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Fourth-generation leader in health and wellness retail distribution. In the industry since 2006; at ECRM buyer programs every year since 2009.
Biography
Brian Gould is an American entrepreneur, retail distribution executive, and Founder and Chief Executive Officer of TruLife Distribution, a U.S.-based retail commercialization company specializing in helping health, wellness, dietary supplement, sports nutrition, functional food and beverage, beauty, personal care, and consumer brands enter and expand within the United States.
Gould has worked in health, wellness, retail sales, e-commerce, brand management, and distribution since 2006 and has participated in ECRM retail buyer programs every year since 2009.
Through TruLife Distribution, Gould works with domestic and international companies seeking to establish or expand their U.S. presence through market-entry strategy, regulatory coordination, logistics, warehousing, retail sales development, buyer relationships, e-commerce, marketing, public relations, and national distribution.
Career
Brian Gould’s career in consumer product sales and retail distribution spans more than two decades.
The family business was consumer products — manufacturing, sales and retail distribution, run by three generations of his family before him. As a teenager, Gould gained firsthand exposure to sales presentations, representative materials, retailer relationships, and the process of bringing consumer products to market.
After relocating from Scottsdale, Arizona, to Florida, Gould continued developing his career in consumer products and retail.
Beginning in 2006, he became extensively involved in health, wellness, sports nutrition, dietary supplements, e-commerce, and retail distribution. His work during the rapid expansion of online retail included helping manufacturers establish and grow products through major e-commerce channels.
Gould subsequently joined Nutritional Products International, where he held increasingly senior retail leadership positions, ultimately becoming President in 2017.
His experience included retail sales development, international market entry, brand positioning, product launches, e-commerce, marketing, retailer relationships, and strategic planning for health and wellness brands entering the United States.
The company he built
Brian Gould founded TruLife Distribution in 2019 to create a more comprehensive model for companies entering and expanding within the U.S. marketplace.
The premise was straightforward: a promising international or emerging U.S. brand should not need to independently build an entire regulatory, logistics, warehousing, sales, distribution, marketing, public relations, and e-commerce infrastructure before having the opportunity to compete in the United States.
TruLife Distribution was created to provide those capabilities through one coordinated U.S. team.
Today, TruLife Distribution helps health, wellness, nutrition and consumer brands prepare for the American market, establish their U.S. infrastructure, develop relationships with retail buyers, and build sustainable retail and e-commerce growth.
The company supports brands across market-entry strategy, FDA and regulatory
coordination, importation, logistics, warehousing, retail sales development, distribution,
U.S. market entry A significant part of Brian Gould’s work involves helping international brands
understand and navigate the U.S. marketplace. Entering the United States often requires companies to coordinate regulatory
compliance, labeling, product claims, pricing, insurance, importation, warehousing, logistics,
e-commerce, marketing, sales representation and retailer relationships simultaneously. Gould’s approach emphasizes completing these steps in the correct sequence. His philosophy is that obtaining a retail buyer meeting is only one part of
commercialization. Brands must also be appropriately positioned, operationally prepared,
competitively priced and capable of supporting retailers after placement. Through TruLife Distribution, Gould works with founders and executives to evaluate
their products, determine U.S. market readiness, build commercialization strategies and develop
pathways toward sustainable retail growth. Buyer programs Brian Gould has participated in ECRM retail buyer programs every year since
2009. ECRM programs connect manufacturers and brands with category buyers through
structured one-on-one meetings and have been an important component of Gould’s
retail-development strategy throughout his career. Through TruLife Distribution, Gould helps brands prepare for buyer meetings by
evaluating positioning, pricing, packaging, sales presentations, distribution readiness and
overall U.S. commercialization strategy. His philosophy is that the value of a trade show or buyer program is not measured
solely by the number of meetings secured. Long-term results depend on preparation before the
meeting, the quality of the presentation, operational readiness and disciplined follow-up
afterward. Leadership philosophy Gould’s broader business philosophy emphasizes relationships, integrity,
accountability, preparation and execution. He believes that long-term reputations are built by
honoring commitments, communicating candidly and consistently following through on one’s
word. If a product isn't ready for U.S. retail, that belongs in the assessment, not after the
contract. Compliance, then infrastructure, then buyers. Skipping ahead is why well-funded launches
stall. The barrier to U.S. retail is relationships and execution, not information. Background Brian Gould was born in Scottsdale, Arizona, and attended Desert Mountain High
School before relocating to Florida and attending Florida Atlantic University. His professional background combines retail sales, consumer products, e-commerce,
health and wellness, brand management, international market entry and distribution. Professional focus Brian Gould’s areas of professional focus include U.S. market entry, retail
commercialization, retail distribution, retail buyer development, health & wellness, dietary
supplements, sports nutrition, functional food & beverage, brand management, international
brand expansion, e-commerce, Amazon strategy, public relations, marketing, logistics &
warehousing, and ECRM buyer programs.U.S. Market Entry and Retail Commercialization
ECRM and Retail Buyer Development
“Building a brand first requires building a relationship.”
Candour before commitment
Sequence over speed
Publish what we know
Background and Education
Areas of professional focus.
In his own words
Brian Gould, Founder and CEO of TruLife Distribution, on what he saw international brands get wrong in the U.S., why he left the family business to build something different, and what he wanted TruLife to be accountable for.
Also on camera · Brian interviewed by ECRM’s VP of Content
Watch · Why I started TruLife
Plays from YouTube · nothing loads until you press play
Author archive
Every guide in the Knowledge Center carries his byline, a review date, and a named owner.
Elsewhere
Brian’s public profiles and third-party references.
The rest of the team
Operations, sales, compliance coordination, marketing and business development — ten people in one office, and the person who evaluated your product is the person in the buyer meeting.
U.S. Market Assessment
Send us your product and your numbers. We come back with a written assessment of what entering U.S. retail would require and what it would realistically return.
