Kristen Stoehr is a Brand Manager at Nestlé and the founder of Vital Pursuit. She received a B.S. in Food and Nutrition from Miami University, completed post-baccalaureate training at Vanderbilt University Medical Center to become a credentialed Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and completed an M.B.A. from The Pennsylvania State University.

“My career has always been in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry, but not always in marketing,” she says. “Some of my more unique roles have been in commercial development, regulatory and scientific affairs and category management, which gives me a unique end-to-end perspective in brand management.”

Currently, Kristen serves on the Miami University College of Education, Health and Society board and she is a proud mom to three young children.

“In my role, I lead brand development, experience and long-range strategy for Vital Pursuit. I am driven by a passion for food and beverage and the opportunity to impact that landscape on a macro scale,” she says. “With any brand I manage, I look at brand building through the point of view of the consumer – and lead with empathy to best serve them. The core of my experience within CPG is commercial – driving strategy, brand building and sales development on brands ranging from cross-category to internal upstart brands. It’s that experience that drives me to think bigger and bolder with Vital Pursuit.”

What is Vital Pursuit? 

“Through our nutrition expertise and consumer-centric approach, we identified a need for a new line of products that delivers great taste and functional benefits to provide dietary support for GLP-1 users or those otherwise managing their weight,” says Kristen.

Vital Pursuit is the first-to-market brand from Nestlé intended for GLP-1 users with the goal of complementing the eating habits of millions of Americans who are currently prescribed a weight loss medication and anyone actively working to manage their weight.

“Each weight management journey for GLP-1 users is personal, but the common thread continues to be the importance of consuming a nutritious diet through smaller portions. We want Vital Pursuit to be an ally in creating lasting lifestyle changes and protecting our consumers’ hard-earned progress,” she continues. “Vital Pursuit delivers the nutrients this consumer group needs with thoughtfully portioned products that offer at least 20 grams of protein, great taste and options with vibrant vegetables. Chef and dietitian crafted, the new line offers 14 frozen meals that are convenient, flavour-forward and take just minutes to prepare.”

The line includes vegetarian and gluten-free options and offers several air fryer ready items for those seeking great taste and added accessibility. Vital Pursuit is now available at retailers across the United States including Walmart, Target and Kroger. 

“Throughout the years, Nestlé has evolved to serve a variety of consumers and offer products that fit a variety of needs,” she says. “Our team’s latest opportunity has been focused on the evolving nutritional needs and wishes of the growing number of individuals taking GLP-1s.” 

Vital Pursuit: A tailored approach to nutrition for weight loss medication users

In determining the need for Vital Pursuit, Kristen and her team spent a lot of time with consumers who take weight loss medication to better understand their reality – what their day looks like, their pains and gains, the changes they are or are not making to eating and shopping. 

“We also wanted to understand on a deeper level what the biggest nutrition challenges for individuals on GLP-1s are, so we could best serve and support them as a consumer group with unique needs,” she continues. “Based on this research and a review of additional existing research – these are the goals that emerged for us in terms of how to develop a line that would best support the needs of the GLP-1 user population.”

It needed to provide:   

• High protein to help preserve muscle mass  
• Nutrient dense ingredients to make every meal count, so that smaller portion sizes could still provide beneficial nutrients for health 
• Thoughtful portions to reflect a weight loss medication user’s appetite 
• Delicious, real food options with good carbs and veggies in approachable formats and flavours
• Fibre to help manage GI side effects – and because over 90% of American adults fail to meet recommended intakes
• A convenient preparation method, because we heard their desire to be able to make better choices without a ton of effort 
• Taste appeal – because of course, if it does not taste good, it won’t be nutritious anyway and food should be a joyful experience.

“Vital Pursuit is designed to meet these desires with thoughtfully portioned meals with high-quality ingredients and an excellent source of protein and essential nutrients,” she adds. “Our goal with Vital Pursuit is to help take the guesswork out of mealtime for the millions of Americans taking GLP-1 medications or pursuing weight management.”

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