Outdoor Retailer + Snow Show Top 5 Believable Brands.
We spent all of last weekend at the Outdoor Retailer + Snow Show in Denver, CO, and let’s just say, we learned a few things. Below we’ve laid out, by our standards, the top 5 Believable Brands® who attended the 2018 Outdoor Retailer + Snow Show below, enjoy!
1. United By Blue
United By Blue is an outdoor apparel company that removes one pound of trash from oceans and waterways with every product that is sold. What’s more impressive is how literally this company is living out its purpose. They aren’t simply donating to a cause that helps clean our oceans, they actually have teams of people that physically go pick up plastic bottles, tires, appliances, and even abandoned trucks, from rivers, streams, creeks, and beaches. Talk about having a clear purpose and living it out every day – these guys are doing it. Feel inspired? Volunteer to help in their next cleanup.
2. Aketta/Aspire Food Group
Aketta is a complete source of cricket protein with similar health benefits to meat and a lot less impact on the environment. Aketta was formed from the Aspire Food Group, global industry leaders of the edible insect movement whose mission is to “provide economically challenged, malnourished populations with high protein and micronutrient-rich food solutions derived from the supply and development of insects and insect-based products.”
This company isn’t just trying to come up with a different snack to generate revenue by getting people excited for a minute, they are genuinely starting a movement to redefine how people engage with the environment by encouraging them to shift their protein eating habits. COO Gabriel Mott says it best, “If we can get people to shift 10% of their protein consumption to sustainable sources like insects, we can make a positive impact on the environment.”
3. LifeStraw
LifeStraw makes contaminated water safe to drink. This company didn’t start with their product, they started with their purpose. Only then did it turn into their product. LifeStraw started with the issue of safe water, which they felt, should never be an issue. I’m sure most companies like to say that they started with a purpose, but unfortunately, most of the time this just isn’t the case. LifeStraw was initially created for people in developing countries who don’t have water piped in from municipal sources or other access to safe water and for emergency settings following natural disasters when water is contaminated. It only became a product for purchase later down the line when the company realized that consumers could benefit from it. By creating products for purchase their non-profit turned into a for-profit allowing them to ultimately help a much larger amount of people across the globe.
4. LuminAID
LuminAID is another product born from purpose. Design students at the time, Anna and Andrea, invented an idea for an inflatable solar light that packs flat after the earthquake in Haiti. 1000 LuminAID solar lanterns were distributed in Haiti as part of the Give Light, Get Light program after Hurricane Isaac, and from there, LuminAID took off into its own, purpose-driven business.
5. Patagonia
Last but not least. How can we talk Believable Brands in the outdoor industry without mentioning Patagonia? Their mission is to, “Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.” And boy, do they eat, sleep, and breathe that mission. Most recently, and most notably, with their stand against the government for shrinking national monuments.
All of these guys are believable, they’re doing work for the greater good, but how is it good for their business? How does being purpose-driven vs. product-centered effect ROI? It gives them predictable growth, confidence to investors, appeal to buyers – consumers and vendors alike, and more. This isn’t our opinion. It’s fact.
It was truly inspiring to be amongst them and actually feel how they live their purpose out through their exhibits, our conversations, and more. Now, these are just the highlights we picked, but we’re sure a dozen more could be listed. We always love to hear what others think are the most Believable Brands out there. That being said, if you have a believable brand in mind (in the outdoor industry or not) that you’d like to discuss, send us a message. We’d love to hear from you.