[HN Gopher] Sometimes the product innovation is the distribution
___________________________________________________________________
Sometimes the product innovation is the distribution
Author : surprisetalk
Score : 118 points
Date : 2024-10-01 15:08 UTC (5 days ago)
(HTM) web link (interconnected.org)
(TXT) w3m dump (interconnected.org)
| ezekg wrote:
| Upvoting this because it made me think about SaaS and its
| relationship with open- and fair-source.
|
| Often a change in distribution v. closed-source can be its own
| moat.
| necrecious wrote:
| Can you expand and maybe give an example of what you are
| saying?
| ezekg wrote:
| Sure. If there's a market that has only closed-source
| incumbents, providing an open- or fair-source alternative,
| i.e. changing the distribution model, can be an innovation
| unto itself.
|
| I wrote about the relationship here if you want to read more
| about what I mean: https://keygen.sh/blog/licensing-is-
| packaging/
| ilrwbwrkhv wrote:
| One could argue that Nike using influencer marketing with Michael
| Jordan was one of these hacks as well (at least at that time).
| Apple's 1984 ads and the marketing made them more valuable and
| that is step 1 of distribution.
|
| The Gas app by Nikita also had this new distribution channel
| through Instagram etc.
|
| These are actually the real secrets of business. If you do know
| one of them you are for sure not sharing them on Youtube.
| the_gipsy wrote:
| That is not distribution.
| ac2u wrote:
| The last example definitely is. They used instagrams
| notification of follow-backs to do mass simultaneous follow-
| backs of another platform as an install call to action to
| increase the chances of their geospatially clustered users
| having social interactions in-app.
| thom wrote:
| Don't sleep on any of the boxes in the business model canvas!
|
| https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_Model_Canvas
|
| The most important thing I think that activity teaches you is
| that business is a huge multidimensional space, and you can
| always find a quiet region within which there's probably some
| profitable point. So much startup advice is basically how to
| structure a walk through this space.
| larodi wrote:
| Indeed, other times the customer relationships, or the
| packaging, sometimes it is even about technology, but not so
| often .) Having attended and then participated in the masters
| program in Technological Entrepreneurship @ Sofia University,
| this all seems now so apparent. But you can only really grasp
| it when you have a business activity, otherwise it is sounds
| like common sense talk.
| frankdenbow wrote:
| Some other recent related examples I've seen of changing the
| format to differentiate:
|
| Guacamole squeeze bottle: Typically guacamole at supermarkets
| come in tubs, but one company put it into a squeeze bottle which
| lets it last longer and use it to squirt on your tacos easier.
| Normally I would compare prices / taste but the format trumps all
| of those other factors.
| https://www.instacart.com/products/21844889-yucatan-guacamol...?
|
| Flour: I typically see flour sold by multiple companies in these
| small paper bags that you would throw away after you put it into
| a real container. Wondra put theirs in a shaker bottle, making it
| easier to use when you want to thicken up a sauce while cooking.
| Now their brand is shown and maintained when other wise it would
| just be yet another flour company:
| https://www.instacart.com/products/16409225-gold-medal-wondr...?
| 4hg4ufxhy wrote:
| Interesting that there is demand for this, I couldn't imagine
| using either one. Maybe it's a small niche, but with very
| profitable margins.
| ibash wrote:
| > after you put it into a real container
|
| What? Who recontainers flour?
| thanksgiving wrote:
| I always pour flour from the paper bag into my giant plastic
| container. I haven't in almost half a year though.
|
| You guys are talking about all purpose (wheat) flour, right?
| magicalhippo wrote:
| We do, easy way to avoid bugs getting in there.
|
| Guess it's related to the fact we don't bake that often, a
| 2kg (4.5 lbs) bag of flour can last us a month.
| krisoft wrote:
| And do you in practice seen bugs in your flour? How often?
|
| Because i too consume flour at a similar rate to yours, I
| don't recontainer my flour and never in my life seen bugs
| in flour.
| magicalhippo wrote:
| Yes, not terribly often but enough that the simple act of
| putting it in an airtight container is worth it.
| samastur wrote:
| Yes or more correctly, my wife and I used to until we
| started putting all such goods (flour, oats, rice) in
| sealed glass containers.
| mhuffman wrote:
| Perhaps you might not have been looking close enough. If
| you are not blasting through flour very quickly and you
| leave it in a bag, even clipped, you can get weevils and
| mites. This is not new. Ask elderly home cooks that you
| know. Putting it in sealed containers or jars, however,
| it can keep for a good while.
| nicoburns wrote:
| Huh, I guess the likelihood of this depends on where you
| live. I have had this happen only once in my entire life,
| and a 1kg bag of flour can last me several months! (I
| rarely bake cook with flour)
| magicalhippo wrote:
| True. It's apparently one of the most common pests in
| Norwegian households and in the Scandinavian countries,
| but not that common elsewhere[1]. Seems it might be
| related to our climate, with cold winters but warm indoor
| temperatures.
|
| [1]: https://www.pestium.no/skadedyr-i-
| naeringsmidler/hvor-kommer...
| mijamo wrote:
| Interestingly it happened to me a lot in France but never
| in Sweden. So it cannot be just about temperature
| RandomThoughts3 wrote:
| Everyone who has ever had to deal with food moths or weevils
| so many people I would guess. I also put it through the
| freezer before.
|
| Air tight container is a game changer when it comes to
| properly storing dry goods for a long time.
| atombender wrote:
| I do, because I find the bag to be messy. No matter how
| careful I am, it's impossible to open, take flour out, and
| close it without spilling a fine mist of flour around it.
|
| With a container (I recommend Anchor Hocking's aluminium
| containers that have a rubber seal and a metal latch), I
| never have any issues. Open, carefully scoop out, close.
| Easier to wipe down, too. And the latch keeps stuff sealed
| even if the container falls over or is moved around. Easier
| to stack in a cupboard, too.
|
| I also use this type of container for rice, grains, spices,
| pasta, etc.
| com2kid wrote:
| I do, to maintain freshness and to keep the kitchen neat. A
| single bag of flour can last me over a year.
|
| Also the bags sold in the US are so flimsy that they almost
| always leak flour everywhere just by sitting still.
| totallymike wrote:
| We have a handful of containers in our house for such
| purposes. Flour and cat food are the first two that come to
| mind, and using them is exclusively a better experience than
| leaving these products in their original container.
|
| That said, they often sit unused because we forget to
| actually do the transfer!
| totallymike wrote:
| I remember a few years ago when we started to see sour cream in
| similar squeeze bottles and what a revelation it felt like. No
| more watery separation or dried out clumps, and no need for
| something to scoop it out with. Now a number of brands package
| it this way, and it's the kind you see in our refrigerator most
| often
| andai wrote:
| I found this wonderful page on the author's website:
|
| https://interconnected.org/home/2020/09/24/unoffice_hours
|
| >For the past month or so, as an experiment, I've been opening my
| calendar each week for video calls with whoever books a time.
| It's been amazing. Wednesday is now my favourite day.
|
| >I loved those open conversations over coffee in the Before
| Times. There's an ostensible reason to connect, so you talk about
| work, or compare notes about an idea, or whatever.
|
| >But then the unexpected emerges. There are things in your head
| that you only know are there when you say them.
| greenie_beans wrote:
| kinda related: would love to see somebody to innovate in the book
| distribution space.
| meowster wrote:
| How so?
|
| (Not me, but I'm curious, and who knows, maybe someone else
| here can.)
| firesteelrain wrote:
| What's with the annoying cursors ?
___________________________________________________________________
(page generated 2024-10-06 23:01 UTC)