What a Sandwich Can Teach Us About AI, Commerce, and Creativity
Let’s talk about sandwiches. Or, more specifically, let’s talk about a sandwich without the bread—a “Sub in a Tub.” You might be thinking, “Alastair, I came here for AI wisdom, not a lunch order.” But if you’ll indulge me, there’s something quietly transformative about sub in a tub recipe culture that’s worth unpacking—pun fully intended.
Breadless, Not Brainless: A Lesson in Remixing
Here’s the thing: The Sub in a Tub isn’t an invention so much as a remix. You take the familiar (cold cuts, cheese, toppings), remove a core component (bread), and suddenly you have something that feels new, healthier, and—let’s admit it—oddly necessary for a crowd that’s either counting carbs or just wants a fresher take on lunch.
This is not unlike what’s happening in AI and ecommerce. We’re in an era where the most interesting shifts aren’t always about net-new inventions, but about remixing, reimagining, and, sometimes, removing what we always assumed was essential. The Sub in a Tub is just a culinary version of “prompt engineering”—swapping out ingredients, recombining ideas, and arriving at a solution that fits emerging needs.
Why Should Entrepreneurs and Marketers Care?
For those of us who live at the intersection of AI and commerce, this sandwich metaphor isn’t just lunchtime inspiration—it’s a blueprint. The sub in a tub recipe is a product born from constraint: a response to dietary trends, lifestyle shifts, and (let’s be honest) the growing realization that bread can sometimes get in the way. The same pressures are reshaping how we design products, build marketing funnels, and develop digital experiences.
Think of the classic ecommerce funnel—landing page, product page, cart, checkout. What if you removed the “bread” from your funnel? What if you stripped away the unnecessary layers, using AI to personalize, streamline, or even automate what used to feel like essential steps? The result could be a “Sub in a Tub” for your business: familiar ingredients, new delivery.
Eating the Future: The AI Analogy
AI right now is that intern in your kitchen—eager, sometimes messy, occasionally brilliant. It’s great at taking instructions, remixing what’s already there, and surprising you with combinations you hadn’t considered. But it needs your guidance to avoid, say, putting pickles where you wanted olives, or mistaking “tub” for “bathtub.”
What the Sub in a Tub teaches us—yes, really—is that real transformation rarely looks like a Hollywood montage. It’s more often a process of informed subtraction. AI’s biggest impact on commerce isn’t in creating entirely new worlds from scratch, but in helping us see which parts of our business processes are “bread”—filling, but maybe not essential.
Takeaways for Podcast Listeners and Builders
- Embrace the Remix: Don’t be afraid to deconstruct your offerings. What happens if you remove a core component? Test, taste, iterate.
- Feed Your AI Well: Like any chef’s assistant, AI does best with clear instructions and quality ingredients. Garbage in, garbage out. Use human-centered prompts and let AI surprise you.
- Listen for Constraints: The best innovations often come from limitations. Dietary needs forced the Sub in a Tub into existence; what limitations are your customers facing?
- Keep It Human: A Sub in a Tub still tastes great because it keeps the soul of the sandwich. Don’t lose your brand’s personality in the quest for automation or efficiency.
Actionable Steps: From Lunch to Launch
- Audit your current workflows. Where are you adding “bread” just because everyone else does?
- Experiment with AI not as a replacement, but as a collaborator. Use it to remix, not just reproduce.
- Stay curious about constraints. Lean into the limitations—dietary, technological, or market-based—that your audience is navigating.
- And for goodness’ sake, go try a Sub in a Tub. Sometimes the most transformative ideas are just lunch in disguise.
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