Specialty carrier of nutritional products and one of the nation’s largest retailers of cannabidiol (CBD) products, The Vitamin Shoppe announced that its CEO Sharon Leite will be featured in the upcoming new season of the Emmy-Award winning series “Undercover Boss.”

The Vitamin Shoppe episode is scheduled to air on Friday, Jan. 21, from 8:00-9:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific Time, on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+, as part of the show’s 11th season.

“The opportunity to become a part of this ground-breaking series was one of the most engaging, inspiring, and humbling experiences of my life,” said Leite. “This was an unparalleled chance to get into the field and see up-close the incredible commitment and dedication of our Health Enthusiast team members – all without the filter of being the CEO. It was an unvarnished way to see first-hand what The Vitamin Shoppe does exceptionally well as a company and also the things where we could be better.”

During filming of the episode, Leite took on the guise of a former gift shop manager from Cleveland who is looking for a new start in life. With her wig, costumes, fake glasses and new persona well-rehearsed, the unrecognizable Leite visited three retail locations of The Vitamin Shoppe, as well as a distribution center, to discover the ins-and-outs of store operations, customer service, inventory processes and more.

The Vitamin Shoppe CEO Sharon Leite, left, donned a disguise, right, to pose as a company employee for her appearance on ‘Undercover Boss.” (Left photo by The Vitamin Shoppe; right photo by Mary Kouw/CBS.)

Despite a 30-year career at some of the best-known names in retail – starting as a co-manager of an Express store in the late ’80s – Leite learned plenty along the with way from the featured Health Enthusiast associates, dealing with everything from systems outages to run-ins with warehouse robots. She also connected with each of the participants on a personal level, gaining insight into the life challenges that each of them juggles.

“On a personal level, I’m deeply grateful that I got to know the multi-faceted achievements, challenges and life stories of the team members featured on this show,” said Leite. “They are true inspirations and continue to motivate me to make The Vitamin Shoppe a better place to work for every Health Enthusiast.”

Leite explained that the company accepted the opportunity not only to reward the show’s featured associates for the incredible work they do while also balancing the many stresses that life can throw at any of us, but also to make real investments in the company’s systems and processes across many aspects of its workplaces.

“And for that,” she said, “I sincerely thank the ‘Undercover Boss’ team and especially the Health Enthusiasts who participated in this show.”

Leite joined The Vitamin Shoppe in August 2018 and since that time has introduced a broad range of expansion and innovation initiatives, including developing a new technology-driven retail format, increasing penetration of the company’s proprietary brands, expanding the business into Asia, pioneering an expansive CBD hemp extract merchandising program and launching the company’s first-ever franchising model.

Her previous experience includes senior leadership roles at Godiva Chocolatier, Sally Beauty, Pier 1, Bath & Body Works, Gap Inc. and The Walt Disney Co.

The episode of ““Undercover Boss”” was filmed in 2021 with comprehensive pandemic protocols in place during all aspects of production, under the supervision of a dedicated Covid-19 safety officer.

A subsidiary of Franchise Group Inc., The Vitamin Shoppe conducts business through over 700 company-operated retail stores under The Vitamin Shoppe and Super Supplements banners, and online at www.vitaminshoppe.com. Globally, The Vitamin Shoppe serves customers in select Asia, South America and Central America markets.