363 - Creating a Category Leader: The Absorption Company's Rise to Erewhon's #1 Functional Health Brand

Zeke Bronfman is the co-founder and CEO of The Absorption Company, a brand pioneering highly bioavailable supplements engineered for optimal nutrient absorption. With a background in health and wellness entrepreneurship—including a previous successful beverage exit—Zeke leads a team on a mission to address a major gap in supplement efficacy by focusing on real, measurable impact for consumers. In this episode of DTC Pod, Zeke details the journey of building The Absorption Company from inception to rapid retail success in outlets like Erewhon. He talks about the science behind absorption, launching with a powerful community-driven strategy, and the importance of brand-led product innovation. Zeke also offers practical advice on supply chain management, leveraging celebrity co-founders, and lessons learned about optimizing e-commerce for long-term growth. Episode brought to you by Stord Interact with other DTC experts and access our monthly fireside chats with industry leaders on DTC Pod Slack. On this episode of DTC Pod, we cover: 1. The founding story of The Absorption Company 2. Why most supplements fail—and how absorption is the next frontier 3. Creating a viral pre-launch private Instagram community 4. Setting a brand apart with science-backed, lifestyle-driven design 5. Early product development and MVP lessons 6. Direct-to-consumer subscription as a growth engine 7. Amazon, TikTok Shop, and the online channel mix 8. The strategic approach to selective retail partnerships 9. Managing the supply chain: co-packers, fulfillment, and scaling ops 10. How to keep operations simple, resilient, and cost-effective 11. Lessons in traffic acquisition: organic, paid, and influencer mix 12. Celebrity founder advantages, limits, and effective deployment 13. Funding, initial capital requirements, and brand investment 14. Biggest founder learnings and operational takeaways 15. What’s ahead: innovation pipeline and future growth Timestamps 00:00 Intro to Zeke Bronfman and The Absorption Company 02:44 The absorption problem in supplements 04:40 Why bioavailability is the future of wellness supplements 06:11 Bringing the brand to life: Team, tech, and community-building 07:47 The private Instagram launch strategy and viral pre-sale 09:27 The power of exclusivity and early consumer engagement 11:12 Product MVP and standout branding decisions 13:26 Early sales strategy: DTC, Amazon, retail mix 15:04 Why big-box retail isn’t always the right move 17:57 Scaling DTC: Subscription, platform choices, and LTV 19:04 Driving traffic: Paid, organic, influencer, and celebrity co-founder impact 20:38 TikTok Shop: Affiliate, Live, and what works (and doesn’t) 22:36 Capital, startup costs, and launching with impact 25:32 Building a scalable supply chain and minimizing complexity 27:25 Fulfillment operations and splitting inventory 29:00 Entering boutique/strategic retail as a marketing lever 30:52 Biggest learnings and missteps scaling Absorption Company 33:13 Lessons using celebrity/influencer as a brand amplifier 36:10 What’s next: Upcoming innovations and business growth 36:50 Where to follow Absorption Company Show notes powered by Castmagic Past guests & brands on DTC Pod include Gilt, PopSugar, Glossier, MadeIN, Prose, Bala, P.volve, Ritual, Bite, Oura, Levels, General Mills, Mid Day Squares, Prose, Arrae, Olipop, Ghia, Rosaluna, Form, Uncle Studios & many more.   Additional episodes you might like: • #175 Ariel Vaisbort - How OLIPOP Runs Influencer, Community, & Affiliate Growth • #184 Jake Karls, Midday Squares - Turning Your Brand Into The Influencer With Content • #205 Kasey Stewart: Suckerz- - Powering Your Launch With 300 Million Organic Views • #219 JT Barnett: The TikTok Masterclass For Brands • #223 Lauren Kleinman: The PR & Affiliate Marketing Playbook • ​​​​#243 Kian Golzari - Source & Develop Products Like The World's Best Brands ----- Have any questions about the show or topics you'd like us to explore further? Shoot us a DM; we'd love to hear from you. Want the weekly TL;DR of tips delivered to your mailbox? Check out our newsletter here. Projects the DTC Pod team is working on: DTCetc - all our favorite brands on the internet Olivea - the extra virgin olive oil & hydroxytyrosol supplement Castmagic - AI Workspace for Content Follow us for content, clips, giveaways, & updates! DTCPod Instagram DTCPod Twitter DTCPod TikTok Ezekiel Bronfman - Co-Founder and CEO of The Absorption Company Blaine Bolus - Co-Founder of Castmagic Ramon Berrios - Co-Founder of Castmagic