Authentic product development means building a brand story and a customer identity first, then creating a product that embodies them. It’s about having a point of view.
On Shopify Masters, designer Michael Petry drove this home when he talked about the long-term benefits of operating with authenticity. His approach is to literally embody your customer's lifestyle in the product design itself. It's not a layer you add on with marketing. Similarly, James Reeves of Diefendorff watches explained on the eCommerce MasterPlan podcast how he built his entire company by focusing on brand and customers from the start, using a strong narrative to create a connection. Authentic products come from an authentic brand.
The key is to not over-invest before you know the story connects. Several hosts bring up the lean startup method, and the "100 T-Shirts" approach from a Shopify Masters episode is the perfect tactical version of this. It’s a strategy for validating your product idea by seeing if you can sell a small, simple batch to real people. It lets you test your unique point of view with minimal risk. Your first step is to figure out your own "100 T-Shirt" test.