Episode · 2026-07-07
Aldi Leans into Blind Boxes?
Aldi Leans into Blind Boxes? | Chevy's All-American EV Flops | Ricola's Non-Drop Drops
Rundown
Chris and Colin debate whether Aldi's new blind/mystery boxes are a smart loss-leader tactic to drive foot traffic, question whether Chevy's EV push fits a truck brand built on rugged utility, and doubt Ricola's Gen Z-targeted energy 'drops' will land. Guest Kurt Elster of EtherCycle joins to talk building Shopify sites, hosting the Unofficial Shopify Podcast, and how AI coding tools like Claude have changed his workflow, before the show covers a new commerce-data startup (American Spend) and closes with a lightning round on Pringles hot dog buns.
Takes from this episode
Aldi's mystery/blind boxes are a smart tactic to pull shoppers back into physical stores and drive incremental impulse spend, even if the boxes themselves aren't profitable, similar to a loss-leader like Costco's rotisserie chicken.
it's it's like the rotisserie chicken at um at at Costco. So, I like it.
Chevy's EV push is a mismatched category extension because Chevy truck buyers value rugged, work-ready capability, not EV attributes, unlike Rivian's more lifestyle-oriented audience.
no one who wants a Chevy wants an EV... A Chevy is meant for work and it's meant for rugged terrain and it's people who want to deal with that stuff.
Colin is skeptical Ricola's new energy 'drops' will sell to him personally, but concedes Gen Z's lack of preconceived notions about the legacy cough-drop brand could make the extension work for that audience.
I'm not buying drops, extra drops that aren't cough drops from Ricola... they don't have a preconceived notion of Ricola because Ricola is like your grandmother's brand.
Kurt Elster argues AI coding tools like Claude don't replace developers but massively empower them, even though it changes the emotional payoff of building things yourself.
I don't think that's true. I think AI doesn't replace people, but I think it empowers them hugely. That's the way to look at it.
Reframing anxiety as 'positive stress' that signals motivation, rather than something purely negative, is a useful mental model for staying productive as a founder/operator.
That's positive stress to motivate you for what you need to get done. That's your brain telling you, hey, there's stuff you want to go do.