# Decision Log — Forkbird Kitchen

## 2026-01-08
- **Brand position: chef-driven, premium plant-based.** Considered value tier; rejected for MVP. Premium positioning is the wedge against marketplace generic plant-based.

## 2026-01-12
- **Five-metro launch: SF, NY, LA, Seattle, Chicago.** Considered three-metro start; rejected as not enough density to test the chef-equity model meaningfully.
- **Ghost kitchen, no storefront.** Storefronts ruled out — capex too high for MVP, dilutes the speed advantage.

## 2026-01-19
- **Pricing tier $14–$22 per entrée.** Modeled against three competitor sets: chain plant-based, fine-dining plant-based delivery, generic mid-tier delivery. Sits cleanly above chain, below fine-dining.
- **Chef equity in metro P&L.** Rejected flat fee + revenue share alternative; equity creates the operator incentive we want.

## 2026-01-26
- **Rejected B2B catering segment for MVP.** Different operational rhythm and customer; would split attention at launch and risk degrading both consumer and B2B execution. Revisit in year 2 if consumer foundation is solid. (Discussion: 2 hours; chef partners weighed in against splitting focus; CFO modeled the dilution effect on consumer kitchen utilization.)
- **Rejected subscription model for MVP.** Operationally expensive at planned scale; revisit once kitchen utilization stabilizes.

## 2026-02-02
- **Sourcing standard: 60% within 200 miles, published per-dish.** Considered weaker thresholds (50% / 250 miles); rejected as not differentiating enough to be worth publishing. The number has to be defensible.
- **Marketplace channel mix: own app + DoorDash + UberEats + Grubhub.** Considered own-app only; rejected as too slow on demand acquisition. Considered marketplaces only; rejected — own app is critical to long-term margin.

## 2026-02-09
- **Six-week menu rotation per chef.** Considered four-week (more freshness) and eight-week (more operational stability). Six is the compromise; reassess after first two cycles.
- **Marketing budget: 60% acquisition / 40% brand.** Rejected pure-acquisition because chef-driven positioning needs brand-level signal that paid acquisition alone won't carry.

## 2026-02-14
- **Brief finalized for Series A inputs.** Status moved to final.
