Most brands try to be rational.
"Here's what we do." "Here's why you should buy from us." "Look at all our great features." "We're so much better than the competition."
That's not positioning.
That's a boring ass spec sheet no one wants to read.
Magic Spoon took a different approach — and it paid off big.
- $50M+ in revenue
- $209M in funding over five rounds
- Backed by trusted influencers and health experts
They became an oxymoron.
Here's how that positioning play works.
Oxymoron Positioning
For those of you who don't know, Magic Spoon is a cereal company that dared to do the impossible:
Make healthy cereal that tastes great.
They've taken all our favorite childhood cereals and created a version that's high in protein, keto-friendly, and has 0 grams of sugar.
It was a brilliantly strategic move.
Cereal tends to fall into two buckets:
- Tasty, but bad for you (Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Crunch Berries, Cocoa Pebbles)
- Good for you, but nasty (Fiber One, Grape Nuts)
Work with a personal trainer or nutritionist, and the first thing they'll tell you is, "Stop eating cereal."
What Magic Spoon did was take two opposing ideas in their industry and smash them together.
Healthy Cereal + Tasty Cereal
It was a bold, strategic move that paid off — it grabbed attention by being different.
Owning that Position
Combining two opposing ideas into one product isn't enough.
You need the messaging and marketing to support it.
Magic Spoon nailed it:
Childhood classics. Grown-up ingredients.
It evokes the nostalgia of our favorite childhood cereals while conveying the health benefits of grown-up ingredients.
They didn't stop there.
- Distribution with Whole Foods
- Content that shows the healthy side of their cereal
- Content that is playful and evokes childhood nostalgia
- Ordering online while also being found in stores
- Partnerships with health influencers
They leaned into this oxymoron in everything they do.
Which is the key to great positioning.
What This Means for You
You're not a cereal company.
But the lessons apply to you.
- Find 2 opposing ideas in your industry
- Smash them together into a new and different offer
- Own that position through messaging and marketing that highlights the contrast
If you do that, your offer WILL be different — something your ideal customers can't get anywhere else.
And with the right messaging and marketing, it will be memorable and appealing.
Exactly what you need to drive revenue.
Be an oxymoron.
It's a great position to hold in the market.
Until next week,
#SassyJason out.
✌🏼