While I won't say that the Aldi curls are bad, they lack the same flavorful, cheesy, and almost rich flavor of Cheetos. They're lackluster in both flavor and color, and I just couldn't see myself buying them again.
When planning our budgets, we tend to focus on cutting costs. Yet, sometimes a little strategic spending can help to save money in the long term, by reducing our regular expenses and replacing repeat purchases of single-use items.
Kantar's codebase was legacy old. The kind of technical debt that isn't a line item on a sprint board but a structural reality that shapes every decision the company makes. Rebuilding the architecture to support what I'd designed would have cost more than the organization was willing to invest, regardless of the Barilla deal sitting on the table.
Discounting has been part of retail's toolkit for decades, and it can be effective, especially during high-stakes shopping seasons. But as promotions become more frequent across the industry, companies are taking a closer look at the downside: Short-term sales gains don't always come with long-term loyalty or durable margins, and customers remember how a brand made them feel far more than what they saved at checkout.