Firm taps former Amazon exec to lead ecommerce business in bid to deal with change in algorithm that depressed sales

05-Dec-2018 - Last updated on 11-Dec-2018 at 22:07 GMT

Supplement marketer Relevium Technologies has added a so-called ‘Amazon expert’ to its staff, apparently in a bid to help the online seller deal with changes to Amazon’s algorithm that have impacted the brand’s business.

Relevium announced today that it has contracted with Rohan Mendonza and his company, NForce Labs Inc., to lead its Amazon business. According to Relevium, Mendonza and spent nine years at Amazon and most recently was Director of Operations at Amazon.com Inc. He is founder and CEO of NForce Labs, Inc., an e-commerce consulting firm helping brands streamline supply chains, grow organic marketing, and optimize paid advertising services with the goal of maximizing clients’ return on investment.

Mendoza has an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering and an MBA from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.

“We are very excited to have Mr. Mendonza and the NForce Labs team lead our Amazon marketplace operations and introduce world-class best practices to our portfolio of trusted online brands,” said Aurelio Useche, CEO.

Impact of algorithm change

Relevium markets a wide variety of dietary supplements under a subsidiary named BGX. According to the company it now has 52 formulas on the market under the brand name Bioganix. Late last month, in announcing its first quarter results, Relevium had this to say:

“During the first quarter ended September 30, 2018, the Company’s topline revenues were impacted by major changes in Amazon’s Algorithm, which affected overall rankings and PPC spending for all sellers. These changes to the A9 algorithm continue to take place affecting marketplace dynamics throughout the first quarter.”

During the three months ended September 30, 2018, the company reported $985,051 in revenues ($1,152,944 in 2017) from its Bioganix brand. The decrease were the direct results of changes in the A9 algorithm and market dynamics in the amazon marketplace, including decreased demand in weight management products that were trending in 2017.

Among the new SKUs that Relevium has launched is an omega-7 product based on an ingredient manufactured by Tersus Pharmaceuticals. The product is backed by Tina Sampalis, MD PhD, one of the pioneers of krill oil as an ingredient during her time with Neptune Technologies and Bioressources, which has since moved on into finished product formulation and CBD extraction. Sampalis sits on the board of Relevium.