The paragraph discusses the 2025 Analyst Day for Church & Dwight, highlighting the management team present and noting absences due to the flu. Matt Farrell introduces key presenters and mentions that 2025 marks the 35th anniversary of the company's listing on the New York Stock Exchange. He shares a historical investment fun fact: $1,000 invested in 1990 would be worth $114,000 today, showcasing the company's consistent growth. A brief company history is given, noting Dwight Minton as the last family CEO and Farrell as the third non-family CEO. The paragraph also reviews 2024, citing successful organic sales growth across all markets, with the company's seven power brands holding 70% of revenue and profits, and five out of seven increasing their market share.

The paragraph discusses Church & Dwight's recent business performance and strategic moves. The company's marketing spend is projected to increase by 11% annually, and in 2024, they experienced significant organic growth, with half of a 4% increase attributed to new product launches. Online sales comprise 21.4% of total sales, translating to $1.3 billion from a $6 billion revenue, highlighting their success among CPG companies. They acquired the HERO brand, expanding it to 40 countries, and a distributor in Japan, enhancing their market presence there. The company has a strong cash flow, with about $1 billion available, aiming to make future acquisitions. The business's consistent performance over 1, 2, 3, 5, and 10 years is credited to its culture and management. Their operations are split into 77% domestic and 18% international, showing a gradual increase from 17% internationally.

The paragraph discusses the company's growth strategy focusing on its seven key brands, which contribute 70% of its revenue and profits, and an evergreen model for long-term planning. The strategy aims for a 4% organic sales growth, improved gross margins, and 8% EPS growth. The company maintains a balanced portfolio between household and personal care products with a mix of premium and value offerings to perform well in various economic conditions. It has a strong e-commerce presence and emphasizes innovation and new product development for growth. Acquisition targets must be leading brands with favorable gross margins.

The company favors asset-light businesses and seeks those with co-manufacturing models to avoid acquiring plants. They focus on achieving synergies through their sophisticated supply chain and prioritize acquisitions with long-term competitive advantages for sustained success. Historically, the company has grown through frequent acquisitions, with only occasional droughts, such as in 2008 and between 2012-2013. In 2023-2024, they also experienced a pause in acquisitions despite efforts. In financial performance for Q4 2024, the company exceeded expectations with 3.5% sales growth, greater than their projected 1.5% to 2.5%, and achieved a 5.07% increase in brand share. Organic growth was 4.2%, and EPS rose nearly 19%, signaling a strong finish to the year. Rick Dierker indicates this is one of his last detailed financial discussions with the audience.

The company experienced significant growth in various areas, including a 4% net sales increase, 4.5% organic sales growth, and notable international and domestic sales improvements. They've reached 2019 gross margin levels and invested heavily in marketing to maintain momentum into 2025. Earnings per share grew by 8.5%, and $1.16 billion in cash was generated, with a high free cash flow conversion of 115%, providing financial flexibility. There's a positive outlook for future growth, with opportunities in household penetration and promising performance in international markets. Innovation has expanded to include multiple vectors, with new products generating excitement and anticipation for continued success.

The paragraph discusses the company's strategic growth, highlighting e-commerce growth from 2% to 21% and emphasizing the importance of domestic and international mergers and acquisitions (M&A). It reflects on ARM & HAMMER's progression from a $1 billion to a $2 billion brand since 2001 and notes that the company now has $4 billion in non-ARM & HAMMER businesses. The paragraph also mentions hiring a new U.S. President and CFO, while outlining a growth algorithm and the company's historical growth in the U.S. The company's success is attributed to being in leading categories, having low exposure to private-label products, and the strength of its seven power brands, which are expected to contribute 75% of sales and profits by 2025.

The paragraph provides a performance report on various business categories for the company. It highlights a 2.7% weighted average growth with significant achievements expected in 2024. The fabric care segment, particularly ARM & HAMMER Laundry Detergent, is performing well with an increase in market share, thanks to their good, better, best strategy. The cat litter segment is also growing impressively, maintaining market share despite a competitor's stock issues, and is seizing opportunities in the lightweight litter category. Additionally, HERO is experiencing substantial growth in the acne category, with a 40% increase, further driving the category’s expansion.

The paragraph highlights the success and growth potential of several brands across different categories. HERO leads in acne and patch market share with potential for more distribution and increased household penetration. THERABREATH is the second-largest mouthwash brand with significant market share, intending to expand distribution and marketing efforts, particularly internationally. BATISTE is experiencing mid to high single-digit growth and gaining market share, with upcoming innovations and advertising campaigns. VITAFUSION vitamins have seen a recent decline despite prior market growth, stabilizing after doubling in size over the past few years. Overall, the focus is on expanding distribution, driving awareness, and investing in marketing to sustain and enhance market positions.

The paragraph discusses a company's strategies for tackling a downturn by accelerating innovation and launching a renovated product portfolio. Key initiatives include introducing improved formulas across all product SKUs, launching a powerful vitamin product called Power Plus MultiVites, and offering sugar-free variants to meet market demands. The company plans significant investment in these innovations and corresponding marketing efforts. Stacey Ramstedt, the new CMO, highlights the success of new products like Deep Clean and ARM & HAMMER Power Sheets, which contributed significantly to the company's growth in 2024, particularly by tapping into the fast-growing laundry segment.

The paragraph discusses ARM & HAMMER's plans for product innovation and expansion in 2025. It highlights the ARM & HAMMER Hardball lightweight litter as a key product with potential for growth. The company plans to increase awareness and trial of this product. Additionally, it introduces new products in the laundry category's free and clear segment, including ARM & HAMMER Deep Clean detergent and Power Sheets, both targeting consumers with sensitive skin. The Deep Clean detergent is notable for its SkinSAFE certification, providing assurance on quality and safety. The Power Sheets offer fragrance-free cleaning with 50% more cleaning power than the leading value brand. Lastly, the paragraph hints at another new product, ARM & HAMMER Plant Power.

The paragraph describes two major product initiatives. First, a new natural clumping litter uses hardball technology to avoid additives, aiming to improve odor control and clump quality, potentially generating over $30 million. Second, VITAFUSION plans three new initiatives for 2025: introducing an improved formula with enhanced flavor and texture, new Power Plus MultiVites offering 100% daily value of 10 essential nutrients and additional boosts for women's and men's multis, like choline and CoQ-10, addressing the sugar content concern for non-gummy users.

The paragraph discusses VITAFUSION's expansion into sugar-free products, which will soon account for over 60% of sales with new launches like Power C and men's multi. It emphasizes the importance of maintaining taste while offering sugar-free alternatives. The narrative then shifts to Church & Dwight's HERO brand, introducing the HERO Mighty Patch Body patch designed for better adhesion to curved body areas and effectively addressing body acne. Finally, BATISTE Light dry shampoo is introduced, catering to those who prefer a lighter product on days three and four.

The paragraph discusses the launch of BATISTE Light dry shampoo, highlighting its features like no white residue, a lighter feel, and a pleasant fragrance. The speaker, involved in marketing for Church & Dwight, introduces two new advertising spots for the product's launch, which are showcased to the audience. The paragraph also hints at more product launches in the latter half of 2025. The speaker then introduces Carlos Linares, who leads R&D, to explain the innovation process behind the product.

The speaker discusses their journey to Church & Dwight after a career at large and mid-sized companies, including Procter & Gamble and Johnson & Johnson. They've been with Church & Dwight for seven and a half years, during which they've helped transform the company's approach to innovation, making it unique and sustainable compared to competitors. The company's innovation strategy expanded from one to five sources, emphasizing complementary rather than competing elements. This approach leverages the company's diverse range of brands and categories, allowing them to connect innovations in ways larger companies cannot due to structural silos. An example of this innovative approach is the introduction of BATISTE Sweat Activated.

The paragraph discusses a company's strategy for innovation, particularly focusing on odor control across various consumer needs like oral care and deodorants. Instead of individual R&D departments working separately, the company forms platform teams that collaborate across different categories to create scale and efficiency. This approach allowed them to adapt existing technologies from different areas into new categories, such as hair care, exemplified by their use of BATISTE. The company emphasizes integrating diverse competencies and leveraging multiple complementary innovation sources, resulting in more than 50% of their product pipeline coming from these new methods. Ultimately, with a robust pipeline, their focus shifts to strategic decision-making, using a grid that balances science-based innovation and business growth.

The paragraph discusses the company's strategic approach to marketing investments and innovation. It highlights a balanced innovation portfolio with successful transformational products like "Shoots," which have been well-received by consumers. The company emphasizes scaling successful innovations and has a strong pipeline for future releases. They focus on increasing incremental net sales (INS) rather than gross sales, considering post-cannibalization metrics to ensure true growth. The company has successfully contributed significantly to overall growth by focusing on innovations that drive incremental sales.

The paragraph discusses the company's growth and expansion since 2017, highlighting a nearly fourfold increase in incremental revenue due to its growth. The company anticipates continued momentum in 2025 and credits its success to a sustainable business model. It has established a global presence with seven major centers and six regional sites for technical and regulatory support, with no overlap in functions, emphasizing efficiency. The company integrates its R&D, regulatory, quality, and marketing teams under one organization to create a cohesive innovation engine, providing a competitive advantage over larger and smaller companies.

The paragraph discusses the achievements and growth strategies of the international division led by Mike Read. The division follows an evergreen model aiming for 8% organic growth annually and operates through subsidiary markets in six countries and the Global Markets Group across over 100 countries with 400 distributor partners. They support these operations with regional offices in Shanghai, Singapore, Mumbai, London, and Panama. In 2024, the division experienced significant growth, with sub-markets increasing by almost 5% and the GMG business by 19%, due to improved service levels, portfolio management, and new acquisitions, particularly THERABREATH. This consistent growth has been evident over the past several years.

The company is experiencing broad-based growth across brands, markets, and quarters, demonstrating strong momentum and confidence in its strategy. Despite a slowdown during COVID, its growth has been consistent over the past decade. The company's international business, currently at 18%, offers significant growth opportunities, with room for geographic and brand expansion. Its brand portfolio performs well globally, leveraging U.S. power brands like ARM & HAMMER and unique international brands such as BATISTE. The company is also effectively accelerating acquisitions to contribute to its growth, with THERABREATH being a notable example.

The paragraph discusses the global expansion and success of several product brands. HERO is rapidly being rolled out internationally, expected to be in over 50 countries by early 2025, setting a precedent for future acquisitions. STERIMAR, a significant international brand in the natural nasal hygiene space, celebrates its 50th anniversary and is present in over 90 countries. BATISTE, the world's largest dry shampoo brand, is expanding through innovation. OXICLEAN, experiencing a 20% growth last year, is increasing its market presence, particularly successful in Canada and Japan, and has recently launched into the liquid segment in Japan, indicating continued momentum and growth potential.

The paragraph discusses the brand's efforts to expand globally, particularly through the introduction of Power Sheets in new markets, aiming to be in 25 markets by the end of 2025. They are already a leader on Amazon in Mexico and are focusing on using innovation from the U.S. market. The brand has also made strategic acquisitions, such as a partner in Japan, and implemented a global ERP system for easier collaboration. They have expanded their offices in Panama and Singapore, and highlighted the significance of leveraging new product development (NPD) and the THERABREATH acquisition as key contributors to their growth strategy.

The paragraph discusses Church & Dwight's international growth strategy and investment in mergers and acquisitions in Europe and APAC, in addition to the U.S. The speaker, Surabhi Pokhriyal, introduces herself as the leader of the digital e-commerce media and optimization team, highlighting the team's high caliber and alignment with the company's goals to accelerate e-commerce and media efforts. Church & Dwight's e-commerce sales account for over 21% of their business, placing them among the top performers in the consumer packaged goods industry. The company focuses on being present wherever their consumers are.

The paragraph discusses the growth of online retail, particularly after COVID, highlighting the convenience it offers consumers. The company has been capitalizing on this trend with its seven power brands, notably ARM & HAMMER Laundry, which has shown significant online market share growth despite laundry traditionally being a brick-and-mortar category. The company is winning online share across multiple platforms like Amazon, Target, Walmart, and Kroger, not just in laundry but also in brands like Zicam, Nair, THERABREATH, and HERO, which has expanded successfully from digital to physical retail.

The paragraph discusses the evolving landscape where content and commerce are increasingly interconnected, with retailers adopting social and community-building strategies and social platforms aspiring to become retail spaces. The speaker emphasizes their priority of remaining at the intersection of commerce and content. They highlight the role of AI in addressing specific business problems, particularly in marketing. The speaker also addresses e-commerce expansion, mentioning a current 18% global business share with aspirations for growth. They describe social media as a significant "third shelf of discovery," facilitating unintentional shopping experiences during consumer browsing.

The paragraph discusses a company's strategic approach to digital marketing and consumer engagement. They collaborate with both micro and key influencers to impact consumer decisions and have achieved high engagement rates on platforms like TikTok, where their content not only garners views but also active interactions, fostering long-term consumer loyalty. They ensure their media efforts aren't dead ends by enabling easy shopping access, with most media leading to a purchase option in one to two clicks. Additionally, they leverage AI to optimize creative content for various screen sizes, from mobile phones to large televisions, to improve the shopping experience.

The paragraph discusses the importance of AI in enhancing the visibility and appeal of ARM & HAMMER products online, particularly within a crucial five-second window on platforms like Amazon and Walmart. AI tools, such as eyeball tracking, help optimize creative content to boost consumer interest and conversion rates. The global success of products like THERABREATH, Mighty Patch HERO, and Power Sheets is highlighted, with these category disruptors quickly achieving top market positions in various international retailers, including Olive Young in Korea and in countries like France, Germany, and Mexico.

The paragraph discusses the company's remarkable digital growth and e-commerce success, emphasizing a strategic approach to selecting what, when, and where to sell online, as well as optimizing media spend for maximum ROI, with 82% of marketing dollars going to digital media. Rapid market launches of products like HERO, THERABREATH, and Sheets online allow for early consumer feedback and adjustments before broader physical store releases. The company plans to increase its use of AI and technology through third-party partnerships. The speaker concludes by introducing Shitij Chabba, who will discuss a significant business pivot in the Specialty Products Division.

The paragraph discusses the Specialty Products Division (SPD) of a CPG company, highlighting its role in contributing to the company's growth. The SPD includes three businesses, with the largest being animal nutrition, which originated from selling sodium bicarbonate to dairy cows to improve digestion and milk production. The division now produces feed supplements, prebiotics, and probiotics. Unlike other companies, SPD offers a unique service by visiting farms, collecting samples, and analyzing them in their Wisconsin lab to provide tailored probiotic solutions. The division reported over $300 million in revenue last year, with 60% from animal nutrition and 40% from Specialty Chemicals.

The paragraph discusses a company's diverse product offerings and strategic improvements. They offer customized probiotic solutions under the CERTILLUS brand, large-scale ARM & HAMMER sodium bicarbonate for industrial and medical applications, and B2B packaging services for various sectors. The company recently implemented a new strategy called SPD Reimagined to address inconsistent performance, leading to a significant sales turnaround from a negative 8% in 2023 to a positive 7% organic growth in 2024. The leadership team is optimistic about future growth.

The paragraph discusses the company's strategic focus on divesting non-core assets, such as shutting down their MegaLac dairy supplement and food safety businesses, to optimize their portfolio and enhance profitability. They have targeted growth in international markets, specifically Eurasia and Latin America, by hiring new sales leaders. They've also invested in marketing and innovation, launching new products like HatchWell and Newell to address specific issues in the poultry industry. The company emphasizes the importance of marketing and brand positioning for success in B2B environments.

The paragraph discusses the rebranding and marketing success of animal nutrition products, particularly highlighting products like HatchWell and Newell that have improved chicken mobility and productivity. It emphasizes the company's international growth, noting a 7% increase last year and expansion into 15 new countries. The focus on innovation, product registration, and strong marketing has contributed to Church & Dwight's consistent growth, with the international market now accounting for 28% of sales. The paragraph closes with excitement about future growth and mentions the passing of discussion back to CEO Matt Farrell.

The paragraph discusses the importance of execution and strong leadership in a company's success, drawing analogies between sports and business. It highlights that successful companies, like the one being discussed, have exceptional leadership and a positive culture that attracts skilled, low-ego employees throughout all levels of the organization. The speaker, who will be leaving the company in April, emphasizes confidence in the company's future under the leadership of Rick and the management team. The company's consistent focus on its five operating principles is also mentioned as a foundation of its long-term success.

The paragraph discusses a company's commitment to executing its operating model, emphasizing personal commitment to goals and the importance of environmental responsibility. It highlights the company's heritage and ongoing environmental initiatives, such as using recycled materials, eliminating phosphates from detergent, planting millions of trees, and offsetting global electricity with green energy. The company also signed up for science-based targets to reduce CO2 emissions. Additionally, there's a mention of the ARM & HAMMER brand's heritage, including collectible bird cards, which can still be purchased on eBay.

The paragraph discusses a company's focus on ESG metrics, maintaining a lean workforce, and achieving high sales per employee. The company emphasizes e-commerce growth and a straightforward compensation structure based on net revenue, gross margin, cash, EPS, and strategic initiatives. This approach fosters financial literacy and prioritizes gross margin improvement through supply chain efficiency and launching profitable new products. The company also adopts an asset-light strategy, preferring to acquire businesses without physical plants, and keeps capital expenditures low at 2% of sales.

The paragraph discusses a company's financial outlook and growth strategies. Approximately 30% of its finished products are made by third parties, maintaining an asset-light approach. It emphasizes the importance of successful acquisitions, avoiding overpayment, and ensuring integration. The company foresees a slow period in 2023-2024 but remains optimistic about 2025. Rick Dierker outlines a 3-4% organic growth target, 25 basis point gross margin expansion, and a 7-8% EPS growth expectation, alongside generating around $1.1 billion in cash flow. The company traditionally achieves growth through mergers and acquisitions (M&A), with historical organic growth averaging 4%. The focus is on volume-driven growth and improving productivity, aiming to return to 2019 margin levels through ongoing efficiency programs.

The paragraph discusses the company's financial outlook for 2025, highlighting expected margin benefits and challenges. It mentions that volume and mix will add 30 basis points to margins, while costs, including commodity prices and depreciation, will drag by 150 basis points, balanced by productivity gains. Marketing spending is expected to exceed 11%, and SG&A will be leveraged to support investments in capabilities like e-commerce and international expansion. The company aims for high single to double-digit EPS growth, targeting 7%-9% in 2025, with more revenue growth anticipated in the latter part of the year. The CFO emphasizes the importance of strong free cash flow, citing a 115% conversion rate, effective working capital management, and a strong balance sheet with a 1.5x debt to EBITDA ratio.

The paragraph highlights the company's robust financial position, with over $6 billion earmarked for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) as the primary capital allocation priority. Although no deals have been made recently, the executive leadership team is actively seeking strategic acquisitions. Capital expenditures, new product development, and potential debt reduction follow in priority, with debt reduction being challenging due to already prepaid debts. The company emphasizes a strong track record of dividend payments over 124 years, suggesting a commitment to shareholder returns. Additionally, the firm is exploring both domestic and international M&A opportunities, with an expanded team in Europe and Asia, reflecting confidence in future growth across different markets.

The paragraph highlights the significant contributions of Matt Farrell to the growth and culture of a management company over 18 years, expanding it from a $2 billion to a $6 billion revenue entity and increasing its market cap from $3 billion to $26 billion. It emphasizes Farrell's role in building essential capabilities like e-commerce and pricing, contributing to the company's non-insular, agile approach to opportunity execution. The discussion then shifts to the company's vitamin business, acknowledging past declines but expressing optimism about future growth driven by major innovations and initiatives led by the new CMO and team, despite anticipating short-term declines.

In the paragraph, Rick Dierker and Matt Farrell discuss the successful international expansion of the HERO brand. Despite typically taking 2-3 years to introduce a U.S. brand internationally, HERO has rapidly entered 40 countries, soon to be 50. The brand quickly achieved leading positions in key markets, particularly in acne treatment, with just its initial product offerings, and has yet to explore its full innovation potential. The enthusiasm and sales performance have exceeded expectations, even before launching new products. Dierker shares an anecdote about the brand's success in South Africa, highlighting its strong market performance compared to other brands.

In this discussion, Rick Dierker and Carlen Hooker address the challenges and strategies related to gaining shelf space for the VITAFUSION brand. Rick notes that gaining more shelf space is difficult when a business is in decline, and emphasizes the need to demonstrate a solid strategy to retailers to regain credibility and relationships. Carlen echoes the importance of rebuilding credibility with retailers. Rick also mentions focusing on international investment and growth, aligning with broader strategic goals and aspirations, as areas for potential emphasis under his leadership.

The paragraph discusses a company's approach to innovation and investment. It emphasizes the importance of making significant investments in promising innovations and suggests that some of the company's 80 brands have the potential for more success. The speaker, Rick Dierker, mentions that the percentage of marketing investment, historically between 10.5% and 11.5%, is less critical than the overall market performance of their shares. He highlights that marketing investment varies depending on the brand and indicates a focus on evaluating which capabilities or categories might be better developed internally or externally regarding mergers and acquisitions (M&A).

The paragraph discusses the strategic approach the company takes towards mergers and acquisitions (M&A). The team focuses on becoming rapid experts when evaluating potential deals, conducting extensive due diligence even if it means walking away from a deal due to unfavorable factors like high private label exposure or dubious claims by a company. An example of a successful acquisition is HERO, which brought digital expertise and innovation, particularly in content creation. HERO's younger, digitally savvy workforce enhanced the company's capabilities, which have been integrated into the broader ecosystem. Both Surabhi Pokhriyal and Carlen Hooker highlight HERO's impact and partnerships that have benefited the company. Matt Farrell adds a personal note about attending a HERO event, emphasizing the cultural aspect of the acquisition.

The paragraph discusses the integration of a startup with a different culture into Church & Dwight, highlighting the challenges and learning experiences gained. It credits Stacey for managing the integration and notes the involvement of two of the three founders, which helped preserve the startup's unique qualities. Looking ahead, the company believes it is well-positioned to acquire other startups. On the business side, Chris Carey and Rick Dierker discuss category growth projections, referencing a past 4% growth target and noting fluctuations over the past year, with category growth expected to be around 2.5% next year. They emphasize understanding and adapting to these growth dynamics as critical for the company's planning.

The paragraph discusses the company's approach to maintaining and growing its market share, using laundry as an example of a consistent category. Despite competition trying to regain market share, the company has managed to retain over 50% of its share from the previous year. Promotional levels have returned to pre-COVID norms, contributing to a projected growth range of 3% to 4%. The company acknowledges macroeconomic factors such as high prices, stagnant wages, rising costs, and declining consumer confidence, which have not changed its outlook since early 2024. These considerations support the decision to project a 3% to 4% growth in 2025.

In the paragraph, the discussion revolves around the reasons behind a 2% organic sales growth forecast for the first quarter, which is lower than the previous quarter. Rick Dierker attributes this to unpredictable patterns in their international business and the timing of club promotions. An unidentified analyst then shifts the focus to the international opportunities for the HERO brand, questioning whether it will mirror the U.S. market's past experience or face stronger competition. The analyst also inquires about the market potential for THERABREATH, specifically comparing the opportunities for alcohol-free versus alcohol-based mouthwash. Mike Read notes that the brand's performance is consistent across international markets.

The paragraph discusses the strategic positioning and competitive dynamics of a company in various markets, particularly in the Far East, where they are successfully establishing their brand amidst intense competition. The company is confident in its brand and pipeline when expanding into new markets. On the subject of mouthwash, Rick Dierker and Matt Farrell mention the company's strong position as the number 2 player overall, focusing on growth in the non-alcohol segment, which is expanding at 7%, compared to a decline in alcohol-containing products. An unidentified analyst inquires about gross margin targets, noting innovation at the premium end, and questions if tariffs have been factored in as a potential economic headwind.

The paragraph discusses a company's strategy to handle inflation and tariffs affecting their supply chain and costs. Rick Dierker highlights that despite higher inflation, the company has managed to expand its gross margin by 25 basis points through productivity improvements. Carlen Hooker notes challenges with increased costs of commodities like ethylene and natural gas, but emphasizes the success of their productivity program. The company has also worked to minimize its exposure to tariffs by focusing on local manufacturing and continues to adapt to volatile economic situations.

In the paragraph, an unidentified analyst inquires about the strategic repositioning of a business, focusing on the shift of the vitamin category from drug stores to online and the impact of private-label competition. The discussion then shifts to ARM & HAMMER's success in the laundry segment, particularly with their Deep Clean product. Rick Dierker explains that while a previous attempt to introduce OXICLEAN as a premium detergent failed, ARM & HAMMER's new product has succeeded beyond expectations, yielding impressive incremental net sales and strong consumer reviews. Carlen Hooker adds that both the company and retailers are very pleased with the innovation and its reception in the market.

The paragraph discusses the company's collaborative approach to business strategy, particularly in the vitamin sector, emphasizing the importance of online sales, as half of vitamins and a third of gummies are sold online. It highlights the need for a broad strategy beyond physical stores. The conversation shifts to questions from Steve Powers about an ERP upgrade, confirming no revenue recognition issues in 2025, with implementation planned for early 2026. An unidentified representative mentions the essential role of the SAP system in the company's operations and growth capabilities.

In this paragraph, Carlos Linares discusses open innovation at a company, highlighting two specific examples: one involving extruded sorghum used as an alternative to clay, and another related to grains leveraging expertise in food nutrition. He emphasizes the importance of collaboration with external partners and using internal design thinking and consumer feedback to drive innovation. Rick Dierker and Bonnie Herzog then shift the discussion towards international expansion, with Bonnie specifically asking Rick for more details on the growth differences between the Global Markets group and subsidiaries, as well as potential opportunities for growth.

The paragraph discusses the company's strategy for expanding into new markets and the associated risks. Rick Dierker expresses enthusiasm for global expansion, mentioning the success of brands like OXICLEAN in new countries such as Japan, and plans to grow further through mergers and acquisitions. Mike Read adds that the company is experiencing broad growth across its network, with mature subsidiaries outpacing market growth and newer markets like Germany and Mexico showing double-digit growth, indicating strong contributions and success in global market expansion.

The paragraph discusses the company's focus on growth in Latin America, Eastern Europe, India, and the Middle East for 2024, noting that market strategies will vary by country. It highlights the importance of selecting the right brands and partnerships to succeed in different markets. An unidentified analyst inquires about the company's 2025 guidance, particularly in the context of potential commodity inflation and its impact on pricing strategies in the U.S. Rick Dierker responds by stating that price increases are not being considered due to consumer exhaustion, and the focus will be on offsetting inflation through productivity improvements. If a significant inflation event occurs, the company may reassess its strategy.

In the paragraph, an unidentified analyst asks about the challenges of maintaining growth for the THERABREATH brand, given past successes, and inquires about marketing and innovation spending plans. Rick Dierker responds, emphasizing that there is still significant growth potential for both the HERO and THERABREATH brands due to low household penetration and brand awareness. He indicates that they plan to invest heavily in these areas, highlighting their culture of problem-solving and strengthening brand strengths. Stacey Ramstedt adds that both brands currently have low unaided and aided awareness, suggesting substantial room for growth.

The paragraph discusses strategies to drive brand awareness and attract new users for their products, particularly focusing on innovation and marketing in areas like acne treatment and laundry detergents. Rick Dierker mentions investment prioritization for various new product launches. Matt Farrell adds that despite challenges in their vitamin business, overall growth continues, and emphasizes looking at the broader context of the company's performance. He also mentions it being his final visit to the stock exchange, expressing nostalgia and gratitude for the experiences and relationships developed over the years, and looks forward to the upcoming CAGNY conference.

The speaker announced that they will be leaving the company on April 1st, emphasized the strength and talent of the management team and company, and their commitment to delivering results. They highlighted the company's strong financial position and potential for growth through acquisitions, concluding the meeting with a positive note on the company's prospects.

This summary was generated with AI and may contain some inaccuracies.