NutraCast: GNC’s CEO on forging solid partnerships

Relationships touch every part of our lives—personally, professionally and everywhere in between. Building and developing partnerships is something Michael Costello, CEO of GNC, has been doing for over three decades. 

Costello said finding the right partner comes down to trust, transparency and values. 

“I’m looking for partners that I can trust,” he said. “I trust their word, they can trust mine. Whenever I have a partnership, if I write a contract, I want to throw the contract out and then have conversations with that partner and figure out how we both can win. I’m also looking for people to share values. So we talk about GNC in terms of living well, but also in terms of the values, trust, transparency and how we’re going to do well by our consumers. And so if we find those kinds of partners, I know we’ll end up doing well.”

One example of trust that Costello provided is GNC’s recent partnership with SuperGut​. The  brand, formerly known as Muniq​, recently expanded into GNC’s new section​ dedicated to GLP-1 nutritional support. 

“We talked about science; we talked about why this could be so valuable for our consumers and for his framing of the product,” Costello said. “And we knew the trust was there, we knew the values were there, and we knew everything else would work. We’re trying to build something together, and we know both [sides] are going to win maybe a little bit more for us this time, maybe a little more for him [next time]…but overall, it’s good for the consumers, and it’s good for both of us in business.”