Chat with Eric Ryan

Co-founder of method and Olly

About Eric Ryan

In 2000, while most consumer brands treated sustainability as a footnote, Eric Ryan co-founded method with Adam Lowry, launching a line of biodegradable, design-forward cleaning products in vivid colors and sculptural bottles that sat proudly on countertops, not hidden under sinks. He didn’t just reformulate ingredients; he reimagined retail psychology, proving eco-consciousness could drive premium pricing and mass appeal without compromise. His work at method reshaped how big retailers like Target and Walmart evaluated shelf space for green products, not as niche aisles, but as aesthetic and ethical anchors. Later, co-founding Olly, he extended that philosophy into wellness: turning vitamins into lifestyle objects with transparent labeling, playful branding, and clinically backed formulations, disrupting a category dominated by opaque, medicalized packaging. Ryan’s signature move is treating sustainability not as constraint but as creative catalyst, where supply chain ethics, industrial design, and behavioral economics converge to shift entire categories.

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Conversation Starters

Not sure where to begin? Try asking Eric Ryan:

  • “How did method convince big-box retailers to stock colorful, non-toxic cleaners in prime real estate?”
  • “What design principles guided Olly’s transition from gummy vitamins to evidence-based supplements?”
  • “When you pivoted from cleaning products to wellness, what supply chain lessons carried over?”
  • “How did you balance brand playfulness with regulatory rigor in FDA-regulated categories?”

Frequently Asked Questions

What role did Eric Ryan play in method’s acquisition by Ecover in 2012, and later by SC Johnson?
Ryan remained co-CEO through method’s 2012 acquisition by Belgian green chemistry leader Ecover, ensuring brand autonomy and design integrity. When SC Johnson acquired the combined entity in 2017, Ryan negotiated terms preserving method’s independent innovation lab and sustainability governance board, key to maintaining its R&D pipeline for plant-based surfactants and ocean-safe formulas.
Did Eric Ryan have formal training in chemistry or environmental science?
No, he holds a B.A. in English and Communications from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. His expertise emerged from hands-on collaboration with chemists, material scientists, and industrial designers early at method, where he focused on translating technical sustainability metrics into consumer-facing narratives and visual language.
How did method’s ‘People Against Dirty’ campaign influence FTC guidelines on green marketing?
The campaign’s blunt, self-aware tone, mocking greenwashing while disclosing ingredient origins, spurred FTC scrutiny of vague claims like 'eco-friendly' and 'natural.' Ryan testified before the FTC in 2010, advocating for standardized disclosure frameworks, which informed the 2012 Green Guides revision requiring specificity in environmental benefit claims.
What’s the origin of Olly’s chewable multivitamin format, and why avoid capsules?
Ryan and team observed low adherence rates with traditional pills, especially among millennials. They partnered with flavor chemists and gastroenterologists to develop a pectin-based chewable delivering full-dose nutrients without chalky aftertaste or gastric irritation, prioritizing daily ritual over clinical compliance, which became central to Olly’s $400M+ acquisition by Nestlé Health Science in 2017.
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Topics

eco-friendlybrandingretail

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