Grow by finding a niche
When starting out as a smaller company in a market dominated by 800-pound apparel gorillas, Crons didn’t try to sell team gear in the most powerful college conferences. Instead he targeted mid-major schools like Gonzaga University or Florida Gulf Coast University, where larger brands don’t pay as much attention.
This allowed the company to gain exposure, and now Crons has 80 colleges across seven conferences that encompass roughly 30,000 divisional athletes.
“So we felt that was a strategy, No. 1, that would be impactful. Two, fiscally, it was feasible for us to execute. And it’s provided us with a number of assets that we can then use as part of our partnership deal,” Cavanaugh says.
For example, the company negotiates for court signage or commercials as part of a college deal, so it gets exposure on ESPN without the cost.
When creating new products like a sports nutrition bar in 2012, Cavanaugh says Crons tried to distinguish itself by focusing on taste and avoiding any sugar that could upset stomachs.
But then it had to generate demand. The business used its connections to push out the bars to college programs that would buy large quantities before going after retail sales.
Today, the products are in 6,000 retail locations in 16 countries.
Face of the company
Cavanaugh uses his life to spread the message of Crons and Come Ready Nutrition, because he can relate to parents and athletes.
“I’ve been there; I’ve walked in their shoes. So I think there’s a lot of value in that,” he says. “I’m not like a person that went to school for computers and then decided to get into the sports nutrition business.”
This creates another level of responsibility Cavanaugh acknowledges, but in many ways that comes whether you’re closely attached to the brand or not.
“My dad used to always tell me, ‘Don’t worry about making a lot of money. Find something you like to do, and then you’ll be really passionate and you’ll probably make a lot of money because you’re going to be really good at it,’” he says.
“So I think the advice is whether you’re the face of the brand or whether you pick a brand, hopefully you’re in a business that you enjoy.”
Then find people with that same passion because you need them to help communicate and live the message, whether you’re selling computers, nutrition products or cars.
Everything’s so competitive today, Cavanaugh says, it’s critical to determine what separates you.
“That’s something that took me a little bit to figure out,” he says. “Instead of trying to be everything to everybody, just really find that one separation factor — one or two — that you can call your own and don’t ever stray from it. Stick to it.”
