In episode 514 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Lorenzo De Plano, co-founder and CEO of ALP, the leading direct-to-consumer (DTC) nicotine pouch brand, valued at over $1 billion. Listen in as De Plano discusses the genesis and growth of the company (2:15), why launching DTC first provided a sandbox to test and learn before scaling to physical retail (7:30), and using first-party customer data to launch into new retail partner locations (9:40).

In addition, De Plano shares his approach to keeping organizations nimble and efficient during explosive growth (11:40) as well as why ALP invests in strategic partnerships to complement traditional advertising, such as its relationships with Tucker Carlson and Conor McGregor (15:00). Lastly, he discusses the brand's international expansion to Europe (18:30) and ALP's consumer-driven core message for nicotine users (20:00).

Lorenzo De Plano is an entrepreneur and investor. De Plano and his various ventures have been featured in Forbes, CNN, Inc., Entrepreneur, Business Insider, and numerous other print and digital publications. Among Lorenzo's recent ventures are DPGW, Solace Technologies, Silicon Farms, ALP Supply Co. and more.

In 2019, De Plano sold one of his companies (Solace Technologies) to Turning Point Brands (NYSE: TPB). At Turning Point Brands, De Plano led the relaunch of the Zig Zag brand and ran the company's New Ventures and Product Development division from 2019-2023. He is currently the chief of strategy at Turning Point Brands. De Plano is also the co-founder and CEO of ALP Supply Co. LLC. Outside of his operating roles, De Plano invests in early-stage startups and selectively targets asymmetric, event-driven opportunities in public markets.