EFX Sports is based in Billings, Montana, where its team formulates, tests, manufactures and ships the international sports nutrition brand. Coupang is EFX Sports’ first and largest channel in Korea, accounting for 90% of the company’s sales there. Founder and CEO, Brian Andrews, says “Coupang isn’t just a distributor – they’re a true partner in helping us succeed beyond the U.S.” EFX Sports has fans in dozens of countries and will soon launch three new products in South Korea where sales through Coupang have doubled since 2022.
Skateboarding through the streets of Richmond, Virginia, Brian Andrews was a lanky teen with a budding sense that sports and fitness could be his ultimate training ground. He was just 16 when he stopped by a local drug store, thumbed through the magazine rack and discovered a 19-year-old champion bodybuilder.
“I basically replaced skateboarding with working out, and then, I was hooked on it,” said Andrews, who immediately found a gym, a trainer and a passion for science, psychology and marketing. “I read every magazine and every book I could get my hands on, and then I started doing my own research. I knew there had to be a better way, and that’s what I was looking for.”
Andrews and his dad during his skateboarding days before embracing deadlifting in 1990.
The answer to “there has to be something better” has grown into a successful international brand. With the mindset that EFX Sports is more about a movement than a brand, the company entered the Korean market in 2022 with Coupang – and health-conscious consumers responded. Coupang sales have since doubled with popular products including Essential Amino Acids, Kre-Alkalyn EFX and Karbolyn. “Partnering with Coupang has been a game changer for us,” Andrews said. “They’ve opened a whole new market in South Korea, giving us access to a vast customer base and significantly boosting our brand visibility and sales. Their partnership has been key to our growth in the region.”
EFX Sports, which employs more than 150 people at its Montana facility, plans to expand its offerings in 2025 through Coupang. “What stands out is how reliable and collaborative they are. They’re excellent communicators, always supportive of new SKUs, and their marketing efforts – such as banners and site searches – have been incredibly effective,” Andrews said. “Coupang isn’t just a distributor – they’re a true partner in helping us succeed beyond the U.S.”
In his book “Formulated to Win!”, Andrews said that the lessons learned on the field or in the gym translate to excellence in everything you do. “For years, I studied the habits and mindsets of champions from every arena imaginable – sports legends, business moguls, musical icons, and more,” he wrote. Today, he describes his pillars of success as family, friends, finances, fitness and fulfillment – the performance zones where we all play the game of life.
Andrews and his book, Formulated to Win!
“Imagine optimizing your family dynamic, taming your finances, and reaching peak fitness – all while vaporizing any friction that dares to slow you down,” he says in “Formulated to Win!” “This is not a dream. It’s a reality waiting for you to seize it.”
