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Tom Brady's Growing Business Empire
Tom Brady and Alex Guerrero launched TB12 in 2013, but what has the sports performance and nutrition company been up to since?
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Friends,
Given Tom Brady’s performance this past weekend, which sent him to his 10th Super Bowl in 21 NFL seasons, I think most people know that he’s indisputably the best quarterback of all time — the GOAT.
Love him or hate him; you have to respect him.
The part you didn’t know?
Off the field, he’s quietly been expanding his sports performance and nutrition company TB12.
Today, we’ll run through the details.
Founded by Tom Brady and his “body coach” Alex Guerrero in 2013, TB12 is a performance lifestyle brand with one simple mission:
To help you do what you love better and longer through performance, recovery, hydration, and nutrition.
After originally starting as a nutritional e-commerce platform focused on supplement sales, TB12 has expanded its product offering in recent years. Today, TB12 offers various additional products and services, including performance meals, apparel, and training equipment.
The interesting part?
Similar to other e-commerce-based platforms, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated their business — although not necessarily for a reason you might expect.
Here’s what I mean…
Given that TB12 only had two physical locations globally before this year — both based in Boston — the brand has historically relied on a regionalized sales effort.
The difference?
COVID-19 pivoted their consultation and training sessions online rather than in person at their Massachusetts locations.
The result?
Expansion, globally.
Here are the details (Source):
Went from 20 employees to 60
Opened a new facility in Tampa, Florida
E-commerce sales up 200% year-over-year
Opening future retail locations in California, Texas, and New York
Exploring overseas opportunities in the United Kingdom, Middle East, and Asia, which “have driven a surprising amount of TB12 e-commerce revenue”
Here’s what TB12 CEO Ken Burns said regarding their plan for global expansion:
“We’ve had a handful of inbound conversations that have led us to recognize there’s potentially a bigger opportunity long-term globally. We wanted to get the ball rolling so we have the opportunity to really grow and expand globally.”
Furthermore, the company has started to expand into licensing.
After signing with talent agency William Morris Endeavor (WME) in 2019, Brady was introduced to WME’s sister company IMG. The two have now signed a licensing and brand deal to grow TB12’s presence in additional retail and e-commerce channels (Source).
Simply put, COVID-19 allowed TB12 to reassess their strategy, pivot, and, ultimately, expand.
To be fair, I’d be remiss to end the email without mentioning the elephant in the room regarding TB12.
As part of the small business lending program created under the $2 trillion CARES Act, Tom Brady’s sports performance and nutrition company received a Paycheck Protection Program loan of $960,855 from the federal government.
Does it matter?
I’ll leave that up to you.
Regardless, similar to his NFL career, business appears to be booming.
Have a great day, and we’ll talk tomorrow.
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