We cancelled our first production run.

Our first production run never reached a customer. We stopped it ourselves.

This part of making a product usually stays inside the company. You should see it, because it decides what ends up in your hands.

What was wrong with the first run?

In August 2026 our first supplier finished our first production run. When we checked it, the quality was not consistent. Cards that should have been identical were not. And the printing on the packaging did not match what was inside it.

Why didn't we ship it anyway?

Because you would have been the one to open it.

We have one line we do not move: what is printed on the pack has to match what is in it, and every card in a batch has to be the same card. This run did not meet that. So it did not ship. Not at a lower standard, and not as a "first batch" with an excuse attached.

What did that decision cost?

Time. We had a launch date, and we gave it up.

We went back to the start: a new supplier, sampling again, the product built a second time. That is months of work done twice. The alternative was to launch on schedule with a product we already knew was not right. We would rather be late than hand you the wrong product.

What did we do differently the second time?

I went to the factory. For the second run I was on site before anything shipped, with the drawings, a caliper and the packaging specification. I checked the packaging and the print, not only the cards. Those are the two things that failed the first time.

Was that the end of it?

No. The second run shipped, and it was still not perfect. That is the next entry: What our first batch taught us about design for manufacturing.

Making a product well is not one decision. It is the same decision, made again each time something is not right.