Going into retail early was supposed to grow VitaCup faster. Instead it put the
By Brandon Fishman · October 15, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
Going into retail early was supposed to grow VitaCup faster. Instead it put the Amazon business we'd already built at risk.
This was 2017, 2018. Everyone was addicted to hyper-growth. Revenue was everything. Profitability was a problem for later.
We bought into it.
But retail gets EXPENSIVE. And it made Amazon harder.
Once we were on shelves, Amazon compared our price to retailers like Target. If we were even a few cents higher, we could lose the Buy Box.
So now we were constantly checking every retailer just to protect the Amazon business we'd already built.
We still took VitaCup to #1 in low-acid coffee. But if I did it again, I wouldn't touch retail until we owned the category online.
And I'd be way more aggressive about that today.
Retail buyers are looking at your Amazon Best Seller Rank. They want proof you can win before they give you shelf space.
Stop chasing retail because it looks like growth.
Own the category online and get profitable. Make retail come to you.