Aaron Heidebreicht, a 20-year sports nutrition executive who most recently ran Applied Nutrition's North American operations as CEO, has been appointed CEO North America at KA-EX, the Swiss functional beverage and supplement brand that crossed 4,000 US points of sale this year following a national launch at GNC in August 2026.
The hire signals a step-change in organizational investment for the Zurich-based company, which is building a dedicated US commercial team based in Nashville, Tennessee, under Heidebreicht's leadership. KA-EX founder and global CEO Pedro Schmidt said North America is the brand's most important growth market and described the appointment as a commitment to building "a lasting North American business."
The Retail Footprint
KA-EX entered GNC's full 2,200-door network in August 2026, giving the brand its largest single-account distribution in the US. Two further expansions are scheduled for January 2027: Vitamin Shoppe will add the line across more than 700 doors, and Earthbar will move from test-market status to a full-chain rollout. The brand is also carried on The Feed, where it ranks among the platform's highest-growth brands in 2026, alongside Amazon, GoPuff, and Rumble.
The distribution build follows a product portfolio of two SKUs — Creatine + Energy and Cortisol Stress Reducer — each available in ready-to-drink and ready-to-mix formats. The ready-to-drink line is built on VICAP, KA-EX's patented dual-chamber cap technology that keeps active ingredients physically separated from the liquid until the moment of consumption. Both products carry Informed Sport and NSF certification, credentials that carry weight in specialty fitness retail and with professional athletic accounts. The brand lists the Brooklyn Pro Pickleball Team, Brooklyn FC, and Tudor Pro Cycling among its athlete and team partners.
Executive Background
Heidebreicht's résumé tracks the consolidation of the US sports nutrition sector over the past two decades. He held a commercial leadership role at GNC before moving to Nutrabolt, then became Chief Commercial Officer at KAGED before taking the top North American post at Applied Nutrition. The background gives him established retailer relationships at the precise accounts KA-EX is targeting for expansion. "KA-EX does something no one else in this category does," Heidebreicht said, citing the VICAP technology as a shelf-level differentiator that retail partners are already responding to.
The appointment arrives as the premium sports supplement segment increasingly competes for space in specialty beverage retail and conventional grocery, with brands racing to secure certified, science-backed positioning to justify premium price points. Functional beverage innovation — particularly in the cortisol and recovery subcategories — has drawn heightened buyer interest across foodservice and fitness-adjacent retail channels. KA-EX's dual-product US lineup positions it squarely in both trends, targeting the performance-focused consumer who shops at GNC or Earthbar rather than mass grocery.
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.
