08/11/2026
My brand didn't fail. It got left on read by four different people.
The founder got the PO, screamed in his car, then went back to tweaking the label. Eleven months on that label. The label was never the problem.
The distributor put me in the book. The book! Sounds official. It's a phone book. Nobody has ever curled up with a phone book looking for someone to call.
The operator put me top shelf, back corner, behind the tequila. Not personal. There was a slot. And no bartender is climbing a ladder at 11pm on a Friday to make my quarter.
And the customer never ordered me once, because she'd never heard my name come out of a human mouth.
Four people. Four totally reasonable five-second decisions. Nobody did anything wrong and my brand still died with a PO in its pocket.
Here's the annoying part.
The fix is free. Ride with the rep Thursday. Put it on a route instead of a page. Put it in the well and train the staff. Say the name out loud in front of a friend.
That's it. That's the whole thing. Same bottle, same liquid, same shelf, completely different Tuesday.
It's just boring. And it all happens after the fun part is over.
If you're stuck right now, don't reformulate and don't rebrand. Go find out which of the four hands let go.
Mine was the first one. I was the guy with the label.
Which one was yours?
Truthfully, Sam
