One of the great annoyances in life is knowing there is music, art, ideas and people I will probably never be exposed to.

It’s a dumb FOMO thought experiment if you stare at it too long…
but imagine there’s a band you would become obsessed with - if only you knew they existed.

Podcasts are like that too.

So today’s edition steals a killer concept from a legendary operator that you probably won’t get around to listening to.

Eric Ryan (co-founder of Method, Olly, Welly, etc.) did a 90-minute episode on My First Million and casually dropped a playbook that has created billions in CPG value.

If I told you to “add it to your queue”, it would die next to 8,140 other recommendations.

So instead: I’m just going to give you the best part.

If you read supergoods, you will love this.

This edition of supergoods is brought to you by Mind Control - the branding and packaging studio behind this newsletter.

Are you lost in a sea of sameness?

Mind Control helps CPG brands find the one big change that makes them look obvious on shelf - then we design it, test it, and get it ready for real buyers.

If your next launch deserves better than “just another SKU”, hit reply with “sea of sameness” and I’ll send you a few ways we could flip your aisle.

Who the hell is Eric Ryan?

Before we get into the framework, it’s worth pausing on who this guy is and why his opinion on CPG actually matters.

Eric Ryan is the guy behind a bunch of brands you’ve literally walked past (or bought) a hundred times:

• Co-founder of Method (soap)

• Co-founder of Olly (vitamins)

• Co-founder of Welly (bandages)

• Plus a handful of other plays – and now a VC fund focused on consumer

The common thread?

All of them launched into mature, boring, “already taken” categories.
All of them turned into monsters.

On the podcast, the host Sam Parr asks him:

Eric’s answer is essentially a framework for building new CPG brands that actually stick.

I listened to this episode over and over, distilled it down into as simple email just for you.

1. Start in the aisle, not in Figma

Eric doesn’t start with a brainstorm.
He starts with a trolley and a headache.

He walks the aisle and looks for:

• Sea of sameness – everything looks/feels the same

• Stressed shoppers – confusion, hesitation, people stuck reading labels

• Dead emotion – categories that feel purely functional or clinical

Olly literally started because he noticed people freaking out in the vitamin aisle, asking strangers what magnesium does.

The idea didn’t come from a trend report.
The clue was: “Everyone here looks lost.”