Will Nitze - $100M+ in Revenue With 9 Employees

On this episode, we’re joined by Will Nitze, the Founder and CEO of IQBAR, a functional nutrition brand pioneering “brain + body” fuel for the modern consumer.

Launched in 2017, IQBAR is on track to hit $125M this year with just nine full-time employees, spanning 10,000+ retail doors including Walmart, Costco, and Target.

Will unpacks how he built one of the most capital-efficient brands in CPG, his unique “hub and spoke” operating model, and how he engineered each year of growth around a new business “unlock.”

We dive deep into IQBAR’s multi-category expansion strategy, pricing philosophy, agency management tactics, and how Will strips cost out of his supply chain while still scaling velocity.

Will also reveals a pretty game-changing upcoming product launch (that’s now in market as of today).

Episode Highlights:
📦 Building a $125M brand with just 9 employees
📊 The “hub and spoke” model that drives $7M+ revenue per head
⚡ How faster iteration unlocked IQBAR’s biggest growth leaps
💰 Pricing to maximize volume (and a 50% velocity bump at Walmart)
🏷️ Rebrand learnings that doubled shelf velocity
🌱 Supply chain control as a gross-margin unlock
📈 Why category “durability” matters more than trend-hopping
👨‍🍳 Tease: upcoming product collab with chef Thomas Keller

Table of Contents:
00:00 – Intro & IQBAR Origin Story
04:00 – Lean Team, Big Business: The $125M Org Chart
08:00 – Broker Management & Third Party Ecosystem
14:00 – Agency Diligence & Accountability
18:00 – Rapid Iteration vs Long-Term Strategy
23:00 – COGS Reduction via Ingredient Sourcing
27:00 – Product Roadmapping & Category Selection
31:00 – Functional Ingredient Strategy
34:00 – Premium vs Value Pricing Strategy
38:00 – Rebrand Strategy That Boosted Velocity
42:00 – Trends (Liposomal Gels, etc.) 

Links:
IQBAR – https://www.eatiqbar.com
Follow Will on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-nitze/

Follow Adam on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-martin-steinberg/
Check out https://www.kitprint.co/ for CPG production design support.