REDCON1 Honors America’s Heroes
with Military Care Packages
Fueled by the Mission, CMO Ryan Monahan
Holds Court with Team GOVX
For those unfamiliar with the military term from which the premium nutrition brand takes inspiration, REDCON1 references a state of readiness, a full alert if you will. In retrospect, the moniker is perfectly suited for a company that specializes in optimizing your everyday life and active pursuits from its award-winning lineup of high-performance products. What you also may not know, is that they operate with a clear and dedicated mission to support the military and first responder communities through their breakthrough Military Care Package program.
For us here at GOVX, supporting a meaningful cause is always an open invitation to collaborate – and that’s exactly what we’ll be doing come December 2024. Aligning with the GOVX Gives Back initiative, REDCON1 will generously match donations on behalf of The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. With that in mind, REDCON1 CMO and man-of-action, Ryan Monahan was kind enough to digitally drop by the GOVX offices for a one-on-one Q&A to discuss the brand, mission, and charitable efforts behind one of America’s premier supplement companies.
GOVX
REDCON1 is very much revered amongst the GOVX community for the quality and effectiveness of the products, especially by active and former duty servicemembers. Can you provide some background on the brand as a whole?
RYAN MONAHAN
We were founded in 2016 as a sports and nutrition brand, so think everything that would go towards augmenting your gym routine. We later expanded that to on-the-go products, but primarily stuck to our gym-related roots. We scaled and grew into our little world of sports nutrition, but felt somewhat limited.
There’s only so much room out there for powdered sports nutrition products. We wanted to reach not just the fitness community, but construction workers, law enforcement officers, and other Americans of service.
We wanted the REDCON1 name to resonate. Readiness Condition One or REDCON1, is the highest level. It’s activation to nuclear in 15 minutes. So, from a brand perspective, we knew we needed to be mission-based. We felt that ingredients and even products to a degree can come and go, but a brand...well, a brand can live forever.
GOVX
What early challenges did you face?
RYAN MONAHAN
As we set out to build our legacy, we focused first on transparency. That started by being honest on our labels. In sports nutrition you can list a proprietary blend and exclude the amount of each ingredient listed in each product. We made sure to be 100% transparent about what goes into every product. Today, more nutritional brands have followed suit, but in 2016 this wasn’t the case at all. We needed to establish something that wasn’t the industry standard.
One we got over that hump, we felt we had to really live up to our name. We didn’t want to be brand only for gym goers. There was an idea that if you break things down to always being ready, it must not only be applicable to you, but everyone you know. We all have a need to be ready, so we basically anchor everything on and around readiness from a brand standpoint.
DAVE
Retired Firefighter – Chief Coffee Roaster
JACOB
Licensed Q Grader – Director of Coffee
GOVX
As far as charitable work goes, supporting our nation’s non-profits remains a big focus for GOVX. A portion of the proceeds from every order made on GOVX.com go towards that month's GOVX Gives Back Recipient and the GOVX community as a whole is always to help. Can you fill us in on the Military Care Package program at REDCON1?
RYAN MONAHAN
Absolutely. Through the Military Care Package program, anyone that’s eligible can get a care package delivered. This goes for active duty, Veterans, and family members. We have actually partnered with GOVX to provide the verification, which has been huge. Prior to GOVX integration we averaged 40 to 80 care packages a day, now we’ve done as much as 650 for a single military unit.
Now this doesn’t have to be a one-time thing. There’s plenty of Americans out there who are going through a pickle right now and need a pick-me-up. Say your partner is deployed, we can ship them product and personalize it how you see fit with a photo or note.
Not long ago, we helped out a young soldier who was battling depression during their first deployment. After talking to her family, we had everyone in our office write out a personal card to her. By the end of the day, we had over 30 cards that we sent out along with the package. These things have an ROI of zero, but the amount of goodwill is off the charts. That’s why we’re a mission-based company. We believe in what we’re doing.
GOVX
What type of products can be included in a package?
RYAN MONAHAN
So, we start with the bestsellers. That's a given. That might be a pre-workout shaker cup or something similar, but ideally, it’s a different assortment in every box. Also, they’re getting the actual products. Not sample packs. That’s not our style. It’s the real deal. We have a package going out today, where they’re getting the shaker cup, some swag, some creatine, and full-sized pre-workout products. So five products in total. Say you have a unit or team of 30, then we’ll send case packs. If someone has a food allergy like peanuts, we’ll carefully assemble their package for their dietary needs. Regardless, it’s always best-selling products at their full sizes.
GOVX
Are there any limitations to who can receive a package? Is it branch specific? Are other uniformed pros eligible?
RYAN MONAHAN
Military is the key demographic, but basically any civil servant including firemen and police officers are eligible. Military best aligns, so that’s how we choose to market it, but we honor all those who serve. Our top three branches receiving packages as of today are Army, Marines, and Air Force, in that order. 75% of our orders go to an APO, 25% to a non-APO forwarding address or base.
GOVX
What are some other ways that REDCON1 gives back?
RYAN MONAHAN
Since we launched our REDCON1 Energy Collection back in 2022, a portion of the proceeds from every can sold go towards military-based charities. We made it our position from day one to make sure that the military was going to be an important component to our philanthropic efforts. We’ve seen other brands step up their charitable activities around Veterans Day and Memorial Day, but for REDCON1, we do this 365 days a year. Even if you don’t make an order from our site, we currently nominate three foundations monthly and our community votes on which one receives a quarterly donation. It’s a way for us to get everyone involved.
GOVX
Just to close thing's out, it's clear that community reach is integral, can you speak a little bit about your ambassador program?
RYAN MONAHAN
Indeed, we look at it not as a sales function, but as a community function. We have many military spouses as ambassadors, and the program is an outlet for them to connect with other people who may be in the same place. We also have a program called Tier Operators, which is at the service level. While most will assume it’s an affiliate program, it’s actually a forum where members can hang out in our chats, network, and build meaningful relationships or friendships. It has nothing to do with our products, but is 100% rooted in the mission.
GOVX
Thanks for connecting with us today, Ryan.
RYAN MONAHAN
You got it. Thank you.
DAVE
Retired Firefighter – Chief Coffee Roaster