Most packaged-goods founders eventually tell the same story: their recipe had to be rewritten to survive the supply chain. A second chain — built around proximity rather than reach — is opening alongside the first now.
Most consumer brands are stuck on a marketing hamster wheel — paying more each year for the same ground. Costco and Apple took a different path decades ago, and it is paying dividends today. There is a way for more brands to do the same.
Every other line on a consumer P&L gets more expensive over time. Brand is the one that gets cheaper to maintain — if it was built with discipline in the first place.