Costco to offer hugely popular nutrition supplement | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

I’ll give credit where it’s due: The social media algorithm works quickly.

Click on an Instagram ad that seems remotely interesting, and soon you’re scrolling through a parade of ads for related products and services.

The chain reaction is rather mind-boggling. An ad for activewear begets workout apps, which beget fitness supplements, which beget celebrities and influencers hawking said apps and supplements.

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If I’m being frank, my social media feed thinks too highly of my current state of nutrition and fitness.

I’m getting better at clicking the “not interested” button to change ad suggestions to something more aligned with my lifestyle. Instagram is never offended—it just regroups and sends new suggestions accordingly.

However, I have lost count of how many things I’ve bought from an Instagram ad. And I’m certainly not alone. Direct-to-consumer (DTC) ecommerce sales for established brands are expected to reach $186 billion this year, with digitally native brands set to reach just under $40 billion.

That latter figure isn’t too shabby, but it’s still a far cry from the more established brands.

So it’s not too surprising, then, that a DTC brand would launch in-store offerings, either in partnership with retailers or in brick-and-mortar establishments of their own. And now one popular health supplement (that I’ve learned about through my overly aspirational social media feed) is celebrating its first in-store partnership with Costco.

Costco will now sell the popular AG1 health drink in stores nationwide.

Image source&colon; Brooks Kraft LLC/Corbis via Getty Images

Costco Partners with AG1 for first in-store partnership

Global nutrition company AG1 announced last week that it will be launching its first brick-and-mortar partnership with Costco.

Founded in 2010, the company made a splash — to the tune of $600 million in 2024 revenue, Fortune reported — with health-minded consumers for its research-backed, gluten-free health drink that provides vitamins, minerals, probiotics, superfoods, and greens in a single scoop of powder that you mix with water and drink daily.

“This retail partnership marks a significant strategic milestone in our business,” said AG1 CEO Kat Cole in a statement. “We’ve grown an incredible DTC business over the past 15 years, and it is time to expand access to the high-quality daily foundation nutrition of AG1 to customers who prefer a physical retail experience. With Costco’s commitment to quality and its unrivaled dedication to members and their experience, we’re proud to take our first step onto shelves with them.”

That “incredible” business has grown in large part due to some key shout-outs. Entrepreneur and author Tim Ferriss was an early supporter of AG1 — he mentions the product, originally called Athletic Greens, in his book, “The 4-Hour Body,” and later invested in the company. Other fans of the green stuff include neuroscientist Andrew Huberman, NFL siblings Jason and Travis Kelce, and podcaster Joe Rogan.

The benefits of expanding beyond DTC

It goes without saying that expanding a company’s customer base is beneficial to its bottom line.

And just as successful online home retailer Wayfair opened its first large-format store last year in Wilmette, Illinois, with plans to open stores in Atlanta and Yonkers, NY, other DTC brands want to take their success offline, too.

It’s not about messing with a good thing; it’s about a company doing all it can to keep that good thing going. Celebrity and influencer endorsements can certainly skyrocket revenue, but that’s a tenuous business strategy in the age of cancel culture.

An in-store presence is necessary to expand a company’s customer base to those who aren’t as prone to clicking “add to cart,” or who might at least want to try a product before getting involved with a discounted monthly subscription, which is how many DTC brands operate.

It’s obvious that AG1 is banking on Costco customers to say, “Ooh, I’ve seen that online,” and add it to their cart IRL. While loyal customers can still go to the AG1 site to shop bundles and other product offerings, now the company can tap into the multibillion-dollar Costco customer base.

More Retail:

Costco customers interested in boosting their nutrition should look for the boxes of 40-count single-serve stick packs, which will be available at all Costco locations nationwide. In fact, if you go online to the Costco website to shop for the product, you’ll be greeted with the blue “warehouse only” banner — at least for now.