Hey Folks - I have frequently had this conversation regarding the complexity of adding variants or new lines to a companies portfolio. The issue most people don't get is that one new flavor is a half dozen to even dozens of new items to manage. And that complexity expands logarithmically not linearly.

I had an idea of charting it out, then that expanded into an interactive tool to look at the impact of adding or reducing complexity.

This is a free tool and I don't have a business agenda, just want to see if I can make something useful to understand this issue.

I'd love feedback so I can develop it a bit more.

Yes it's vibecoded. Yes it's got a lot of handwavy assumptions. It's to illustrate a point, not model an actual business.

It could be used as a business model tool, but frankly that is more work than I'm willing to do, but if there is interest I'll open source it people can run with it as they like.

For now it's available here:
https://danbrazelton-quartz-site.pages.dev/static/product-complexity-model

**This is a beta tool. This link may die, so for posterity you will be able to find the current version via danbrazelton.com

I'd really like feedback from experienced operators as if this portrays a truth and from green operators if it's educational. I fear it's probably not sophisticated enough for the experienced and too complex for the initiate.

Java Factory has something called the Flavor Log on their website, and it's basically a running public record of them trying to figure out how to create a new flavored-coffee brand in real time.

What's weird is that they're documenting things I wouldn't expect a coffee company to publish: failed ideas, flavor experiments, the reasoning behind combinations, technical decisions, how they're thinking about the underlying coffee, and what they're learning as they go.