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When Kat Cole was first approached about joining AG1 post Covid-19, she hesitated. After years running billion-dollar brands like Cinnabon and managing portfolios spanning multiple products and markets, stepping into a smaller company — one with a single hero product and a niche following — felt like a step down. Cole knew the business could grow, but she questioned whether it was the right fit for her ambitions, and whether she could make an impact in a category so different from her past experience. The hesitation lingered until a personal moment put things into perspective. Cole was navigating postpartum recovery, low energy, and the demands of a high-pressure career while raising a family. Her kitchen cabinet was a cluttered testament to trial and error, stacked with powders, pills, and supplements she had tried to regain her vitality. One day, her husband opened the cabinet, surveyed the chaos, and handed her a single packet. It was AG1. “Stop everything. Just start here,” he said. Cole recalled it at Brandweek 2025 as a near-“ikigai” moment. Within weeks, she noticed better energy, improved digestion, and a newfound clarity. Since taking the helm as COO in 2021, Cole has expanded AG1 from a single-channel DTC business into a multi-product, multi-channel brand stocked in stores like Costco, while maintaining its premium image and community-driven ethos. Now CEO, she has leaned into storytelling that highlights daily rituals, wellness, and accessibility rather than positioning the brand exclusively for peak performers. That approach is on full display in AG1’s first global campaign, “Good Morning, Moon,” which went live this month. “We’ve evolved beyond our roots, got $160 million in revenue, and changed our name from Athletic Greens to AG1,” Cole said. Involving the CEO early Cole emphasizes close collaboration with her marketing team and CMO, ensuring campaigns reflect both the brand’s identity and the science behind the products. “The concept [‘Good Morning, Moon’] was first introduced in February and launched in November. A lot changed in markets and business in that window,” she said. “A CEO wants to be brought along in the creative process because your financial stakes are higher, you could also have really material things happen in the world that make your approach to how the creative will show up in the world need to be tweaked for maximum impact.” One example, per Cole, came from customer feedback. Marketing under the old Athletic Greens brand skewed male and felt aimed only at athletes, when in fact the audience is roughly 50/50 male and female, with most women over 40 and busy professionals. Cole said the insight was clear: Aspirational messaging matters, but customers also need to see themselves in the campaigns. The solution was creative variants highlighting families, professionals, and everyday high performers — relatable without losing the brand’s edge. “The CMO might not see those sprouts of what’s coming right away. And if we have a touch point regularly, we can calibrate,” she said. Axing marketing dollars Cole has also bet heavily on science over traditional marketing. AG1 redirected substantial marketing dollars into double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled human trials and committed an additional $20 million over three years to research at the intersection of nutrition, gut health, and metabolic health. “It was very clear that the category is going to get more crowded. The only thing that will cut through is more science and credible research,” she said. The brand raised the bar on its own formula, running four human clinical trials before rolling out the updated product to existing customers over six months. Flavor variants launched directly into Costco, marking the first time AG1 entered brick-and-mortar retail. AGC, a sleep-support product under development for two years, followed. Through it all, Cole said, the brand has stayed focused on quality research, understanding its customers, and competing not with lookalikes but with the broader behaviors and habits that shape health.
