Why I Started Talking About Incrediballs Before the Product Existed...
Equal parts good and bad decision...
Most people wait until their product actually exists before they go public with a new brand. I started talking about Incrediballs from almost the moment I stepped down as CEO of Ethique in 2023.
Before we had a product. Before we had flavours. Or packaging. Or actually, even a logo. We did have a name though. And whilst I appreciate some of you have kindly (mostly) told me to rethink the name, I've always thought it was perfect. You can pry it from my cold, dead hands.
I am a huge fan of building a brand with your community. Those early years with Ethique - when I did have products and a website (of sorts) and everything else needed to make a business work - it was great. Back before Facebook was the... thing... it is now, I could chatter away to my customers about seemingly inane things like what colour this new bar should be, request name suggestions or see what they wanted to come next. It was a lovely way to get instant feedback, read the sentiment of the room and tailor the business accordingly. It clearly worked as many of those original followers still chat to me now.
But that's quite different from talking about Incrediballs, and putting it all out there without even having a product. We were months (turned out to be years) from launch, and not all of my colleagues or our partners liked this plan of mine (okay, I didn't have a plan). It was a little risky. What if people lost interest too quick? What if it didn't work, we never launched and I looked stupid? What if someone could crack it quicker and went to market before we did.
All legit concerns for sure.
But I think it will pay off in spades. By being transparent and vulnerable (ew, feelings) in public, we've built trust, loyalty, and excitement for the brand. We've had retailers already approach us, magazines write articles about us, journalists sign up for news and thousands of people sign up for testing or to be an Incredimodel.
However, it has definitely been a bit trickier than I anticipated.
The reality of building a brand before the product is ready.
I definitely underestimated how hard it is to keep people engaged when you're not constantly launching something.
Or how long product development actually takes (and that's terrible because it's not like I haven't developed products before!).
What worked
We built a waitlist of over 10,000 ballers before launch. That's pretty cool. Someone even wants to get a tattoo.
The feedback was immediate and invaluable. I think the lineup would look completely different if it had been left to just us to decide - and that feedback has also made the packaging much sharper and clearer too. What is obvious to you, is not obvious to the customer. I thought 'dissolvable drink balls' was clear. It... isn't. We were able to test ideas in real-time, before they became expensive mistakes. My favourite example is our Taste Test Party. We threw it in April last year and despite it being a grey day with no parking, scores of people turned up to taste our balls 👀 and give their feedback.
The amazing people who helped me pull together a taste test party in 3 days. Retailers noticed, journalists noticed, even a few trolls noticed. I suppose the last bit is some kind of bizarre compliment...
People started using the brand language before we even finalised it which is pretty cool.
We got so, so many ball puns in the comments. Always brings a smile (or a shocked look).
And more than anything: people got it. They understood the concept (although unlike the first time I did this, the concept of plastic-free isn't nearly as odd).
What didn't
Visibility is pressure. Once you’re out there, people want constant updates. Sometimes there just isn't anything to say... R&D takes a long time and it's not necessarily visually spectacular. Coming up with content ideas constantly was a pain. Can't wait till we hire our content creator and I can give that part up...
The inevitable delays that come with the startup world are not necessarily forgiven. What's the saying? Make a plan and god laughs? I'm not religious, but surely that phrase was coined by a founder. NOTHING goes as you plan it to. Everything will take twice as long (especially if you want things that don't exist, as I always do).
Building in public invites opinions. I just told you that was good above - and 99/100 it is. But you will engender feedback from people who don't get it. Who aren't your target audience and they may well be a little confronting. You'll get these when you launch of course, but if you're not selling, you don't have proof of concept to give you that confidence boost.
There were definitely days where I thought, "probably shouldn't have done this". Or, "well, feck, why didn't I just retire on a reef somewhere?'
But then there were the days people messaged us saying, "I love watching you build this and cannot wait for your balls to drop", or "this makes me inspired to start my own sustainable business". Makes it worth it.
Mostly.
Would I do it again?
Yes, because that feedback is absolute bloody gold, and creating that trust with your community is well worth the pain.
I would do a few things a bit differently...
I would make it clear that this was new, a world-first, and still in development more.
I'd share the downs a bit more. I think there is this expectation that because we've done it before it's all plain sailing, we've got no limits on the budget and it's all unicorns and rainbows. It's just as rough as the first time, just a bit different.
I probably wouldn't tell people as much. I am an ideas person, not an execution person (though, I would argue I've got better at that bit lately). I come up with 10 ideas a day, 9 of which will be rubbish the day later, but which I am SO EXCITED about at the time. I made the mistake of telling our audience about them.
To me it's important that Incrediballs is a brand that lasts. I don't want to go viral with epic marketing stunts because it doesn't tend to lead to a truly loyal brand following (and also because I am not clever enough to think of any). I want the brand to be a trusted source of information - especially as we enter the 'facts aren't real' era.
Has it worked? I guess we'll see in a few weeks when we launch.