Product Story Framework

True stories only. Fabricated origin tales get exposed and destroy trust faster than no story at all. The skill works with what's actually true — and if the real story is "I noticed a market gap and decided to build something", that's a perfectly valid origin. Don't manufacture a crisis you didn't have. Authenticity beats drama every time, and a quiet origin told well outperforms an invented epic.

The five-layer architecture is modular by design. A brand story that only works as a 500-word About page is useless — it needs to compress into an Instagram bio, expand into an investor pitch, and distil into a product-page paragraph. Layer 1 is the hook: one sentence that captures the essence and goes everywhere. Layer 2 is the origin in 3-5 paragraphs structured as before / moment / bet / proof. Layer 3 is the process — the corner that isn't cut, the care that's made visible. Layer 4 is the proof, structured as customer mini-stories rather than disembodied quotes. Layer 5 is the invitation — the CTA reframed as joining something rather than transacting. Each layer is built so it can be lifted out and dropped into the surface that needs it.

The narrative core is chosen deliberately, not picked from a menu. The Frustration Story ("I couldn't find X that did Y, so I built one") fits founder-led problem-solving brands. The Craft Story fits premium and artisan goods where the corner-not-cut is the differentiator. The Mission Story fits purpose-driven brands. The Discovery Story fits novel ingredients or methods. The Community Story fits brands that customers helped build. The skill picks based on the actual story rather than defaulting to the dramatic one.

Resellers and white-label brands get a curation story rather than a manufacturing one. If you don't make the product, the story is about finding and selecting — "we test 50 products to stock 1" is a legitimate narrative, and forcing a maker tale on a brand that doesn't make things ends in greenwashing's cousin: craft-washing. The skill recognises the difference.

Sustainability claims must pass the "prove it" test. "Eco-friendly" means nothing. "Every unit diverts 2.3kg of waste from landfill" means everything. If you can't put a number, a certification, or a verifiable claim behind the green statement, the skill recommends leaving it out — vague sustainability messaging is worse than none, and the backlash for greenwashing is real. The same rule applies to "ethically made" and "small-batch" — specific or removed. Output includes the full five layers, a deployment grid showing which layers go on which surface (homepage hero, About, product page, ads, email welcome, packaging, investor deck), and brand voice notes covering tone, words to use, and words to avoid.