Rich Krause, Capital Brands

00_Rich Krause The August 19 edition of HOMEWORLD BUSINESS® revealed the 14th annual “People To Watch” in housewares during the next 12 months.

Selected by HomeWorld Business editors, “People To Watch” represents a cross section of a diverse housewares business— from established to newly installed company leaders; from large to small operations, from big-box to specialty retailers; from trade show managers to celebrity endorsers.

The HomeWorld “People To Watch” are in the spotlight not only for how they might impact their respective organizations in the coming months, but also for how they might impact the overall housewares business.

Rich Krause, Capital Brands, CEO

CREDENTIALS: Rich Krause is no stranger to C-suite level positions. Prior to joining Capital Brands, the parent company of Nutribullet, in August of 2018, Krause had held the CEO spot at a number of companies including Confluence Outdoor, a supplier of premium kayaks, canoes and related products; and FeraDyne Outdoors, a supplier of various outdoor products. At FeraDyne, he acquired and integrated five companies over a five year period.

WHAT TO WATCH: Since the acquisition of Capital Brands by Centre Lane Partners in late summer of 2018, Krause and his management team have worked to build off the company’s foundation in the kitchen electrics segment that focused on health and wellness. Products sold under the Nutribullet and Magic Bullet brands had become staples at many leading retailers and were positioned as products that would help consumers live healthy and easily make nutritious beverages at home.

Worth watching in the near term will be what products the company brings to market and how those items are promoted. Krause offered a glimpse into the company’s forthcoming products, which are set to hit retail in the coming weeks, noting that the focus will be on appliances that tap into Nutribullet’s history of offering consumers products that are focused on healthy living.

The other aspect of the forthcoming new products launch will be the marketing effort supporting the Nutribullet brand. In the past, the previous owners of Capital Brands utilized direct to consumer marketing to raise the profile of the brand and keep consumers abreast of new products. How the company proceeds with its marketing efforts will be something worth watching.

PERSPECTIVE: Krause said a key element in reinvigorating Capital Brands and the Nutribullet brand has been the company’s management team and additions to the company’s product development and design teams. “We have a talented group of people that have strong skill sets around product development and branding,” he said. “We have a cohesive management team and an energized workplace with people who understand what is mission critical to make everything work as well as it can.”