Why We Burned $4M (On Purpose)

Playing to Win

October 07, 2025

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Welcome to the Latest Newsletter
of Playing to Win!

My newsletter is designed specifically to help business owners like you grow your companies with tried & applied bits of business knowledge, all communicated in actionable, bite-sized chunks. I will share insights and advice aimed at enhancing your business operations, boosting your success, and allowing you to focus more on what truly matters. Let's work together to achieve your goals and make your endeavors a reality.

Key Points of the Newsletter

  • A rebrand isn’t just visual, it’s a strategic investment in modern relevance.
  • Speed, iteration, and sunk costs are part of staying competitive.
  • Sometimes you spend millions just to stay in the game.

Why We Burned $4M (On Purpose)

 
When you hear the words “rebrand” or “product launch,” most people think of a shiny new logo, a slick box, or a new slogan.

What they don’t talk about is the $4 million you sink into new packaging that disappears into the void before the first unit ever hits a shelf.

That’s what we’re doing right now.

The brand we’re evolving has been around for over 12 years. But in terms of design, speed, and relevance? It’s on version six or seven. We’ve iterated constantly, not because it was broken, but because in our world, standing still means falling behind.

We wanted to modernize the look, improve shelf presence, and align with where the market is going. So we redesigned everything: labels, boxes, bottles, the whole ecosystem. And that meant we were now at the mercy of the supply chain.

Here’s the kicker: the packaging isn’t even in yet. We’re staring down a 6–12 week lead time. And in the meantime, the $4 million we spent? It’s just gone.

Not invested. Not working. Just sitting in limbo as a sunk cost.

But here’s the thing, if you want to lead, you don’t make decisions based on what you can hold in your hand today. You make decisions based on where the puck is going. You build ahead of the curve. You spend the money before the ROI shows up.

Because if you wait until the ROI is obvious, you’re already behind.

This rebrand isn’t about vanity. It’s about viability. It’s about meeting today’s customer with today’s standards and setting ourselves up for tomorrow’s scale.

And yeah, the cost is high. But the cost of inaction is higher.

So if you’re playing at this level, or want to, you’ve got to stop flinching at sunk costs. You’ve got to start seeing them as the price of progress.

Spend smart. Move fast. Let the rest of the world catch up.

Want to talk about when a rebrand is the right move, and how to justify the cost? I’ll walk you through our playbook. Just reach out.

Stay tuned for more insights in our next newsletter. Remember, it's the small adjustments that often make the biggest impact on your business's profitability. Here's to your continued success!

Stay driven to push your business forward,
Ryan Niddel