Mitch Gould, Founder and CEO of Nutritional Products International (NPI), is widely recognized for developing the 'Evolution of Distribution' model — a comprehensive system for helping brands enter the U.S. retail market. However, long before this innovation, Gould played a pivotal role in creating and expanding Amazon's sports nutrition and health products category.
In the early 2000s, Amazon was primarily known as an online bookstore venturing into electronics. The idea of selling nutritional supplements online was novel and largely untested. Gould and his team at NPI, collaborating with Muscle Foods, a leading sports nutrition distributor, helped stock Amazon's emerging health and wellness platform with over 100 brands and products.
“Amazon was building the foundation for what would become a trillion-dollar retail giant,” Gould recalled. “They wanted to expand into health and wellness, but they needed someone who understood the market — someone who could connect them with trusted, high-quality brands ready to sell online. That’s where NPI came in.”
Gould and his team worked closely with Amazon’s buying department to introduce a wide range of nutritional products, effectively helping Amazon build its sports nutrition category from the ground up. “The response from manufacturers was overwhelming,” Gould said. “Everyone wanted to be on Amazon, but few knew how. We helped them navigate that process — logistics, compliance, fulfillment, and marketing — and the results were extraordinary.”
Among the early success stories were Native Remedies and Flora Health, both of which saw exponential growth after being introduced to Amazon. These companies became early examples of how strategic product placement and brand management could generate millions in new sales and visibility for emerging wellness brands.
“That period was transformative for e-commerce and a defining chapter in my career,” said Gould. “It showed me how to blend innovation, logistics, and marketing into a single, efficient process — a concept that ultimately became the foundation for NPI’s ‘Evolution of Distribution’ model.”
That model — a streamlined, full-service solution for international and domestic product manufacturers — integrates all aspects of brand launch under one roof, including sales, logistics, FDA compliance, marketing, and online retail placement. “I built the Evolution of Distribution because brands were struggling to enter the U.S. efficiently,” Gould explained. “Instead of spending massive sums on office space, staffing, and consultants, they can rely on NPI to manage the entire process — saving time and money while accessing top-tier retailers like Amazon and Walmart.”
Today, NPI continues to work with some of the largest online and brick-and-mortar retailers in the world — including Costco, CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, The Vitamin Shoppe, and GNC — while adapting its proven model to a rapidly changing omnichannel landscape. “Consumer behavior changed permanently after the pandemic,” Gould added. “Even though people are back in stores, e-commerce remains central to how they shop. At NPI, we continue to help brands succeed in both worlds — online and on the shelf.”
Gould’s work not only helped shape one of the most successful retail platforms in history but also paved the way for a generation of health and wellness companies to expand globally. “Looking back,” Gould reflected, “Amazon’s early years were about more than online sales — they were about redefining access. Today, that same principle guides NPI: helping brands reach consumers wherever they are, with products that make a difference.”
