Winning the hearts, minds and spending of consumers
Posted: Thu 30th Jan 2025
A rising tide of "change brands" is emerging across the world and acting as powerful catalysts to tackle some of the biggest problems facing humanity.
Brands such as Ocean Bottle and Here We Flo are putting legacy companies under pressure by winning consumers' hearts, minds and spending.
The co-founders of these respective brands – Will Pearson and Susan Allen – joined Chris Baker, co-founder of Change Please and author of Obsolete, at StartUp Show 2025 to explain why one of the best ways to change the world is to create a purpose-driven brand.
They also touched on why many legacy brands and business models will be in danger of becoming obsolete in the next decade if they don't radically reconsider how they do things.
Key points from the session
Chris Baker's talk: Using business to drive social change
The story of Change Please (a socially conscious coffee business)
Inspired by a homeless man outside a café in Covent Garden.
Chris observed that people ignored homeless people but willingly spent £3 to £5 on coffee.
As a solution, he decided to use coffee sales to train homeless individuals as baristas.
Unique approach: "Job first, not housing first" – employment provides income and skills, and boosts self-esteem.
Now supplies coffee to WeWork, David Lloyd, Virgin Atlantic, Google, Amazon and more.
Key factors in Change Please's success
Brand positioning: Treated like a high-end coffee brand (competing with major chains).
Corporate partnerships: Google, Colgate, HSBC – leveraging big business spending.
Mobile support units: Repurposed buses with showers, dentists and medical care for rough sleepers.
10 years of impact: Now in 22 countries, with over 300 corporate partners, helping thousands of homeless people.
Scaling the impact: The power of consumer spending
Consumer spending equals 60% to 70% of GDP in most Western economies. £1.5 trillion in the UK, £14 trillion in the US, £77 trillion globally.
If just 1% of this spending shifted to impact-driven brands, it would equate to £700 billion each year.
Many of the fastest-growing brands today have a social or environmental mission:
SURI (sustainable toothbrushes)
Liquid Death (canned water fighting plastic waste)
Tony's Chocolonely (ethical chocolate)
Ocean Bottle (sustainable water bottles)
We Are Flow (eco-friendly period care)
What makes a "change brand" successful?
Solves a real problem (for example, homelessness, waste, inequality).
Identifies a category issue (for example, most toilet paper is made from virgin trees).
Creates a tangible impact (for example, every Ocean Bottle funds the collection of 1,000 plastic bottles).
If any of these three factors is missing, traction is difficult.
Successful brands integrate sustainability into their business model rather than treating it as an add-on.
Chris Baker's brand: Serious Tissues
Problem: One million trees cut down daily for toilet paper.
Solution: 100% recycled toilet paper, UK-made, plastic-free.
Impact: Every sale funds tree-planting projects, with 1.5 million trees planted so far.
Branding: Fun and engaging, rather than preachy environmentalism.
Panel discussion with Ocean Bottle and We Are Flow
Will (Ocean Bottle)
Founded in response to ocean plastic awareness from Blue Planet II.
Every Ocean Bottle sale funds plastic collection equivalent to 1,000 bottles.
High-end design plus sustainability equals strong appeal.
Soon reaching two billion bottles collected.
Susan (We Are Flow)
Started out of frustration with the lack of organic period products.
Conventional pads and tampons are 95% to 100% plastic, and take hundreds of years to biodegrade.
Focus on fun, feminist and fierce branding – challenging the stigma.
Products sold in Tesco, Sainsbury's and other major UK retailers.
Key business lessons
1. Branding and design matter
People don't want ugly, preachy or cheap-looking sustainable products.
The best sustainability brands look premium, desirable and aspirational.
Ocean Bottle = "The Apple of water bottles".
We Are Flow = Designed to stand out on store shelves.
2. Are people willing to pay more for sustainable products?
Yes, but only if the product delivers on performance and aesthetics.
96% of Ocean Bottle buyers choose it for its environmental impact.
We Are Flow priced within 30% of conventional products to remain accessible.
3. Brand partnerships
Change Please x Colgate: Coffee carts featured in Colgate TV ads.
We Are Flow x Sky: Won £1 million in ad spend through the Sky Zero Footprint Fund.
Ocean Bottle x Ed Sheeran: Secured branded bottles for his tour.
Strategic tip: Align with brands whose customers match your audience.
4. How to build a brand on a low budget
Crowdfunding (Kickstarter): We Are Flow launched with £14,000 in pre-orders.
Grassroots retail: Started selling door-to-door in Hackney and Islington.
Leverage social media: Memes, TikToks, humour and engaging content can drive awareness for free.
"Surreal" on LinkedIn: A breakfast brand using fun and unconventional B2B content.
5. Sustainability vs. scalability
Challenge: Can a company scale while staying truly sustainable?
Key insight: The bigger you get, the cheaper sustainability becomes.
Example: Serious Tissues' bulk B2B orders lower costs for DTC customers.
Bigger production volumes = better sustainability at lower costs.
Key takeaways for entrepreneurs
Design matters as much as sustainability – people won't buy "ugly" eco-products.
Think beyond direct-to-consumer (DTC) – corporate partnerships can scale impact and revenue faster.
Don't just fight existing models – build a new one that makes the old one obsolete.
Social media is a playground – use humour, creativity and storytelling to stand out.
Sustainability is no longer a niche – it's becoming an expectation.
If we can change how people spend their money, we can change the world.
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