why did they lie to your face?

Author

Dan Pope
September 12, 2025

Happy Friday you little shag monkeys…sadly, you were lied too.

so was ya M’am. and ya Dad. and everyone you know. Yup, lied to.

the lies:

  1. solving big problems, requires big solutions.

  2. solving new problems, requires new solutions.

  3. solving hard problems, requires hard work

why?

maybe, because:

  1. at school we’re taught the “hardest” exams require the “hardest” effort

  2. in our Western Neo-Liberal Capitalist society hard work is venerated with pious smeggy zeal

  3. we give God like status to Musk, Jobs, Altman who worked so hard.

That’s fine.

some harsh truths

  1. input is NOT outputs = no one cares about input. society ONLY rewards output.

  2. small innovations can solve BIG problems. Remember: Tiny is mighty.

  3. “old” solutions solve “new” problems.

Proportionality Bias

Sam Tatam in Evolutionary Ideas presents proportionality bias.

Humans believe the bigger the problem, the bigger solution required.
Humans believe the newer the problem, the newer solution required.

this is wrong.

Small solutions, solve big problems.
Old solution solve new problems

UBER’s wait time to reduce uncertainty i.e. it tells you how long you’re waiting for a cab.

Humans lauded this as a “revolutionary” innovation.

NEWSFLASH BRO!!!: Train stations told us our train wait time for more than 50 years.

the good news?

the “new” problems your facing today, have an old solution historically.
the “big” problems your facing today, have a small solution historically.

Hold that thought… Hold my beer you sexy mutha fukas…

we’re gunna apply this to challenger food and drink brands.

But, first, pleaseeeeeeeeeeee Ladies & Gents…

Let’s introduce Charles Spence, Professor at The University of Oxford…

HIGHLY recommend watching this Talk “The Power of 5 Senses” in Marketing before you read the rest of my waffle…

Using the 5 senses in marketing is wonderful way to save money, increase perceived value and drive more sales.

STUFF THAT BLEW MY FUCKING MIND IN THE TALK.

  • consumption of Bloody Mary’s increases significantly on planes, as the sound of the engine increases “Umami” flavours.

  • “Bubba” and “Kiki” - round shaped or circular shaped chocolate tastes sweeter than square shaped chocolate.

In 2016, Cadbury’s changed the shape of their chocolate. Cadbury’s got complaints from their customers. EXACT same chocolate. Consumers perceived it to be wholly different due to it’s shape.

Crucial Lessons so far:

  1. Simple solutions solve big problems

  2. Old solutions solve new problems

  3. Harnessing the 5 senses in packaging and marketing is a simple way to disrupt categories

So, what’s the easiest way to disrupt a category?

Founders believe disrupting categories requires huge levels of “innovation” or “novel” modes of thinking.

FUCKING BULL SHIT.

The easiest way to innovate

FORMAT INNOVATION. FORMAT INNOVATION.
FORMAT INNOVATION. FORMAT INNOVATION.

Giles Brook told the wonderful story when Innocent were losing a fuck load of money and losing the juice wars to Tropicana.

Innocent simply changed the bottle to their now famous packaging. Sales transformed over night.

Packaging Innovation is wonderfully easy.

  1. It’s a small solution to a big problem

  2. It’s an old solution to a new problem

  3. It harnesses the 5 Senses

Bold Bean Co. put beans in a glass jar with a lovely lid. Genius.

TRIP’s genius was harnessing the “touch” sense with the nice calm feeling as you stroked the can. Genius.

This one’s hilarious. Vegan Oat Milk brand OATO gone full circle.

Remember every Dairy-Alt milk brand under the sun put their Oat Milk in a tetra pack.

Suddenly, OATO have whacked it in a “normal” milk bottle (sorry to the vegan goon brigade).


Packaging format is the easiest way to disrupt categories.

That’s it for now folks.
Have a wonderful weekend,
Popey xxx

HERE’S THE ADVERT:

How To Get Your Challenger Brand Into More SuperMarkets and Increase Your Current Distribution in Half The Time

Range Reviews are happening NOW.

Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Tesco, Ocado CoOp are looking for new challenger brands  

Don’t miss this range review and have to wait another 6 months.
Don’t lose precious shelf space to your competitors 
Don’t let your buyer pick another brand, just because you didn’t have a Grand Slam deck

North Star Category Management helps you get your Super Market Decks so good, buyers find it impossible to say No.

Challenger brands like Perfect Ted, TRIP, Bold Bean Co, DASH use North Star

I am so confident in North Star transforming your brand we’ve got an EXCLUSIVE HUNGRY OFFER

FIRST MONTH FREE  + a FREE 30 MINUTE CONSULTANCY SESSION TO SEE HOW YOU BRAND IS CURRENTLY PERFORMING IN CATEGORY

Book your FREE consultancy session here:

Still Hungry? Course you are…

Please feel free to gorge on the most downloaded podcast episodes of all time (these are CERTY: BANGERS)

Or read our most read articles of all time