Many beverage businesses pledge some kind of charitable donation - perhaps a small percentage of profits, or a donation every year.
But other beverage brands are taking this to the next level and consider social good to be an integral and unwavering part of their identity and purpose as a brand.
How can they do this while also creating long-term growth and success for their brand?
Building a brand over 20 years
Duncan Goose founded One Water in 2005, the mission to sell bottled water to fund water projects across the world.
He was inspired to create the brand after two years of motorbiking around the world: during which time, he was caught in Hurricane Mitch in Honduras and found himself without safe, clean water – a situation millions of people face every day.
The brand got off to a great start – the first bottles seen by the public were in the hands of Brad Pitt at Live8 in 2005. But since then it’s grown - (today the brand is available in an array of stores such as Co-op , Holland & Barrett, NISA, Starbucks, Whole Foods Market, World Duty Free) - and developed (becoming B-Corp and carbon neutral).
The business model is simple: for every bottle sold, a donation is made to the One Water Foundation. This year, the company reached an impressive milestone: it has raised £30m to support clean water projects and helped change the lives of more than 5 million people. The company is now targeting £50m in donations by 2030.
But the only way to increase donations and impact is by growing and developing the brand brand. How does Goose balance maximizing donations to The One Foundation with investing in the brand itself?
“This is a great question to which I would say that it’s hard to grow a business when you keep giving money away,” he said. “Not impossible, but definitely harder.
“We have a Board on the Foundation that is independent of the business and I sit across both, so I see the ‘give/take’ arguments from both sides, but usually there is a happy compromise - we want to see both sides succeed on the basis that by doing so it will change more people’s lives.”
One of the factors that has driven that brand’s success is a clear focus on a clear cause. “We have always tried to be very single-minded in what we say and do - we sell water and that helps fund clean water projects in some of the world’s poorest communities,” said Goose.
“I think there are some true brand advocates out there and they are super helpful in terms of building awareness - next time you travel through an airport, just ask any World Duty Free employees about the water they sell and - I hope - you’ll see what I mean!”
Brewgooder
BrewGooder launched in 2016 as a beer brand dedicated to making better lives for others.
Within the first three months, it had sold enough lager to support its firs- ever water project: supplying consistent clean water access to a rural village of more than 5,000 people. It’s now one of the highest rated B-Corp brands in the world.
But for BrewGooder, its work goes beyond donating to charity. Its most recent project – launched in August – is to spearhead the growth of a Fairtrade fonio grain supply chain.
Fonio – an ancient, nutritious West African grain with potential to thrive despite climate change – is growing in popularity in the Western world: and BrewGooder wants to create an ethical supply chain for the grain.
In creating a world-first Fairtrade-certified Open Grain initiative – which can be accessed by any UK brewer – BrewGooder wants to create a supply chain that’s ethical, transparent and sustainable.
For Alan Mahon, Brewgooder founder, doing good is all about encouraging mass change across the industry.
“What we love about this supply chain and what makes it different and unique for fonio as a grain and the brewing industry in general is that it seeks to include the grain and the people who grow it in a fair way, and it is one that can be tapped into by any other brewery through the Open Grain initiative,” he said.
“This gives our industry not just the chance to be on the front foot with a climate resilient grain, but to do so in a way that is, most importantly, founded on principles of inclusion and fairness for those growing it.
“Prior to this, we sourced fonio from different sources, inefficiently and with numerous challenges. Now we have an end-to-end supply chain that is not just more efficient and robust but is fair and transparent.”
‘We’re 49% greedy!’
Earlier this year, UK soft drinks start-up Counter Culture Drinks made a bold announcement: it’s given away 51% of its business to charities.
Its ‘commercially compassionate’ (CC) shares are given to charities and civil society organizations that share the brand’s values and vision.
Driven by a goal to raise at least £1 million for non-profit organisations through the kombucha company’s business endeavors, Tom Smart, CEO, was inspired by pioneering companies such as Patagonia and movements such as B Corp that have changed what it means to be a purpose driven business.
Counter Culture’s first two organizsations to benefit from the CC shareholder model are Alcohol Change UK (the alcohol charity behind the Dry January campaign) and BillyChip (a social enterprise and charitable foundation that operates a ‘street currency’ – in partnership with retailers, the redeemable currency supports rough sleepers and homeless charities).
How does this work? The shares - split 25.5% to each of the above organizations - are non-voting and don’t pay out a dividend; instead with the charities getting 5% of total sales. But the charities still essentially own 51% of the company - if it was to be sold, they’d receive 51% of the proceeds.
And, while the charities may not have voting rights, they have signed agreements with Counter Culture as to what the business stands for. For example, the agreements state Counter Culture won’t produce alcoholic drinks above 0.5% ABV - as alcoholic drinks would obviously not align with Alcohol Change and Billy Chip’s missions and values.
The idea, said Smart, is to experiment with a new model that is an antidote to the traditional way of thinking about profit, profit and profit: and integrate the good causes into the business from the very start.
He still considers the company one that’s focused on a good product and remains ’49% greedy'. Like any good start-up, he’s identified a growth opportunity with kombucha - a category that’s exploded in the US and holds strong potential in the UK (with supermarket sales of kombucha growing by 31% in value and 28% in volume during 2023 alone) - and focused on creating a strong brand.
But he wants to showcase a new model and make other companies think about how to make good causes and integral part of their business.
“We really want to use our brand, product and platform to really engage with these good causes - rather than just slamming a logo on the can and say ‘a small bit of money goes here or there’,” he said. “The idea of a ‘percentage of profits’ is so easy to manipulate! I wanted to come up with something that was bold and stood out.
“I hope other people are inspired by this model. We picked 51% as a statement, but if someone goes on to use this model with a 5% or 10% share, then why not,” he said.
'Grog and bog': The non-alcoholic brew that helps build loos
'Who Gives a Crap' sells toilet paper with bright colorful packaging, playful branding - and a mission to donate 50% of profits to help build toilets and improve sanitation in the developing world.
Started in 2012, it has raised over £7m ($9m USD) to date.
This year it's built on that with its first limited-edition 'non-alcoholic brew that helps build loos' brewed with Australian non-alcoholic brewer Heaps Normal. 50% of profits go to clean water and sanitation, with Heaps Normal pledging an extra $1.50 per can to WaterAid.
The Cheeky IPA is available in a 4-pack or as a 'grog and bog' pack.
"Did we have a little bit too much fun playing around with toilet jokes? Well, yes," said Heaps Normal co-founder. "But this special beer release isn't just some flush in the pan... we're showing you can have a lot of fun while delivering a seriously positive impact. You'll be bummed if you miss it."
Consumers seek out ethical brands
Research shows consumers are increasingly looking for ethical brands or brands with purpose.
It’s tempting to champion this as a new movement, but Duncan Goose of One Water – a brand that’s gearing up to celebrate its 20th anniversary – says this desire is not new.
“I think consumers who ‘want to do good’ have always been part of society,” he said. ”If you look back to the early Co-Op movement and the Rochdale Pioneers [essentially an early co-operative] it was there then and history is littered with early social entrepreneurs, stemming back hundreds of years - right the way through to the early days of the Fairtrade movement to where we are today.
“However, what I think has probably changed is the awareness of these brands, partly helped by the evolution of ‘marks’ such as the original ‘Social Enterprise’ one, or the more recent ‘B Corp’ to help flag to consumers that something good is going on….linked to the rise of social media and ‘badging’ - the impact when people say ‘look at me with this brand’.
“When we first started (back in 2005), no one wanted to invest in businesses with purpose, but that world has changed (look at ‘Who Gives A Crap’ as a great example) so I think it’s probably easier for emerging brands today.”
