel bad. This is a global world we’re living in, Ghost is global, we’re in 55+ countries around the world and growing.”

Ryan: “We didn’t have a single conversation about dollars until we were forced to because of some of the bigger partnerships, but we didn’t start this about cash.”

Dan: “We’re just well-educated fans”

Ghost wants to keep doing collabs – they were the first, and they’re going to raise the bar. Not all licenses are created equal. They say no to a lot of them now.

Ghost is getting pitched on collabs, they say “no” to many, but then they see other brands doing it!

But how many is too many? Who’s the appropriate watchdog or guardian? It needs to fit the brand and the store. GNC collaborating with Girl Scout Cookies is not a small thing!

A collab for the sake of collabing is a risk for everyone.

Dan’s first collabs did change the game, and he says that humbly. But what’s next? Dan congratulates brands on thinking the way Ghost was thinking six years ago. The industry needs to challenge itself to push things forward, not backward.

Dan’s friend LT says that “The pressure is on us to look around the corner of what’s coming next and build that future, while attacking exactly what consumers need today.” They have some stuff planned for next summer, and simultaneously need to figure out exactly how next month is going.

Dan’s most interested in some international collabs.

42:30 – Ghost was the first to do collabs, but in hindsight, it was obvious. Why was Ghost first?

Oreo it is! Ghost Whey gets the ultimate “Cookies & Cream” flavor from the biggest and the best.

Mike reminds everyone that the industry was looked down upon back in 2016, and still had a lot of dirty things happening. Ghost single-handedly leveled up the entire sports nutrition sector, bringing legitimacy to nearly everyone.

45:00 – Ryan explains that Anheuser Busch had independently seen Ghost at GNC, pulled the tub off the shelves, and cold-emailed Dan and Ryan about doing an RTD. It so happened that Ghost was already working on one, and that began the relationship.

The collabs, the labels, the formulas all had a big part of them getting noticed over every other brand in the store.

“This brand is far bigger than Dan and Ryan.”

– Ryan Hughes

51:45 – There’s no job too big or too small for anyone at the company. Dan and Ryan love their products. Some company leaders don’t even know what’s inside anymore – these guys love the category and love the industry.

Ryan: “We didn’t have a single conversation about dollars until we were forced to because of some of the bigger partnerships, but we didn’t start this about cash.” Dan: “We’re just well-educated fans”