Chico time!
Last night was the fifth birthday of One. I was delighted to attend the party held, naturally enough, at One Mayfair. It was a fantastic night in an amazing venue and a chance for all involved in the success of the project to celebrate together. I even got to meet pop royalty in the form of the one and only Chico…
If you’re not familiar with One, it’s a truly amazing story. Forgive me if I take a few minutes to explain…
It all started in a pub (as many of the best ideas do). Myself and a group of friends were drowning our sorrows after a particularly unsuccessful flutter on the Grand National. One of our number, Simon Devonshire, suggested we turn our collective marketing talents to doing something positive for those less fortunate than ourselves. His answer? A bottled water brand that gave all it’s profits to funding water projects in Africa. A unique idea at the time.
It’s easy to have a good idea but hard to deliver it. Nonetheless, we decided to give it a go. A core team of us Simon, myself, Damian Darragh, Matt Mayo and most importantly Duncan Goose set about making it happen. We knew lots about creating compelling brands but nothing at all about running an FMCG business. As a result, it proved a major learning curve with lots of highs and lows along the way. However, quite unbelievably and in no small part to Duncan’s dedication and commitment, One water was eventually born.
5 years later and the One brand is now seen on Condoms, Soap, Toilet paper and various other products – all following the same principle of like-for-like ‘buy and give’. We now sell millions of bottles of One water each year through major retailers like Co-op, Morrisons and Total. We’ve funded over 600 Roundabout Playpumps in Africa bringing a clean, sustainable source of water to over 1.4m people in Africa. Amazing.
I’m incredibly proud of the success of One water to date and hugely excited about the future. Who knows what successes we’ll be celebrating in 5 years time at the 10th birthday party.
Happy 5th birthday One.