---
title: "CartSnitch Brand Voice Guide"
status: draft
version: 1.0
last_updated: 2026-03-18
description: "CartSnitch tone, personality, key phrases, and do/don't examples for all public-facing content."
---

# CartSnitch Brand Voice Guide

## Who We Are

CartSnitch is a consumer advocacy tool that tracks grocery prices, detects shrinkflation, and fights price gouging. We exist because the grocery industry has better data about your spending than you do — and we're here to fix that.

**Tagline:** Your grocery bill shouldn't be a mystery.

## Brand Personality

CartSnitch is the sharp, data-savvy friend who actually reads the fine print on your grocery receipt and says, "Did you know you're paying 15% more per ounce for that cereal?" We're not preachy. We're not angry. We're the person at the barbecue who drops a fact that makes everyone pull out their phone to check.

### Three words that define us:

1. **Informed** — We lead with data, not opinions. Every claim is backed by numbers.
2. **Direct** — We don't hedge or bury the lead. If a brand shrunk its product, we say so.
3. **Slightly irreverent** — We take the problem seriously, but not ourselves. A little personality goes a long way when talking about toilet paper shrinkage.

## Voice Principles

### 1. Data is the story

Never publish a claim without a number to back it. The data is what makes us credible and shareable. Opinions are cheap — data is what people screenshot and send to their group chat.

**Do:** "Cheerios went from 15 oz to 13.5 oz. Same box. Same price. That's an 10% hidden price increase."
**Don't:** "Companies are ripping you off with sneaky packaging tricks!"

### 2. Respect the reader's intelligence

Our audience is smart. They already suspect something's off with their grocery bill — they just don't have the tools to prove it. Don't explain basic concepts. Don't over-simplify. Give them the data and let them draw conclusions.

**Do:** "The average family spends $14,000/year on groceries. Even a 5% optimization saves $700."
**Don't:** "Did you know groceries are really expensive? It's true! And prices keep going up!"

### 3. Be specific, not dramatic

Specifics are more powerful than superlatives. "Eggs went up 70% in 2023" hits harder than "egg prices skyrocketed to unprecedented levels." The data speaks for itself — don't add theatrical adjectives.

**Do:** "This bag of Doritos was 9.25 oz in 2022. It's 9 oz today. Same price."
**Don't:** "In a SHOCKING move, snack companies are SECRETLY shrinking your favorite chips!"

### 4. Consumer-first, always

Every piece of content should help someone save money or understand what's happening to their grocery bill. If a post doesn't serve the consumer, it doesn't go out.

**Do:** "Here's what we found when we compared the same 10 items at Walmart, Kroger, and Target."
**Don't:** "CartSnitch uses advanced machine learning to analyze price fluctuations across retail channels."

### 5. No fear-mongering

We are not a doom-and-gloom brand. The grocery landscape is frustrating, but we're here to give people power, not anxiety. Frame everything around what people can *do* with the information.

**Do:** "Knowing when prices drop could save your family $100/month. Here's how to set alerts."
**Don't:** "You're hemorrhaging money every time you walk into a grocery store and you don't even know it."

## Tone Spectrum

| Context | Tone | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Blog posts | Informative, conversational | "You know the feeling. The total pops up and it's... more than you expected. Again." |
| Social media | Punchy, data-forward | "Same bag. Same price. 2 fewer ounces. Doritos, we see you." |
| Email | Warm, direct | "Hey there — we tracked your grocery prices this week. Good news: chicken is down 12%." |
| Press/PR | Professional, data-driven | "CartSnitch analysis of 10,000+ products across 12 retail chains reveals..." |
| Error/UI messages | Friendly, brief | "We hit a snag connecting to your Meijer account. Let's try again." |

## Key Phrases We Use

- "Your grocery bill shouldn't be a mystery"
- "The data behind your receipt"
- "Same price, less product"
- "Price transparency for real people"
- "Track. Compare. Save."
- "We do the math so you don't have to"

## Phrases We Avoid

- "Big Grocery" or conspiracy framing
- "They don't want you to know" (paranoid tone)
- "Shocking" / "unbelievable" / "jaw-dropping" (clickbait superlatives)
- "Hack" / "trick" / "secret" (we're not a lifehack site)
- Technical jargon: API, ML, algorithm, data pipeline, SKU (in consumer-facing content)
- "Disrupting" / "revolutionizing" (startup clichés)

## Grammar and Style

- **Numbers:** Use numerals for all numbers in data-driven content (e.g., "5 products" not "five products")
- **Percentages:** Always use % symbol with numeral (e.g., "12%" not "twelve percent")
- **Currency:** Dollar sign, two decimals for exact prices ($4.89), no decimals for rounded ($14,000/year)
- **Brand names:** Always capitalize correctly (e.g., "Meijer" not "meijer", "Kroger" not "kroger")
- **CartSnitch:** Always one word, capital C and S. Never "Cart Snitch" or "Cartsnitch" or "cartsnitch"
- **Contractions:** Yes. We're conversational. Use "you're," "we're," "don't," "can't."
- **Oxford comma:** Yes, always.
- **Em dashes:** Use for emphasis and asides — they add personality.
- **Active voice:** Always. "We tracked 10,000 products" not "10,000 products were tracked."

## Channel-Specific Guidelines

### Blog
- 800-1,500 words
- Lead with the most interesting data point
- Include at least 3 specific, sourced data points per post
- End with a clear CTA (signup, share, or read more)
- Conversational but well-structured with clear headers

### Twitter/X
- Lead with the data, not the setup
- Use line breaks for readability
- Threads for deep dives, single tweets for spotlights
- Always include the source or a link

### Reddit
- Match the subreddit tone — don't sound like a brand
- Lead with value, not promotion
- Never hard-sell. Let the data speak.
- Engage in comments authentically

### Email
- Subject lines: specific benefit or data point, under 50 characters
- Keep body scannable — short paragraphs, bullet points
- One primary CTA per email
- Personal tone — write like it's from a person, not a company