“I should have started The Black Company,” says Zef Eisenberg, referring to the simplicity of Chrissie Rucker’s retail concept The White Company, which graced the cover of Growing Business back in June.
The founder of premier UK sports nutrition brand Maximuscle, which may sound as American as Eisenberg’s own name, but is headquartered in reassuringly unexotic Watford, is refl ecting on his path to success. “Instead, I chose the most challenging and regulated industry around,” he says. The company has certainly been through more than most. But more of that shortly.
Muscle bound
First, some background. Maximuscle is the only major sports nutrition supplier based in the UK. Somewhat unsurprisingly, the rest are American. Yet it’s the British brand that’s far and away the leader in its field here, with a 43% market share. Not only that, it’s galvanised a nascent market and brought it to within touching distance of the mainstream. All in little more than a decade.
Elite athletes, such as rugby stars Josh Lewsey MBE and Gavin Henson, as well as marathon runners, cyclists, climbers and martial artists happily credit the company’s products with enhancing their performance.
But it’s roots – and Eisenberg’s – lie in bodybuilding. As a successful competitor himself, Eisenberg shook the market when in 1993 he wrote and self-published an exposé on which products would help build muscle and burn fat and which were a waste of money.
His unbiased revelations of “what science was false and what actually did the job” won a cult following and encouraged him to start offering specifi c products he trusted, which he did in 1995. The book’s fi rst print-run of 24,000 sold out and fi nanced the business.
Eisenberg’s combined knowledge of gym instruction, herbalism, nutrition and marketing immediately paid dividends. Continuing where he left off with the book, he took a new approach, providing extensive educational tools, with copy-heavy catalogues for direct mail customers. The early sales performance funded the trade side, led by Kevin Peters, now Maximuscles’s operations director.
Building the brand
Success there, in turn, financed expansion through retail outlets. With thriving internet and trade sales, it seemed an obvious thing to do. However, it proved a distraction as the company spent too much time on staff, stock control and dealing with theft for Eisenberg’s liking. Recognising the error, the shops were closed leaving Maximuscle focusing once again on its core.
Understandably, it’s a source of pride that the company has never borrowed nor had any debt. Much like most start-ups, this was largely down to Eisenberg’s entrepreneurial commitment. He designed and laid-out the catalogues, working nights and weekends, and combining his career as a personal trainer, while continuing to publish revelatory books. “I worked stupid hours,” he says now.
The company also formed a partnership with key manufacturers to create own-brand products to an exact specifi cation. “It was unique in the industry at the time and led to the creation of the brand. The products were not formulated on price, but on quality and scientific research,” he says. The choice of supplier was key. From running a small health food chain in north London, Eisenberg knew all the suppliers and manufacturers, what sold and what didn’t.