Anything that doesn’t scale, fails to scale because of increasing marginal cost, At some point with each additional quantity produced the next item is more expensive than the last.

Usually this starts to happen when you outstretch the capacity of your fixed or semi fixed assets. Try growing more of anything than you have space for or the tools for. You will reach a limit and beyond that point the marginal cost increases. But you can still find a new way to do something which breaks through that limit to further expand production beyond the previous point where marginal costs increased. It’s based on current tech, skill, knowledge, space, tools, people, etc.

If a production method allows “a lot” to be produced beneficially it is said to “scale” atleast in the space of what is being produced. But regardless of what that limit is, producing up to that point can still be beneficial.

You may just need to change your expectations. You may not be able to corner the market in every grocery store, but you may be able to provide your immediate family with all the Basil they will ever need.

Here is a list of the things that at some point, do not scale: Everything