Colin Westcott-Pitt Discusses Growing a Billion-Dollar Brand and the World’s #1 Sports Nutrition Product

Colin Westcott-Pitt has been a well-known drinks marketer for much of his career, and many will remember his acclaimed work for Dos Equis and its “Most Interesting Man in the World” initiative.  For the past several years, however, he has turned his attention to the global development of the Glanbia Performance Nutrition Brand Portfolio, which includes Optimum Nutrition, Slimfast, Body & Fit, Isopure, among others.  Those efforts have resulted in a major milestone, as the Glanbia flagship global brand, Optimum Nutrition, has just been certified as the world’s #1 sports nutrition brand, according to Euromonitor, and has achieved the extraordinary milestone of becoming a Billion Dollar brand.

Reaching so significant a revenue landmark, particularly for a specialty sports nutrition brand best known by both professional and amateur athletes, is no small accomplishment. Colin Westcott-Pitt attributes much of the marketing success of Optimum Nutrition to its purpose-driven commitment of helping consumers everywhere achieve their performance and healthy lifestyle goals.  Even while gyms were closed during the pandemic, the brand became more meaningful to people determined to remain active and well.  Organically expanding brand interest beyond its core customers was also key to growth.

While there are multiple factors that determine the evolution of a billion-dollar brand, product quality was critical to Optimum Nutrition’s success.  Not only does that quality involve rigorous testing in its own manufacturing facilities, but the brand delivers on its promise.  All strong brands have a compelling story to tell and Glanbia’s flagship product not only fueled the body, but the imagination, with its platform, There’s More of You In You.

To learn more from Colin Westcott-Pitt as he discusses how the marketing of a new billion-dollar brand and the lessons he learned along the way, watch the video interview on Internationalist Marketing TV (IMTV) on YouTube by CLICKING HERE.

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To hear more from Colin Westcott-Pitt as he discusses how the marketing of a new billion-dollar brand and the lessons he learned along the way, listen to the podcast as part of our Trendsetters Podcast series on iHeartRadio’s Spreaker.

In our conversation, we discuss the following:

• Glanbia Performance Nutrition has a wide range of nutrition brands, would you outline the portfolio?  
• Optimum Nutrition is your global flagship brand, can you talk about its development over the years and where it is now? 
• What have been the key elements in the growth for Optimum Nutrition? How do you approach marketing the brand?
• You recently launched a new platform, There’s More of You In You.  Talk about how that was developed and how do you bring that message to life consistently in so many markets.
• What have been some of the challenges of building the brand globally? 
• Can you talk about your consumers? What happened during the pandemic, did it impact how you market the brand?
• Are there certain brands you look toward for inspiration?
• How has the role of the CMO changed over the years in your estimation?  
• What advice would you give to a new CMO today undertaking global responsibilities?
• What’s the biggest lesson you learned over the years?

Colin Westcott-Pitt has a long and accomplished career in marketing, working for many major global organizations and living in London, New York, Amsterdam, and now, Dublin.  

Prior to Glanbia, he served as Heineken’s Head of Marketing, Global Brands and Innovation, for Africa and the Middle East.  Earier roles include Vice President of Marketing at Heineken for the flagship Heineken brand in the US and Vice President of Marketing for Dos Equis, Amstel Light and Newcastle Brown Ale. 

Under his leadership, the Dos Equis brand continued its double digit growth through the award-winning “Most Interesting Man in the World” campaign. Westcott-Pitt also led the launch of new, exciting and innovative breakthrough campaigns for both Newcastle and Amstel Light, such as the successful Newcastle Limited Editions and the “No Bollocks” campaign.