April 8, 2020

This paid piece is sponsored by Interstate Office Products.

The pop of red that greets visitors outside the headquarters of Max One Nutrition is impossible to miss.

That’s by design, along with everything else worked into the new space at 2320 W. 54th St. N.

“We’re thrilled about the area we’re in,” said Mike Teslow, the chief operating officer of Max One Nutrition, which moved its headquarters from California to Sioux Falls in 2018 and has been working out of temporary office space.

The new corporate office of Max One Nutrition is part of a 12,000-square-foot building adjacent to the Sanford Sports Complex that includes a first-floor retail location for Max Muscle, the name of its franchise.

“Obviously with the Pentagon and Fieldhouse nearby and sports nutrition being a huge part of our model, it made this a great area to set up shop,” Teslow said. “This whole thing started in the early ’90s in California and evolved now for people who are working physically or the soccer mom or weekend warrior or someone older who has aches and pains and needs a little help.”

The eye-catching building evokes the same vitality and energy as its products, and the theme is carried through inside.

“They had a vision, they knew what they wanted, and it was a contemporary design that plays off their logo – with pops of red in the chairs and carpet as well as the exterior of the building,” said Abby Tufvesson, a designer at Interstate Office Products who co-designed the space with her colleague Teena Hogan.

Interstate Office Products worked with Teslow, whose corporate offices are on the second floor, and franchisees Andrew and Missy Arhart, who have the first-floor retail space, to design a cohesive building that’s ideal for both uses.

“They’ve been wonderful putting it all together,” Teslow said. “We had done business in the past, and they’ve always been great, then they came into play when we wanted to furnish everything.”

The relationship started with IOP’s Curt Reinschmidt, who leads the corporate apparel and promotional products division.

“When they first moved to Sioux Falls, I helped them with some of their branded material, and we helped provide them with some Nike polo and long-sleeve quarter-zip shirts around the holiday season in 2018,” he said.

From there, IOP helped with printing marketing materials for Max One, including postcards and a brochure detailing the benefits of its products.

“That’s how the conversation started, and as they learned of our other products and services, it led into a conversation of helping design the new office,” Reinschmidt said. “They had the location and had broken ground and were just in the beginning stages of looking for a partner.”

IOP’s work on the project began with floor plans from the builder.

“We started with the second floor as the main focus. We met with the Max One team to understand their needs and developed layouts to furnish the entire space, including several offices, work stations, a break room and a conference room,” Hogan said.

“We did not furnish the entire space right away, but now they have a master plan as to how they can grow into the space in the future.”

Max One used modular walls in its conference room “to enclose a space that was in the middle of an open area,” Hogan added. “They didn’t want to put permanent walls up, so they would have the flexibility as they change and grow to reconfigure the walls if necessary, which made the modular walls an ideal way to create the space.”

Teslow estimates nearly 30 people can work in the space.

“They built out seven offices with a lunchroom, conference room and cubicles, and I really like the modular wall arrangement,” he said. “It’s very practical, very mobile and very comfortable.”

The first-floor retail space “is set up really well,” co-franchisee Missy Arhart said. “It’s just been great. Every time I come in, I look at the space and think about how awesome it is.”

The red, black and gray color scheme is carried throughout the building.

“It’s just a nice, modern look. It’s not too heavy or polished,” Arhart said. “They were able to really dial in on what the team was looking for.”

Max Muscle offers a variety of nutrition supplements for all lifestyles, with focuses on muscle building and toning, weight management, performance and energy, and well-being and vitality.

“The reason I’m an owner today is because of the love of the product I have,” Arhart said.

“We farm and ranch, and it supports our lifestyle as well as our pre- and post-workout needs. It makes sure we’re getting the protein we need in our diet. We literally keep Max Muscle blender bottles around the farm and in the cattle shed.”

In the retail business, there’s a lot of discussion and education about the products, so the layout and design of the space is key, she said.

“It’s a personalized experience that supports our clients’ healthy lifestyles,” she said. “So we offer free body composition analysis and nutrition plans, and that allows us to learn more about our clients to get them better fitted with the supplement we sell.”

The next phase was a first-floor meeting room that IOP is furnishing with flexible tables and chairs that are easy to move, store and set up in various configurations.

“Meeting space is rare, so we’re going to open this for education they’re giving clients,” Teslow said. “We had all the Sioux Falls Storm players go through it already, so there’s a nice synergy and partnership by being out at the Sports Complex.”

Also on the first floor, “we worked through the layout as far as what they needed for welcoming clients and samples,” Hogan said. “And in a future phase, we plan to create some additional areas for consulting, places for clients to come in and go through things related to their health and fitness.”

As the business is open longer, those updates likely will be coming, Arhart said.

“They were fantastic to work with, and I anticipate as we’re open longer, we’ll be doing more.”

To learn more about how Interstate Office Products can meet your office needs, visit i-o-p.com or call 605-339-0300.