LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 8, 2026--
Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE: HLF), a premier health and wellness company, community and platform, today announced the launch of its “Fuel Like Ronaldo” campaign, a global initiative that translates elite athlete nutrition and performance strategies into practical guidance for everyday wellness seekers.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260508653160/en/
Backed by more than 20 years of experience working with professional athletes, including its long-standing partnership with global sports icon Cristiano Ronaldo, Herbalife is making its sports nutrition expertise widely accessible to help consumers optimize energy, support recovery, and build healthier daily routines. The launch comes as global attention turns to soccer’s biggest stage this summer, highlighting how the discipline and preparation of elite athletes can inspire healthier habits.
“For more than two decades, Herbalife has been helping elite athletes optimize performance through science-backed nutrition programs,” said Herbalife Chief Executive Officer Stephan Gratziani. “The ‘Fuel Like Ronaldo’ campaign makes Herbalife’s nutrition expertise accessible to everyone. We are combining our expertise in performance nutrition with new digital tools to create a simple, effective system that can help anyone live a healthier, more active life.”
From Sports Science to Daily Routine
The campaign simplifies complex sports science into a four-step framework:
A Partnership Built on Performance
Herbalife is the #1 protein shake in the world 1 and the #1 active and lifestyle nutrition brand in the world 2, trusted by more than 120 professional athletes and teams across more than 35 sports. In soccer, Herbalife supports more than 20 sponsorships worldwide, including men’s and women’s athletes and teams as well as youth development programs, anchored by its more than 20-year partnership with LA Galaxy, the longest-running jersey sponsorship in Major League Soccer history.
Herbalife’s relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo reflects a shared commitment to performance-driven nutrition. Since 2013, Herbalife has supported Ronaldo’s training and recovery with products such as Formula 1 protein shakes and Herbalife24® CR7 Drive, a hydration drink developed with Ronaldo to help meet the demands of elite competition. The partnership has since expanded into personalized nutrition, including Ronaldo’s investment in Herbalife’s Pro2col™ digital platform and Herbalife’s acquisition of certain assets of Bioniq, a personalized supplements company supported by Ronaldo. Together, these efforts reflect a shared vision of making advanced, athlete-level nutrition more accessible.
The campaign is inspired by Herbalife’s work in sports and is grounded in a simple idea: while elite athletes optimize every detail of their routines, the same foundational principles apply to everyday life. Hydration, for example, plays a critical role in energy, focus, and recovery, yet many people fall short. “Fuel Like Ronaldo” brings these insights to life, showing how simple, consistent habits can make a meaningful difference.
“Discipline in nutrition has always been a key part of my success, both on and off the pitch,” said Cristiano Ronaldo. “I’ve worked with Herbalife for many years and believe in the power of consistent, structured fueling. The ‘Fuel Like Ronaldo’ campaign is about sharing those principles so anyone can perform, recover, and feel their best every day.”
A Global Campaign Experience
“Fuel Like Ronaldo” comes to life through a fully integrated global activation delivered across multiple touchpoints, including immersive fan activations at major sporting moments, social media content featuring expert and athlete-led wellness insights, and an always-on digital experience where audiences can explore practical ways to fuel like a pro.
Herbalife’s more than 2 million independent distributors are a key component of this initiative, bringing the campaign to life in communities around the world by helping their customers integrate the principles of the campaign’s four-step framework into their daily routines. The campaign will also feature a Ronaldo-inspired shake made with Herbalife products used by Cristiano Ronaldo, giving consumers a tangible way to experience his fueling approach.
To learn more about Herbalife and explore the “Fuel Like Ronaldo” digital space, visit www.fuellikeronaldo.com.
(1) Source: Euromonitor; CH2025ed, protein shake as sports protein powder, sports protein RTDs, meal replacement, supplement nutrition drinks & protein supplements; combined % RSP share GBO for 2024.
(2) Source: Euromonitor; CH2025ed, active & lifestyle nutrition as weight management & wellbeing, sports nutrition and vitamins & dietary supplements definitions; combined % RSP share GBO for 2024.
RTD = Ready to Drink; RSP = Retail Selling Price; GBO = Global Brand Owner.
Herbalife is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or an official sponsor or partner of FIFA or the 2026 FIFA World Cup™. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
About Herbalife Ltd.
Herbalife (NYSE: HLF) is a premier health and wellness company, community and platform that has been changing people's lives with great nutrition products and a business opportunity for its independent distributors since 1980. The Company offers science-backed products to consumers in more than 90 markets through entrepreneurial distributors who provide one-on-one coaching and a supportive community that inspires their customers to embrace a healthier, more active lifestyle to live their best life.
For more information, visit https://ir.herbalife.com.
Herbalife and Cristiano Ronaldo Bring Performance Nutrition to Everyday Routines with “Fuel Like Ronaldo” Campaign.
Herbalife and Cristiano Ronaldo Bring Performance Nutrition to Everyday Routines with “Fuel Like Ronaldo” Campaign.
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo XIV had tried during his first year as pontiff to insist that his essential role was that of a pastor accompanying his flock. President Donald Trump’s continuing criticisms – and Leo’s increasingly bold retorts – complicated the effort and overshadowed Friday’s anniversary of Leo’s election.
Leo spent the eve of the 1-year mark meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who had come to the Vatican on a fence-mending visit. Trump’s repeated broadsides against history’s first U.S. pope created an unprecedented back-and-forth on the Iran war that strained U.S.-Holy See relations.
By the end of the visit, both the Vatican and the State Department stressed their strong bilateral ties. But the episode nevertheless pushed Leo out of his comfort zone and onto the global stage to make zingers like the one this week, after Trump's latest misrepresentation of his views. “If someone wants to criticize me for announcing the Gospel, let him do it with the truth,” Leo said.
It’s all a bit out of character for Leo who — the world has come to learn in this first year — is at heart a mild-mannered, 70-year-old Midwestern missionary priest, and a reserved one at that. He likes to play the solitary game of tennis, cites the fifth-century philosopher St. Augustine from memory and insists he is merely quoting the Bible when he calls for peace, as he did again Friday in marking his anniversary.
“May the God of peace pour out an overflowing abundance of mercy, touching hearts, soothing grudges and fratricidal hatred, and enlightening those who bear special responsibilities of governance,” Leo said during an anniversary homily in the ancient city of Pompeii.
The Trump-Leo feud aside, the former Robert Prevost after his first year seems driven not by the dramatic gesture or headline-grabbing tensions that often fueled his predecessor, Pope Francis. Rather, Leo seems inspired by the calm, persistent zeal to preach the Gospel and — thanks to his Augustinian spirituality — emphasize community and harmony.
Leo began his improbable papacy promising to work for unity in a polarized world and church, and at the one-year mark, he seems to be delivering.
After Francis’ revolutionary and sometimes divisive 12-year papacy, Leo has brought a calming balm to the Vatican and church at large. He seems intent on healing divisions, even as new threats of schism emerge.
That has certainly been the case as he navigates some of the thorniest challenges facing the Catholic Church: tensions between traditionalists and progressives, financial problems facing the Holy See and the geopolitical crises at the heart of the Trump vs. Leo dissonance.
“I think the challenge that the Holy Father has is to strengthen the unity of the church,” said Cardinal Wilton Gregory, a Chicago native like Leo and the retired archbishop of Washington. While there have always been divisions, Gregory said social media had amplified them, and that Leo seems intent on tamping them down.
“Social communication makes it possible for people to take sides, and sometimes taking sides adds to the divisiveness that we have to deal with and that the Holy Father, as the Bishop of Rome, has to respond to,” Gregory said in an interview.
“He has to call us to our better angels,” he added.
That seemed to be Leo's modus operandi when, days into his recent Africa trip, he temporarily quelled the Trump broadsides by essentially declaring he was above the president's social media rants. While insisting he would continue preaching the Gospel message of peace, Leo said it "is not in my interest at all,” to debate Trump.
“I primarily come to Africa as a pastor, as the head of the Catholic Church to be with, to celebrate with, to encourage and accompany all the Catholics throughout Africa,” he said.
He repeated that message at the trip's conclusion, saying the political role that comes with being pope, a head of state and global moral authority, was simply not his priority.
For many, the shock of an American pope, who defied the taboo precluding a Rome-based moral counterweight to the White House, still hasn’t worn off.
“It’s been the first year of an American pope who has been critical of what America is doing for the most part,” said Anthea Butler, senior fellow at the Koch Institute, Oxford University.
She stressed that Leo is doing so “not coming full-on like Francis would,” but approaching issues from the side. He's not naming names, he's merely preaching the Gospel.
That approach has certainly helped some U.S. Catholic institutions, after the American church developed an almost comically bad relationship with Francis. His criticism of American-style capitalism was amplified by U.S.-based conservative Catholic media during his papacy.
For many Vatican watchers, the Argentine pope simply didn't “get” the U.S., and vice versa. Some U.S. Catholics eventually soured on donating to the Holy See under Francis, following years of unrelenting stories of mismanagement, corruption and scandal.
But with a Chicago math major now pope, “he can’t be dismissed as being ignorant of the realities in the United States,” said Kerry Alys Robinson, chief executive of Catholic Charities USA, a national network of Catholic agencies.
Robinson said she had never seen U.S. Catholic bishops so united as now, particularly in speaking about the dignity of migrants and poor people. She credits that to many factors, including the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and funding cuts that have created a common purpose. But she doesn’t discount the unifying message from Leo, in English.
“It’s very different when you are hearing the message without it being mediated through translation,” she said.
Ward Fitzgerald, president of The Papal Foundation, which funds the pope's charity projects in the developing world, said an English-speaking pope has been a boon especially in the U.S. and Europe, where there is anecdotal evidence of a “Leo effect” spurring new converts.
“I think there’s lots of reasons for it, but I certainly think that having a pope who speaks English helps young people understand the messages of the Holy Father,” Fitzgerald said in an interview. That also translates to donors to the church, especially from the U.S.
“When you tell a donor, ‘I really appreciate what you do’ in English — and they’re English — I think it resonates," Fitzgerald said. "And so they give a little more.”
The Papal Foundation recently announced 25 new families had joined its ranks since Leo's election, a not-insignificant number given membership requires a minimum $1.25 million pledge.
Fitzgerald and members of the foundation met with Leo last week and gathered in St. Peter’s Basilica for a Mass celebrated by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the towering figure of the U.S. Catholic hierarchy and a kingmaker in the 2025 conclave that elected Leo.
Dolan is also chummy with Trump, and is a member of his Religious Liberty Commission.
In his homily, Dolan extolled the attributes of St. Joseph, the father of Christ and a figure so beloved in the church he is the patron saint of more causes than any other saint. Dolan also revealed his feelings about Leo, whom he had watched in the Sistine Chapel become the 267th pope a year ago Friday.
St. Joseph was a man of silence, Dolan said, calm and secure in his place.
"A man who exuded a sense of depth and substance. A man who is shy, all right, a man who is focused on his mission,” he added. “A man, always attentive to God’s plan.”
Dolan then asked the Americans seated in the pews if they could think of anyone else who fit St. Joseph's description.
“I can," Dolan said. "Pope Leo reminds me of Joseph.”
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content
FILE - Pope Leo XIV blesses a child at the end of a Mass for the Jubilee of Migrants and Missionaries in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File)
FILE - This picture, taken Tuesday, April 14, 2026, shows the front pages of some Italian newspapers reporting on comments by U.S. President Donald Trump about Pope Leo XIV, with headlines using words such as "outrage", "shock attack", "insult", and Trump's schism". (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)
FILE - Newly elected Pope Leo XIV appears at the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File)
FILE - A flag from the United States waves in the crowd as Pope Leo XIV appears at the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica for his first Sunday blessing after his election, in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, May 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue, File)
