---
title: When Variety Stops Helping
description: When more products don’t mean more growth. Why smart companies cut complexity, focus their portfolios, and grow by doing less — with data to prove it.
---

[Marek's Insights](https://marekdvorak.net/mareks-insights)

# [When Variety Stops Helping](https://marekdvorak.net/mareks-insights/when-variety-stops-helping)

 Written by [Marek Dvořák](https://marekdvorak.net/mareks-insights/author/marek-dvořák) | Jun 9, 2025 4:22:26 PM

> *Everyone launched more.*  
> *But hardly anyone grew.*

Between 2002 and 2011, consumer goods companies in the U.S. increased product launches by 60%.  
Sales? Just 2.8% per year.  
*(Source: BCG, Bain)*

*Fig. above: More products. Same sales. The pattern was visible a decade ago. Still relevant today.*

Even back then, the pattern was clear.  
More variety didn’t bring more growth.  
And more than ten years later, many are still cleaning up the mess.

## The Illusion of Progress

Every new product feels like progress.  
A flavour for this customer.  
A size for that channel.  
A bundle to keep the retailer happy.

Sometimes it works.  
*Personalization done right, at scale* can lift revenue by 10–15%.  
*(Source: McKinsey, 2022)*

But most variety is not value.  
It is noise.  
It is admin.

It hides here:

- Downtime in factories, smaller batch sizes
- More suppliers
- Extra stock in warehouses
- Ad campaigns split into fragments
- Sales chasing everything, selling nothing

Margins go. Focus goes. Speed goes.

## The Point Where “More” Starts to Hurt

You believe you serve more customers.  
In truth, you split your focus.  
More effort. Same result.

> *Bain says 70% of executives see complexity hurting profit.*  
> *The loss? $16–28 billion in missed annual earnings across the consumer goods sector.*

And when companies try to fix it, they often do it wrong.  
Cutting SKUs by volume, not by cost.  
Killing products — but keeping the messy supply chain that came with them.

That’s not simplification.  
That’s surface cleaning.

## What Simplicity Looks Like

One global tool brand ran the numbers.  
20% of SKUs made 80% of the revenue.

They didn’t just cut.  
They looked at what matters to their core users.  
Some niche items stayed.  
The rest — simplified, redesigned, or gone.

Result: complexity down.  
Operating margin up **70%**.  
*(Source: Bain, 2022)*

Others saw:

- –4 to –7% in COGS after reducing specs (BCG)
- +10% in margins by focusing on core (McKinsey)
- Faster launches, fewer mistakes, clearer brands

## What to Do Instead

1. Remove what drains you 
     - Count **full cost** per product — not only sales, also switching, stock, packaging
     - Cut what sells little and eats margin
     - Avoid “just in case” thinking — every item should **earn its place**
2. Keep what delivers 
     - **Protect your core** — the few products that really move
     - Fix what’s small but needed — redesign, reprice, or simplify
     - Don’t keep complexity only because **it’s familiar**
3. Make simplicity the law 
     - One in, **one out** — no free additions
     - A business case must include complexity cost
     - Review regularly — **once a year is not enough**

## Final Word

Simplicity is not doing less.  
It is doing better.  
With intent.

> *Because when you focus —*  
> ***you grow.***

[View full post](https://marekdvorak.net/mareks-insights/when-variety-stops-helping)

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