In today’s market, the startups with the smallest product lines find the most success. And by small, we mean small — as in a single product.
Yes, a single product. Not one product line. Not one main product with a million differentiations. Only one product.
It’s often hard for business owners to get on board with launching a brand around a single product. This is understandable: It’s natural to equate more products with more money — but the opposite is true when you’re just starting out. The more focused the product offering, the stronger the brand. Just take a look at these billion-dollar brands that started with a single product.
1. Away
The luggage company began in 2016 with a single product — a high-tech carry on. One type of suitcase in one size. The company was profitable by 2017 and is now worth $1.4 billion.
2. Allbirds
Allbirds launched in 2016 with a wool tennis shoe. It sold its millionth pair two years later, and today it’s worth around $1.4 billion.
3. Spanx
In 2000, Sara Blakely released Spanx Footless Pantyhose. Today, Sara herself is worth $1 billion.
These three brands have very different product offerings and very different target markets, but they all managed to achieve extraordinary success. They focused on one product, which meant that they could make that product better than anything else on the market.
Channeling all of your effort into one product allows you to perfect it. If Away had launched with a carry on, a full-size suitcase, a backpack, and a tote bag, would it be reasonable to expect that every single item would be the best on the market? Revolutionary? Completely unlike anything anyone had ever seen before? No. Away would have entered the market with a wide range of standard travel products, which would inevitably get lost in the noise and ultimately end in Away’s failure. Instead, Away was smart. It launched with the best carry on on the market, one that had real points of difference, which got the world’s attention and paved the way for the brand’s success.
“We started with the perfect suitcase, then built from there…”
— Away
But launching with one product doesn’t mean that you are stuck with just that one forever. You can expand after your first product gains traction and your audience knows, likes, and trusts you. Now, Away does have a range of travel products. Allbirds offers shoes, socks, and underwear. Spanx has expanded from shapewear to a full collection of clothing. But these expanded product lines would not have been successful if it weren’t for the one product that established these companies as relevant and trustworthy.
Let One Product Guide Your Message
Your brand has to go deeper than your product. Your brand has to include a visual identity, of course, but it also needs to have a voice, values, and goals that go beyond making money. Your brand is the way people feel when they interact with your company, and getting it right in the early days is just as important as mastering product development.
The beauty of launching with a single product is that your product can guide what your brand looks like, what it sounds like, and what it stands for. This ensures a cohesive brand experience for your customers and your employees. Let’s take a look at how Allbirds did this.
Allbirds founder Tim Brown wanted to create a sustainably made shoe that was simple in design. He had a clear vision for his product, which translated into a clear mission (sustainability) and a clear visual aesthetic (simplicity). In practice, this means that everything Allbirds does is guided by a desire to make the planet better, and every product it delivers, from new shoes to underwear, has a versatile design. And Allbirds’ visual identity is in line with these values too: It has an understated script logo that is inspired by shoelaces, and its photography often nods to the outdoors. But no matter how big Allbirds gets, if you peel back the layers of the brand, you will always find that original shoe in the center.
“Allbirds has a unique tonality and aesthetic, but its emotional territory transcends demographics or geographics. The brand’s personality is rooted in an environmental mission that’s easy to believe in but that is effective only because it’s backed up by genuine innovation and products that do what they’re supposed to.”
— Emily Heyward, Obsessed
It’s hard to create a laser-focused brand without a laser-focused product. When your product has a clear objective, like achieving sustainability and simplicity (Allbirds), making women feel their best (Spanx), or making travel better (Away), your brand has a clear mission. And clarity builds billion-dollar brands.
