Which Product Goes First? The Strategy That Can Save (or Sink) Your Food Brand

Some of the most important decisions in your food business journey don't happen on the shelf. They happen before you even get there — in the moments when you decide what to launch, when to launch it, and how to back it once it's out in the world. In this episode, Jacinta Kemboi draws from two powerful real-world experiences: a mentoring session with a food founder navigating multiple products in development, and a post-mortem from inside a food company where two products launched simultaneously — with very different outcomes. One was backed by a full marketing strategy. The other was quietly forgotten. The one that was forgotten got discontinued. If you're a Better For You food founder with more than one product idea and not enough clarity on where to start — this episode gives you the framework to make that call with confidence. 💡 What You'll Learn in This Episode Why launching multiple products at once without a clear lead product is a strategy for mediocre performance across the board The real reason Product B failed — and it had nothing to do with taste, packaging, or price How the same mistake made inside a large food company can happen to a solo food founder with even less margin for error Why being an imagining brand is actually an advantage — if you use it right How to use market research to identify your high-moving product before you go to market The 3-step launch framework: do the research, pick your lead, build the marketing plan The five questions every food founder should answer before launch day 🌟 Key Takeaway A focused launch with one great product will always outperform a scattered launch with three half-ready ones. You don't need to launch everything — you need to launch the right thing, with everything you've got behind it. Market pull beats founder excitement. Let the data guide your first move. 🔗 Resources Mentioned Retail Readiness Quiz — find out exactly what gaps are holding your product back → [Take Quiz] Emerging Food Business Hub — community + accountability for food founders → [Explore Hub] ETS Method Framework — Jacinta's system for developing retail-ready, profitable food products 📋 Not sure if your product is retail-ready? Take the free quiz to find out. ➡️ Retail Readiness Quiz — [Take Quiz here] 👥 Join the Emerging Food Business Hub — [Lean more] 🎧 Loved this episode? Leave a review and share it with a food founder who needs this strategy today.