Biotech entrepreneur Afif Ghannoum focuses on finding more efficient ways to move scientific discoveries out of the lab and into consumer products.
Ghannoum began his career as an attorney before entering the entrepreneurial arena in 2010 when he joined forces with his father, Dr. Mahmoud Ghannoum, a professor at Case Western University and expert in microbiology. Backed by a team of medical professionals, they launched Oasis Consumer Healthcare, a Cleveland-based company that develops oral care products for dry mouth, plaque, gingivitis and colds.
Next, the father-and-son duo established Biohm Health in 2016, drawing upon Dr. Ghannoum’s research to develop probiotic and supplement products. In contrast to competitors that target bacteria’s impact on gut health, Biohm also addresses fungi’s role in digestion. Since then, Biohm has grown into a thriving second-stage business, and in addition to its own brand of over-the-counter products, it has added B2B services, developing ingredients and products for other companies.
In 2024 Ghannoum embarked on his latest venture: CPG Radar, which serves clients in the consumer package goods (CPG) industry, especially those in the dietary supplement segment. Leveraging a massive proprietary dataset of nutritional products and clinical science, CPG Radar not only accelerates product development, but also ensures that companies are making the right decisions at the right time. Analyzing millions of data points in real time, the company’s AI platform can quickly:
- Narrow down potential ingredients for a product launch.
- Validate if a formula really is unique in the market.
- Understand what kind of claims other companies are making.
- Help clients design a clinical trial and see how companies with similar products have handled their trials.
“We help companies build the next generation of innovative products by finding out which ones are the best fit for their technologies,” Ghannoum says. “Instead of relying on institutional knowledge and anecdotal trends, CPG Radar takes all the noise that’s going on in the market, from the science to consumer feedback, and turns it into specific, actionable insights.”
In less than two years, Ghannoum has grown CPG Radar from an idea on a whiteboard to a profitable seven-figure company with more than 25 employees. “We found a huge gap in the market where it was extremely difficult to get information, and by the time you did, it was obsolete,” Ghannoum says.
One surprise has been CPG Radar’s clientele, which Ghannoum thought would be small, early-stage firms. “Yet it was the polar opposite,” he says. “We work with some of the biggest companies in the world.”
Ghannoum credits programs co-hosted by the Burton D. Morgan and Edward Lowe foundations for helping him gain a better understanding of the entrepreneurial continuum, which in turn, has influenced CPG’s direction. Describing himself as an “instigation entrepreneur,” Ghannoum most enjoys executing an idea, identifying markets for it, and then building momentum. “The goal isn’t to scale CPG Radar for an exit, but rather to create an exciting business that is always on the edge of innovation,” he says.
During a three-day retreat at Big Rock Valley (BRV), the Edward Lowe Foundation’s learning campus in southwest Michigan, Ghannoum began to sketch out his vision for CPG Radar. Seventeen other second-stage entrepreneurs also attended the event, and Ghannoum admits that he was initially a little wary to be spending time with CEOs who weren’t in his industry. Yet he found the diversity of business leaders and their growth strategies to be enlightening. “People talk about entrepreneurship as being lonely,” he explains. “But you also get into a silo of thinking that there is one way to do entrepreneurship, such as raising money or a family business. Being able to see so many different approaches was eye-opening.”
The authenticity and humility of his cohort members also impressed Ghannoum. Unlike other business gatherings where there can be a lot of posturing and ego in the room, Ghannoum says that his fellow retreaters were candid about sharing their experience with both successes and setbacks — peer conversations that he found invaluable.
Returning to BRV a few months later for an Entrepreneur-in-Residence retreat, Ghannoum continued to refine his roadmap for CPG Radar. He praises BRV as being the perfect place for business owners to get away from daily distractions and concentrate on strategic issues.“It’s hard to emphasize how rare it is to have time to decompress and think through something,” he adds. “Big Rock Valley is a special world with no distractions. It’s set up to be ‘relaxing meets insightful.’ And though Ed Lowe passed away a long time ago, you feel his vibe everywhere on the property.”