Relentlessly Curious Brand Track
Welcome to the Consumer Brand section Relentlessly Curious, a home for operators, marketers, investors, and generally curious people who want to understand why we buy what we buy.
This isn’t another “how to build a brand” listicle. It’s a set of strategic, irreverent, and real-world takes on what makes a brand matter in 2025. If you're trying to launch the next cult CPG product, decode consumer behavior, or just understand why Quince is selling electrolytes, you're in the right place.
🧠 Brand Psychology & Identity
Lessons from Top Consumer Brands
Top brands ask the question you’re thinking, but come up with a better answer.
When a Brand Becomes a Verb
When brands become language, they move from product to behavior.
Revisiting When a Brand Becomes a Verb
Why convenience-driven consumer decisions often produce second-order effects brands fail to anticipate.
Hotels Are Brands Too
Hotel chains are low-key brand strategy case studies.
Brand Heritage Isn’t Built Overnight
The brands we inherit don’t come from viral ads, but from real utility and time.
Why Brands (and Consumers) Love Erewhon
A retail ecosystem that’s equal parts Whole Foods and performance theater.
Your Product is Your Marketing
How subtle incentive structures drive consumer behavior far more than brand messaging or stated preferences.
🛒 Consumer Behavior & Culture
You Are What You Buy – Part I
Consumption has become identity. This explains how we got here.
You Are What You Buy – Part II
And here's what that means for brands navigating it in the wild.
You Can’t Escape Advertising
If you feel like your attention is monetized, it probably is.
How Credit Card Companies Manipulate Consumer Behavior
A psychological breakdown of spend, rewards, and nudges.
The Real Cost of Black Friday Deals
Take a look at Black Friday economics to reveal who actually pays for “deals” (hint: it’s always the shopper).
🤖 Brands x AI
AI & Brand – Part I
What makes a brand feel human in an AI-first world?
AI & Brand – Part II
From slick use cases to clumsy execution, here’s how brands are showing up.
When AI Buys Your Groceries
A speculative look at what happens when shopping becomes ambient.
📦 Distribution, Subscriptions & Operator Lessons
Distribution Is Key
Product is half the game. Distribution is the (more important) other half.
Why Your Favorite Brand Offers a Subscription
Sometimes it’s about LTV. Sometimes it’s about control.
How to Build a Category-Defining Brand – Part I
Part II
Case studies and mental models for building not just brands, but categories.
The Rise and Fall of Dropshipping
What the rise of low-barrier commerce taught us, and what comes next.
🌍 Tariffs, Macro Forces & Supply Chain Gut Punches
We’re Talking Tariffs Again
A reminder that policy changes can wreck your margins overnight.
How Tariffs Will Gut Consumer Brands
The title says it all.
🥤 Consumer Trends, Brand Weirdness & Culture Shifts
Masterful storytelling matters, but so do key structural advantages like macro tailwinds.
The premium rewards credit card market may be generous with perks, but ultimately, the only thing that truly matters is each card’s brand.
CPG’s Latest Obsession: Protein
Protein is the new fiber. Or the new sugar. Or maybe the new caffeine.
I Bought Electrolytes from Quince
A case study in how far brand permission can stretch.
Expanding on People Are the New Brands
Founders, influencers, creators. Everyone’s a brand now.
Not Sure Where to Start?