One brand that excels at both sharing its innately purposeful way of doing
business with its uniquely ownable brand voice is online marketplace
Brandless. A company founded on the mission of making
better stuff accessible and affordable to more people, Brandless’ language
reflects this approachable, simple and sometimes cheeky tone; and storytelling
that’s distinctly its own. As a result, it has grown its customer community
immensely, creating staunch loyalists and a consistent stream of new customers
alike.
How Brandless leverages purpose to create community
Co-creates with its community
Rather than creating and launching new products in a vacuum, Brandless not only
listens to but actively recruits feedback, suggestions and recommendations for
what products its customers would like to see offered next. One of the brand’s
core mantras — “we put people first” — is revolutionizing the way traditional
brands and CPG companies interact with end-consumers. By supporting direct,
two-way communication with its community, Brandless is not only building
stronger relationships but investing the time, energy and resources towards
developing the products it knows will be bought. This exchange and collaboration
happens wherever Brandless’ customers are — online, via telephone, in person or
through email.
Stays authentic to its original mission
For each and every product Brandless offers, you can guarantee that it’s put the
time and energy to making it the best possible solution at the best possible
price. From removing markups to removing toxic
ingredients,
“better” really is at the heart of its collection. What’s unique to Brandless is
its singular product curation commitment: Rather than offering four types of
peanut butter or 12 different types of quinoa, they keep it to one — a very good
one (that’s likely organic). The ‘Just What Matters’ philosophy is more than an
internal mantra; it’s literally imprinted on every product, to give customers an
explicit definition of what better means in Brandless terms. This level of
transparency, while rare, demonstrates the company’s original mission
consistently in action.
Makes meaningful change
Beyond its products and business model, Brandless expands its ‘better for
everyone’ commitment and mission through to a philanthropic partnership and
initiative. Coined ‘**Tangible Acts of
Kindness**,’ Brandless
has partnered with Feeding America to donate meals with every single
checkout. The company cares — not just for its immediate community, who can
afford its products — but everyone. By involving the community in enabling these
donations, it has been able to donate over 3,000,000 meals to date.
Corporate political responsibility: Lessons learned in 2024 and support for 2025 and beyond
Since 2021, the SB community has explored what it means for companies to use their political influence responsibly in an increasingly polarized world. What have we learned? Join us for an interactive "community café" to dive into this — as well as the Erb Institute's new CPR Decision Tool & Executive Conversation Guide and related case studies — Monday, Oct. 14, at SB'24 San Diego.
Authenticity is what sets Brandless apart — across its products, messaging and
ways of engaging customers. By allowing its purpose to serve as the foundation
of every action, communication and product, its commitment to bringing ‘better’
to people’s lives rings true, and gives its quality products the badge value
that will drive growth and customer loyalty over the long term.
This post first appeared on the We
First
blog.
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Founder & CEO
Simon Mainwaring is the author of Lead With We, the Wall Street Journal bestseller that shows how companies address purpose, sustainability, and climate challenges in ways that build their business. He’s the founder and CEO of the award-winning strategic brand consultancy, We First, that’s a B Corp ‘Best For The World’ Honoree and a Real Leaders Top 50 keynote speaker in the World. He hosts the influential ‘Lead With We’ podcast, is a columnist for the CMO Network in Forbes, and wrote the New York Times bestseller, We First. He’s been a Featured Expert and Jury Member for the Sustainable Development Goals at the Cannes Lions Festival and U.S. One Show for Sustainable Development.
Published Aug 22, 2019 8am EDT / 5am PDT / 1pm BST / 2pm CEST