From Garage to $100M: René van der Zel's XXL Nutrition Story

Dr. Niklas Richter · 2026-05-21

René van der Zel founded XXL Nutrition in a garage with no master plan. No investors, no five-year strategy, no fancy pitch deck. Just a simple idea: help people solve their problems. Today, that garage startup has grown into a business generating over $100 million in revenue with more than 200 employees. ### Growth Was Never the Goal Here's the thing: XXL Nutrition didn't set out to get big. Growth wasn't the target. It was just what happened when they focused on getting better. René puts it simply: "Nobody wants a product. People want a solution to their problem." And once you understand that, you don't need complicated marketing tricks. You just need to deliver. Be easy to reach. Take your customers seriously. Think about their needs, not your ego. ### No Market Research Needed They never did formal market research. Why? Because they were their own customers. René and his team lived and breathed the fitness lifestyle. They knew what worked, what didn't, and what was missing. That insider perspective guided every decision. ### Customer Service Is Your Foundation Most businesses treat customer service like a cost to minimize. XXL Nutrition treats it like the bedrock of everything they do. When you call or email, you get real help from real people who actually care. That builds trust. And trust spreads faster than any ad campaign. ### Word of Mouth: The Real Growth Engine Their biggest marketing investment? Being worth talking about. René explains that when you solve someone's problem genuinely, they tell others. No gimmicks. No flashy promises. Just consistent, reliable service that makes people want to share their experience. ### Stay Normal, Even at Scale Here's what's wild: XXL Nutrition works with elite athletes who use their products. But they've never let that go to their heads. René insists on staying grounded. "Normal" is a core value. Treat everyone the same—whether it's a beginner looking for their first protein powder or a pro athlete prepping for competition. ### Small Improvements Add Up René believes in the power of tiny, daily improvements. Not grand gestures. Not overnight transformations. Just small tweaks that compound over time. Better packaging. Faster shipping. Clearer instructions. Each one seems minor alone, but together they create something massive. ### The Takeaway If you're an entrepreneur in the US, here's what you can learn from René's story: Stop obsessing over growth. Start obsessing over your customers. Listen to them. Solve their problems. Be easy to work with. Stay humble. The rest will follow. Want to hear more? Check out the full interview on the Belgian Entrepreneurs podcast (available at www.belgische-ondernemers.be). Thanks to our partners Teamleader and Cloudpoint for making this episode possible.