Mistake #18: Launching Too Many SKUs at Once

Launching Too Many SKUs at Once (and “Filling the Line” Instead of Expanding Smartly)

Many founders think the path to growth is adding more and more variations of their original product: more scents, more sizes, more colors, more formulas. That approach feels like you’re building a “full line,” but what actually happens is you end up spreading yourself thin — and locking up cash in the wrong places.

A better approach (especially early) is to launch different products, not endless versions of the same one.

Why “Filling the Line” is a Trap

When you keep adding more variants of one category (for example: lavender, eucalyptus, peppermint, rose… and so on), you’re not expanding your customer base — you’re just dividing your existing customers across more choices.

That means:

• more slow SKUs

• more storage

• more inventory cost

• more forecasting

• more complexity

• more cash frozen in options

• less clarity in what actually sells

Instead of becoming bigger, your business becomes heavier.

different products

Why launching different product types often grows faster

Launching different products opens new reasons for customers to buy, such as:

• a foot soak vs a body soak

• a spray vs a cream

• a balm vs an oil

• a household product vs a personal product

Different categories = different use cases = different selling opportunities.

That’s how you grow your average order value and your reorder potential.

Example

If you offer 10 fragrances of the same soak, customers are still buying one soak.

But if you offer:

• soak

• spray

• cream

• body butter

• scrub

Now they can buy 5 products, not choose from 10 scents of the same one.

That multiplies the cart value AND the reorder cycles.

So here’s the smarter sequence

Don’t:fill up a line with 20 versions

Do:launch 1–3 winners, let them prove themselves, then expand horizontally into new product categories that solve new problems.

Vertical variety slows you down.Horizontal expansion builds your brand.

Strong Rule to Remember

“It’s better to launch different products than keep adding more versions of the same one.”

Founder’s Reflection (Mayer):

I used to think a full line meant a long list of versions. Later I realized a real line is built on different products, not just different scents. When I shifted my focus to creating new product categories instead of filling the shelves with endless variations, both sales and reorders grew faster.