AG1

To believe or not believe the hype, that is the question.

“I love it, havent had a cold in two years”
“Loads of stuff about what a crock of shit it is”
Two wildly differing views of that little green drink you have heard about on podcasts for the last few years. So I decided to try it….

Last November I was doing some Christmas shopping and as always I then thought about what to get my wife. Now after being together for a couple of decades nearly we’ve both been around the block on what to give each other. She has a great knack of asking my friends and surprising me with something great. Subo slippers & Satisfy running T shirt, hello.

I am probably the poor relation in this department as in her words “I just buy what I want anyways anytime of year” so there isnt much in the realms of buying herself something she wouldnt buy for herself. So I thought about the Kanye and Kim buying her some stocks (which actually in end became something I did for the kids which is a nice way to teach them about money). Then I thought about her start to the year - a week in Florence for a trade show, a few days in Paris for a trade show and another trip to Scandinavia. So that all whilst sounding lovely when it comes to culinary delights, in terms of late nights, flights, general health of people in January I thought something to help her stay healthy would be ideal.

I know, especially the women reading this are thinking wow what a charmer this guy is, how romantic, a multi vitamin for Christmas.

So my attention turned to AG1 after hearing about it for years on podcasts, social media and various affiliate links I went to investigate. And the minute you start to look at it, all you can do is switch on instagram for ads for it. Being November there was a Black Friday deal so I dropped in and a week later I got a couple of the single use multi packs, perfect for travel. So December 25th the gift was unwrapped (yes the 25th, I am clinging on to traditional Christmas vs the evening of the 24th for my German side of the family). She was very happy to try it.

The next morning when she tried it, pretty sure she found her gag reflex was alive and well, coughing like she had just had a bag of bees for breakfast. I didn’t find it so bad but it’s certainly an acquired tasted. For this taste it better be good for us. Which kind of got me to thinking, what is it and is it any good?

I’ll go into what it is and the story of the brand first but then what has fascinated me with this one is the reaction of what my friends think

The product :

Founded by Chris Ashenden who was a high-performance athlete struggling with injuries and health issues. He created a greens blend to support recovery and energy—initially selling direct to consumers online.
AG1 is marketed as a single daily scoop containing:

• Vitamins and minerals

• Adaptogens

• Probiotics

• Greens (spirulina, chlorella, wheatgrass)

• Mushroom extracts

• Digestive enzymes

The revenue :

• 2018: ~$20M

• 2020: ~$100M

• 2021: ~$160M

• 2022: ~$250M+

• 2023–2024 estimate: $300M–400M annually

Valuation based on a 2022 raise: $1.2 billion

So what was it that got the brand to grow so fast?

Well, one of the main levers was through podcast advertising.

They sponsored:

• Tim Ferriss Show

• Joe Rogan Experience

• Huberman Lab

• Rich Roll

• Andrew Huberman

• countless performance and business podcasts

It felt like everyone serious about performance used AG1.

The other thing they did was really focus on price and packagingas a differentiator

Price:
• $79/month subscription
• $2.63 per serving

The thing is, you can go buy other greens powder for $20–40/month.

The thing with AG1 its a bit like walking into Yoga class with Alo Yoga on, its a signal.

The box itself is all a bit over the top in a world where we are supposed to care about materials and the environment but again its done in a premium way and the signal use sachets are actually great for travelling, I try to take protein on the road with me and its a bit of a mes where you are stressed you think the border control think you are bringing some kind of narcotics over the border.

So…. All that to be said that most important part here and intriguing to me is how split people are over this.

I asked a question on Instagram :

Is AG1 good for you or Snake Oil?

The responses I got back where really interesting to look at and it turns out way more people take it every day in my friend group than I had originally thought :
The positives :

“I love it, havent had a cold in two years”

“Taking everyday for 3 years and this works for me as I hate greens”

“I think AG1 is actually pretty good!

“I love it”

“Prob good for travelling if you cant get good veggies”

“no mate its amazing, I swear by it”

“I take it every morning, have this then wait 30 mins before coffee. It’s great when travelling.”

“My husband has been taking it for 2 years, it’s a love hate relationship.”

“I take it but I dont like the taste, however I havent been sick since covid”

So a pretty great response in the positive column from a lot of people I trust and look up to.
So then if we weigh up the negatives :
“personally I think its snake oil, look up the guy who started it and you’ll see”

“Snake oil, I’ll send you a link”

“Debunked as not effective dosage 3 years ago”

“What I heard is not so good”

“Snake oil, way overpriced”

“Loads of stuff about what a crock of shit it is”

“Better of with a good organic multivitamin”

“Its overpriced BS, you can get the same for 20$ a month”

“I saw recently its snake oil”

So a pretty similar number of comments, crucially though the first group have all tested it and reported some benefits. Is that a science backed way to test it? No. So here is a couple of those videos explaining the reasons its not all its claimed to be…

So is it worth it from what i heard from friends?
Well, from the comments the price alone seems that there is way cheaper stuff out there in various forms that could be better for you potentially. That being said, the way marketing works, we could all drive a Dacia Duster to get us from A to B but most of us choose something a little nicer and even though it does the same main job (transporting us), we are happy to pay more for a better brand and ideally product.

For me, if it’s something that helps keep me healthy during flu season I have got no problem with it (will report after a couple more months on that) then I am happy with it. I’ll check around to see what else there is out there but for now, if it’s working for you, go for it. I think the thing that blew me away is just how many mixed opinions, sources and facts there are and after all with marketing, you always want people to feel something. Either good or bad. And if you can get people to feel something, it generally means you are doing something right.

Also makes me wonder how much money they spent on podcast advertising and if they caught the wave of it being cheap enough yet effective still?

Thanks for reading, let me know if you have tried it and felt any benefits?