A product’s greatest value lies in who we become through using it.

I’ve seen this demonstrated at a local coffee shop where the barista uses a matte black Fellow kettle to make pour-over coffee.

The precise spout, the measured movements, the quiet expertise — it’s a performance that captivates customers waiting for their drinks.

Interestingly, most coffee shops don’t sell pour-over equipment. That’s not the goal of the demonstration.

But watching this ritual, repeated in cafes everywhere, has driven countless coffee lovers like me to add pour-over systems to our homes — despite having perfectly good coffee makers already on our counters.

Why? Because we envisioned ourselves recreating this ritual at home, thereby becoming connoisseurs in our own right. Demonstration has tremendous power in stimulating this kind of repeating fantasy.

This desired future state is what I call the Coveted Condition™.

It’s the meaningful long-term transformation that makes a product feel essential rather than optional.

Consider those Japanese knives I mentioned yesterday.

Sharp blades slice beautifully, yes. Of course they do.

But the Coveted Condition is when the owner is transformed into a serious cook who understands craftsmanship, executes advanced techniques with confidence, and draws admiring glances when friends gather in the kitchen.

It’s what the owner would miss the most if the product was taken away a year or more after adopting it.

The Coveted Condition explains why someone will spend $300 on a single knife while their kitchen drawer overflows with perfectly functional $20 ones.

The purchase opens a door to transformation.

Look around and you’ll spot this pattern:

• Embr Wave users regain command over their bodies
• Fitbit Charge 6 wearers grow into health prioritizers
• Moleskine writers see themselves as creators

For product makers, understanding your customers’ Coveted Condition has huge value. Features and benefits do matter, but the lasting transformation buyers daydream about drives the real desire.

This works even for seemingly simple products.

A Montblanc pen transforms its owner into a writing instrument connoisseur.

A Herman Miller chair signals arrival at a higher level of career success.

Your product competes against your ideal customer’s vision of their future self.

Until your product becomes what fulfills it.

What’s the Coveted Condition your product enables?