I sat down recently over lunch with a new friend and wise beverage industry vet and was lucky to hear his simple but insightful advice about a brand he had just sold.

His go-to-market strategy for his brand was all about one abiding principle: following the consumer.  In his case, it was yoga moms at Whole Foods markets.  All he wanted to do was prove out sales with this one consumer, in this one channel.  He went wherever his consumer went and didn’t deviate. He didn’t leap when other retailers called.  He just proved his point, proved the demographic appeal, used the Whole Foods halo to perfection, and then sold for the right number to a strategic all with the right price structure.

It was a case lesson in simple, disciplined focus.