2023 was a turbulent year for the Quality Group, which includes the ESN and More Nutrition brands. Business Insider met More Nutrition founder Christian Wolf and product manager Nicolas Lother for the first interview after the scandalous months.
- Christian Wolf returns to the Quality Group after months of scandal and is once again involved with the More Nutrition brand.
- The Quality Group has 900 influencers under contract and is increasingly relying on direct sales via Amazon and retail.
- In 2023, the Quality Group was able to increase its sales by more than 50 percent and generated sales of over 700 million euros.
Christian Wolf is sitting at a long table in the headquarters of the supplement manufacturer Quality Group in Hamburg when Business Insider meets the entrepreneur at the end of May. Numerous products from the More Nutrition and ESN brands are lined up in front of him. From protein bars to low-sugar flavor enhancers. Behind him, the More Nutrition logo is emblazoned in neon letters. The logo is framed by small pedestals on which packages of protein powder are displayed. Wolf co-founded More Nutrition in 2017. He made the brand one of the largest in fitness Germany.
The setting on this day leaves no room for doubt: Wolf stands for the company, for the brands, for the products of the Quality Group.
Yet this was hardly conceivable for months. Last year, several media outlets reported critically about the Hamburg-based nutritional supplement producer, including Christian Wolf himself. The reports from “ZDF Magazin Royale”, “Strg F” and “Medwatch” dealt with questionable marketing and even threats.
After criticism came the threats
The reason for the reports were the so-called More Days. The brand organized a kind of festival for its customers, where they could meet the influencers of More Nutrition and purchase the products. However, many participants criticized the organization of the event. The main criticism was that there were not enough water dispensers.
At the same time, Christian Wolf and his then partner Antonia Elena, who was pregnant with his child, separated. The accusation was that he was putting his company above her. This was not well received on social media.
And finally, influencers who made critical comments about More Nutrition or Christian Wolf received threatening messages from an unknown person. According to “Medwatch”, the unknown person wrote to a then 16-year-old influencer after publishing a video: “If you want to keep being funny and think you’re cool”, then we can “talk to each other in person”. According to the media outlet, he also sent the teenager’s private address.
Influencers linked the threats primarily to Christian Wolf himself. Wolf then said goodbye to social media and later withdrew from the company. The Quality Group announced at the time on Instagram: “After leaving social media, Christian Wolf – co-founder of the More Nutrition brand – has now completely withdrawn from the business with immediate effect.”
There is nothing more to say on the subject of threats. Except that there is nothing to the allegations
Christian Wolf on the accusation of threat
In the background, an external law firm was investigating the allegations of threats on behalf of the Quality Group, and the public prosecutor’s office was also investigating. However, according to Business Insider information, the case was dropped at the end of last year. Wolf tells us: “There is nothing more to say on the subject of threats. Except that there is nothing to the allegations.”
More Nutrition and ESN: The first interview after the scandal months
Business Insider met Wolf and Quality Group product manager Nicolas Lother for the first conversation after the months of scandal. They revealed why Wolf is back at More Nutrition and what’s next for the brands.