Konlan Paul & Landon Suggs: KJ Paul to Inspired Nutraceuticals | Episode #096

https://blog.priceplow.com/podcast/konlan-paul-landon-suggs-inspired-nutraceuticals-096

Konlan James Paul of V1 Nutra and Landon Suggs of V1 Nutra) and Landon Suggs (Inspired Nutraceuticals join the PricePlow Podcast to talk about KJ Paul’s new role at Inspired!

Konlan James Paul of V1 Nutra and Landon Suggs of Inspired Nutraceuticals join the PricePlow Podcast to talk about KJ Paul’s new role at Inspired!

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Show Notes with Konlan Paul and Landon Suggs: Talking Inspired Nutraceuticals and V1 Nutra

• 0:00 – Introductions

  

  Since 2014, Inspired has been coming out with some of the most innovative products on the market to ‘fuel what inspires you’.

  Ben traveled down to the V1 Nutra Headquarters to meet up with first time PricePlow Podcast guests Konlan Paul (V1 Nutra) and Landon Suggs (Inspired Nutraceuticals) to discuss the huge new move of bringing Konlan onto the Inspired team. This episode covers all aspects of what is to come in the future for both Inspired Nutraceuticals and V1 Nutra, as well as a deep dive into how Konlan rose to his success.

• 1:40 – Collaboration in the Industry

  Three people in different parts of the industry come together for this episode: Landon (brand), Konlan (Influencer and Brand), and Ben (Content Creator). From the outside looking in, people may be wondering why these “competitors” are working together.

  They go on to discuss what is so great about working together in this industry and it shows that good people want to help other good people out.

• 2:40 – Konlan and Landon Meeting Up

  Landon talks about being in this industry and really having to love it to be successful in it. All three in this episode started somewhere in the industry at the bottom of the totem pole and now have risen to the top after working hard and being passionate about the supplement space. Landon transitions this into giving praise for Konlan and wanting to work with V1 because he is a true fan of him and his brand. The two met after Konlan did a review of Inspired’s DVST8 pre-workout.

• 4:30 – Content Creators and Giving Back to Brands

  Konlan and Ben speak on the importance of NOT reaching out to a brand asking for a product to review, but instead to go out and purchase it yourself and give a genuine review of how you feel. As a brand, having a product in stores or online available to purchase is truly special, so as a content creator, help that brand out and make some good quality content for them, all while experiencing the pre-workout (or other supplement) you bought with your own money. Landon chimes in and says as a brand he loves getting reviews on his supplements, good or bad. Content creation is now a legitimate part of marketing strategies and can be very beneficial.

• 7:07 – Ben Reflects On Content Creation In The Past

  

  Ben talks about getting hate mail in the past years because he would be doing content for brands. This transitions into a discussion about how common sponsored content is in all types of industries out of supplements.

  PricePlow and other top content creators put out quality reviews that dig into ingredients and science, rather than just “how it feels”. KJ and Ben know when an ingredient should work and what can pair well together, and when someone complains about “not feeling it” when taking a product like V1, this leads to a whole other string of questions to determine why they didn’t feel the pump: were they hydrated? Did they eat enough food? Did you workout hard enough to get a pump?

• 11:08 – UGC Low Budget Content and Tik Tok

  KJ talks about how well his low-budget, lower quality user generated content converts better than his higher budget content. On Tik-Tok, the organic UGC leads to higher traffic because for that type of consumer it’s more tailored towards them.

• 13:15 – How KJ Got Started

  KJ started making content when he was locked in his parent’s basement due to the Covid shutdown. He was finishing up college online and on the side would review supplements and what results he got from them. He started a Tik Tok and KJ Performance Nutrition (now V1), and his following gradually started growing.

  Things really took off when he moved to Georgia and worked at NutraCap, a contract manufacturer. He was posting 3 times a day and averaging at least 100k views on each video, with some videos hitting 6 to 7 million views in a week. He did series like “Day in the Life of an Entrepreneur” and his famous supplement reviews.

• 16:45 – Working at a Contract Manufacturing Facility

  Ben and KJ talk about how beneficial working at a manufacturing facility is, and how much knowledge you gain while being there.

• 17:55 – Konlan Leaving NutraCap Labs

  KJ was at NutraCap for roughly 3 months before he left to do V1 full time. He was living with his girlfriend in a small one bedroom apartment and had a couple successful, but smaller first launches. He then tells the story about having only $400 in his bank account before his 3rd drop and calling his mom to tell her he may need help paying his upcoming rent. The launch ended up doing $5,000 in the first 30 seconds and sold out in 6 hours, bringing in $55K.

• 21:40 – Functional Foods

  

  The trio talks about functional foods, specifically protein snacks, and the difficulties that come with them.

• 25:25 – The Philosophy Behind Inspired

  Inspired is big on innovation, or “weird shit”, as Landon and Ben call it in this episode. Started by Chris Waldrum, a frequent PricePlow Podcast guest, Inspired releases products they want to release, bringing innovative twists to pre-workouts and other supplements.

  Landon goes on to talk about how Inspired holds themselves to a high standard because the brand is a reflection of the humans behind it.

• 27:40 – Why We’re Here

  Landon talks about where Inspired is struggling and what they need to help overcome that. Inspired’s cost of goods are higher than a lot of other brands out there, and without proper education and content regarding the product, people may skip past the premium options they have to offer because of the higher price point.

  Bringing someone like KJ on board to help put out educational content and marketing for the brand is a huge move that will only help. And on the flip side, Landon and Inspired are going to be helping take V1 to the next level. Brick and mortar is a big part of Inspired’s success, and Landon is going to help V1 get into retail to grow even bigger.

• 35:35 – What is Konlan’s Role?

  Konlan is coming in as a brand manager, without any one specific task or thing he has to do. If he has knowledge or tools that can help Inspired, then they will work together to apply those things to help the brand. If KJ has the same things that could apply better to V1, then Landon and his team are going to help KJ apply those to V1.

  Landon wants to take the business pressure off of KJ so he can focus on continuing to put out quality content covering the whole industry, not just having to promote V1. KJ is also going to take Inspired’s online presence to the next level, really using his personal experience with V1 and applying it to Inspired.

• 38:42 – Wholesale for V1?

  Most brands are probably interested in wholesale and retail at some point in their journey, but few know the difficulties that come with it. Having Inspired take the pressure off of KJ business wise will allow him to focus on marketing for Inspired and V1, all while helping V1 get into the wholesale side of things, taking it to the next level.

• 40:00 – What Kind of Content Will We See with Konlan for Inspired?

  

  They’re back — Inspired Nutraceuticals has rebirthed their Protein+ and ISO-PF proteins in some epic new flavors!

  Konlan is going to be doing content a bit differently for Inspired Nutra compared to the other brands he reviews organically. Konlan is going to be digging deeper into Inspired’s products and really going into the science behind them and how they make you feel. He plans on taking the brand’s content to the success that he has found for himself and V1.

  The cool part about this relationship is that Konlan can maintain his existing relationships with brands he currently does content for, giving him freedom to continue to do what he does best, make great content.

• 46:00 – Inspired Nutra is Special

  Landon and Ben talk about how Inspired is a “diamond in the rough” and is much more than a brand, it’s an experience you want to be a part of. Landon never wants the message and meaning behind the brand to change, and does not want it to be seen as “commercial”.

• 48:25 – What’s Happening for Inspired Going Forward?

  Landon talks about how even though Inspired is growing, the brand and its core values aren’t going to change. They could go commercial and “water down” the formulas to make better margins, but that’s not them, even if it means sacrificing becoming a much larger brand.

• 51:55 – Budget Pre-Workouts

  Ben talks about CBUM Essential Pre-Workout and goes on to ask Konlan if there are any plans to release a cheaper V1 pre-workout option. Konlan doesn’t directly answer if there will be one or not, but he and Landon talk about the first product launching while working together will be a new 20 serving V1 pre-workout. Landon wants consumers to be able to go into one of their retail partners and pick up a tub of a unique and loaded V1 product.

• 54:40 – DTC to Brick and Mortar

  Konlan talks about his struggles to get into retail, whether the store didn’t have shelf space or they didn’t want to pay the high price for his premium products. Cutting the production cost of the new V1 pre-workout and combining that with Landon’s retail experience will help V1 get into the doors of stores.

• 1:00:40 – “Dress For The Job You Want”

  Landon transitions the group’s talk about their “day in the life” topic and how KJ does a good job showing V1 as an empire, and connects him to the quote “dress for the job you want”. Ben reflects on people in the industry in the past boasting a “rich” image, posing in front of sports cars, dressing in suits, and coming into places together with a team of security, all for show.

• 1:03:40 – Do What It Takes to Produce Good Content

  

  Inspired Nutraceuticals is bringing LIQUID GLYCEROL to the pre-workout pump market with FSU Serum, loaded with betaine nitrate and 20g glycerol and boosted by electrolytes from sodium and potassium!

  Ben and KJ talk about the measures you have to take to get good content, even if it means “being that guy” in public trying to get the perfect picture/video of a product.

• 1:06:40 – Plan For Inspired

  Landon mentions a DVST8 Pre-Workout RTD and the trio dives into it a bit, all while trying some live on the episode. They talk about RTD’s like RAW Nutrition’s (CBUM Thavage RTD) and Primeval’s (Ape Sh*t Untamed RTD), and how Landon applied never before used ingredients into his own drink, including 2g acetyl-l-tyrosine!

  This RTD is a pre-workout that’s high stim and pump that’s a “crazy ride”. This is not a hybrid energy drink, strictly a pre-workout.

• 1:19:12 – Pre and Pump Combo

  Ben starts off this topic by asking KJ if he stacks pre-workout and pump products every day. This leads to a discussion of pump products vs. “stim-free” products and how stimulant based products make you feel.

• 1:22:00 – Supplement Awards

  Ben, Konlan, and Landon talk about content creation, supplement rewards, and reflect on past years for Inspired Nutra, whether it was a crazy year or a “coast” year. They go on to talk about the evolution of some of the past iterations of their pre-workouts and the ingredients inside them.

• 1:25:15 – V1 New Branding

  One of Inspired’s designers is going to come up with something crazy for the new V1 pre-workout, then Chris Waldrum will make it into a beautiful product with a label that’s gonna pop like it’s 3D.

• 1:27:50 – Up Big DTC Lately

  Landon briefly talks about how Inspired is up 120% from 2 months ago online DTC. Ben then asks what is driving this large increase in sales? Landon replies a bit more in depth mentioning a new CMO, upgrading their website, hiring new staff, and improving the overall infrastructure of the company.

• 1:33:10 – KJ on DTC and Retail

  Konlan talks about strictly doing DTC and how well it’s done for him, also talking about his branding approach for selling online. He then talks about having to really worry about branding when going into retail to make sure it’s eye catching for potential customers.

• 1:34:00 – Brands and What Goes Wrong

  

  Inspired Nutra’s latest two flavors of Greens, Forbidden Fruit & Summer Squeeze, are perfect for summertime season!

  Ben praises KJ for the brand he built and the loyal customer base behind him. He talks about the differences between what any brand can do marketing wise compared to what KJ did with V1 and his following. Konlan spits some free game on what to do social media influencer wise and speaks on the many creators out there nowadays doing things wrong and mainly pushing their own products.

• 1:38:53 – V1 Drops and Future

  Ben finishes the podcast by asking KJ if there are any upcoming drops for V1. Konlan talks about pushing his protein since it’s been doing really well, then goes into his “drop style” for selling supplements online. His goal is to move on to a position where he always has a set few products always in stock, which could also help him move into the DTC space. Don’t worry, KJ says he still wants to sprinkle in some limited drops to keep the V1 tradition alive.

Useful Links

• Inspired Nutraceuticals on PricePlow
• V1 Nutra on PricePlow
• @InspiredNutra on Instagram
• @V1Nutra on Instagram
• @Ph4d3 (Landon) on Instagram
• @Konlan.James on Instagram
• @JKPerformanceNutrition on TikTok

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