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Design matters. But design cannot rescue a product or business that does not deliver.

In this co-hosted episode of Makin Mighty: The Challenger Sessions, Simon Greenwood-Haigh and Scott Cramner get into the uncomfortable truth founders need to hear: if you are using design to hide bigger problems, the market will find you out fast.

We talk about:

• why great branding cannot compensate for weak product experience (including Simon’s honest take on Ugly Drinks)
• how “cool” design can create hype that dies the moment someone tries the product
• the importance of knowing exactly who your core audience is (and using it as a filter for decisions)
• why big rebrands fall flat when they ignore brand equity and customer expectation (hello Jaguar)
• why founders copy the wrong brands and end up building something that feels disingenuous
• the power of being obsessed with a few clear USPs, not trying to claim 20 at once (we use Aldi as a great example of single-minded execution)

If you are building a challenger brand, this is a reminder that design should amplify clarity, not create it.

If you found this useful, please share it with someone building a food or drink brand who’d get value from it.

You can follow me on LinkedIn, TikTok or Instagram for clips and extra insights: just search for @MakinMighty

And if you’ve got a question you’re wrestling with right now (brand, growth, retail, positioning) email it in. We’re collecting real questions from founders and we’ll use those to shape future episodes.

Thanks for listening. See you next time

makinmighty@gmail.com