2026: Expansion

On Main Squeeze and what's next

Our goal for 2025 was simple: to validate our right to exist. And we did exactly that.

With Main Squeeze, I wanted to prove there was demand for a new experience of compression wear - one rooted in excellent fabrication, without sacrificing design, comfort, or medical functionality. We’re delivering something meaningfully different, and it’s clearly resonating.

We’ve had our foot on the pedal all year, so this quiet week between Christmas and New Year has given me a moment to reflect on what worked, what didn’t, and what we’re taking forward.

Some of our wins are visible: 100%+ month-on-month growth, awards, MHRA registration, earned media coverage, and zero returns—all achieved with a single distribution channel, and a lean marketing budget. Other wins were quieter, internal decisions and course corrections that have set us up for sustainable, long-term growth.

So rather than celebrating outcomes, I want to share a few of the learnings that shaped how we operated and allowed us to end the year with profitability in sight.

Learning #1: Protect your margins

We chose to work with a 3PL from day one, with the intention of being “set up for scale.” In theory, it was the right instinct. In practice, I misjudged both the contract structure and the partner fit.

In those first few months, when our primary goal was demand validation, fixed fees were punitive. For much of the year, a meaningful portion of our margin was eroded by costs that only make sense at volume. By mid-year, it was clear that I needed to do something about it.

Before entering Q4, we secured a new fulfilment setup with zero fixed recurring costs and no minimums, reducing our fulfilment cost per order by roughly 40%.

That decision fundamentally reset how I think about early-stage systems. At this stage, flexibility beats theoretical scale-readiness every time.

Learning #2: Focus is capital allocation

Limited resources mean something always has to give. When we launched at the end of last year, we were shipping to both the UK and the US. Over time, tariffs and ongoing uncertainty made it increasingly difficult to keep the US market active without it becoming economically irrational.

We made the decision to pause US operations and focus where unit economics were most favourable in the medium term. That focus served us well. Concentrating our efforts reduced complexity, sharpened execution, and allowed us to learn faster. When we return to the US, we’ll do so with better systems, clearer insight, and a much stronger footing.

This year was defined by decisions that reduced surface area in order to ensure longevity.

Learning #3: Momentum over everything

In the early days, I was highly specific, especially about creative direction and visual communication. That level of precision often came at the expense of time, and in turn, attention. Perfection slowed us down.

With limited resources, I learned that building and sustaining momentum matters far more than executing on an exact creative ideal. What we needed was constant forward motion, enough acceleration to stay visible, relevant, and in the conversation for press, awards, and eventually retail. As long as we stayed true to our core message and clearly offered a new way of seeing compression socks, I was willing to loosen my grip.

That momentum has been the foundation of much of our early success.

The broader context: launching into a hard moment

This was not an easy year to launch a consumer brand, especially one without significant influencer backing or external capital.

The 2025 landscape is characterised by high marketing costs, onerous retail terms, and constrained consumer spending. Discovery has become noisier as social media feeds prioritise prediction over affiliation, and at the same time, trust in media has drastically eroded. The landscape increasingly favours large, well-resourced brands, and even corporate incumbents are leaning on price increases rather than volume for growth.

That said, this is the only environment I know as a founder. I can’t reminisce about a time when CPMs were $6, because that was never my reality. We launched into high costs, low trust, with limited margin for error. And while that may sound bleak, I’ve come to see these constraints as a gift. They’ve forced financial discipline, operational clarity, and creative restraint early. The traction we’ve gained in just twelve months has come despite macroeconomic headwinds and real microeconomic pressure – giving me even more confidence in what we’re building.

Looking ahead to 2026

In 2026, our focus will shift from validation to expansion, starting with brand awareness. That includes retail distribution, new marketing channels, and new products. But the foundation remains the same: deepening our understanding of our customer. We know who they are and what they like, but there’s still a lot more to learn. Stronger feedback loops will guide how we grow, because good product is the prerequisite for everything else. Without continuous, honest feedback, scale is meaningless.

We’ll be raising capital to support this next phase and are interested in speaking with angels, syndicates, family offices, and other alternative sources of capital that invest in category-defining CPG brands. If you’re reading this and someone comes to mind, I’d love an introduction.