Glucose Health, Inc. (GLUC) has appointed Gerry David — the executive who helped build Celsius Holdings (CELH) into one of the convenience channel's top-selling functional energy brands — as chairman of its newly formed Strategic Advisory Board, the company announced June 4.
David's mandate centers on growth strategy and business development, roles that mirror the work he did at Celsius, where he oversaw the brand's aggressive expansion into c-store cooler doors before it became a fixture in nearly every chain's cold-vault set. His appointment signals that Glucose Health is prioritizing retail and away-from-home channels as its next commercial frontier.
Glucose Health markets a low-glycemic, functional hydration tablet and drink platform aimed at consumers managing blood-sugar levels — a category that has drawn increased attention from convenience buyers as better-for-you beverages continue to take share in the dispensed-beverage and packaged-drink cooler. NACS data has consistently shown that alternative and functional beverages rank among the fastest-growing cold-vault subcategories for single-store operators and regional chains alike.
David brings hard-won channel fluency to the role. During his tenure at Celsius, the brand navigated the jump from specialty fitness retail to mainstream forecourt and back-of-house cooler placement — a distribution arc that required deep relationships with category managers at the top ten chains as well as DSD network alignment. That infrastructure knowledge is precisely what an emerging functional brand needs to compete for facing space against entrenched energy and sports-drink SKUs.
The strategic advisory structure gives Glucose Health executive-level guidance without the overhead of a full C-suite hire, a common approach for growth-stage better-for-you brands targeting the c-store channel. No financial terms of the appointment were disclosed. The company has not yet announced specific retail distribution targets or launch timelines for new channel partnerships.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.