Think social impact is just for big companies? Think again!

Thankyou co-founder, Daniel Flynn, is determined to deliver meaningful change to the world, stopping at nothing – including several business pivots – to work towards a poverty-free society. He joined the First Act podcast to share Thankyou’s epic journey and explain how every person and business can make a real social impact.

In a world where brands often pay lip service to social issues, Daniel Flynn and his merry band of eco-warriors at Thankyou are the real deal. The social enterprise launched in 2008, with the aim of flipping consumerism on its head to end poverty.

“In 2008, I learned that 900 million people in our world didn’t have access to clean water,” says Daniel. “That number was compared against the bottled water industry, which at the time was a $50 billion industry … it has grown to over $350 billion today.

“I saw something in those two extremes that I couldn’t unsee – imagine if one served the other? Imagine if that one silly and useless product could help end a water crisis? That was the genesis of the idea,” he reveals.

The concept was simple: rather than buying bottled water from brands that impacted local environments and communities poorly, consumers could purchase a bottle of Thankyou water instead, which sent 100 per cent of profits to charity partners offering clean drinking water solutions to impoverished communities around the globe.

Daniel and Justine Flynn, co-founders of Thankyou

Daniel and Justine Flynn, Thankyou co-founders

People want to do better

Since launching, the brand has grown from that single bottled water product to over 50 product lines available in supermarkets across Australia, and to date, has delivered $17 million to their network of charity partners in 33 countries.

“Our belief is that deep down, everyone wants to do good, so the question is: what are the barriers?” Daniel says. “Our job at Thankyou is removal of those barriers. 69 per cent of consumers say that sustainability is what drives their purchase and decision-making, but when you take a deep dive into post-purchase analysis, the reality is that only nine per cent of consumers made the decision based on sustainability.

“As much as we all want to do good, when you buy a product, it has to fulfil a need or a desire. In our world of products, the quality, price and value proposition has to be better than other brands. Consumers have always been price-sensitive, so we have to be more innovative because value and price are such big factors. Our job is trying to remove barriers in quality, value and design. If we can get it right, that’s the sweet spot; that’s what we spend our time chasing.”

An uncomfortable truth about greenwashing

In 2020, as the world focused more than ever on sustainability and ethical business practices, Daniel and the team came to the uncomfortable realisation that by putting more bottled water into production, their flagship product could, in fact, be doing more harm to their cause than good. The tough choice was made to end the Thankyou bottled water product line.

“It was a genesis product and there were tens of millions of bottles going into markets. From a brand visibility perspective, it was still very valuable – we left profit on the table, and we wrestled with the decision,” he admits.

“When we started Thankyou, we thought bottled water was a silly product, without a doubt. It shouldn’t exist, but it’s the fastest growing category and arguably, it was still a healthy choice compared to options like soft drinks and alcohol. The issue wasn’t so much the beverage itself; it was the packaging. Naively, we thought we’d find a solution, but the uncomfortable truth was that if you’re a purpose-led brand, you’re not looking for greenwashing. We decided the best thing we could do was stop producing it.

“When we launched into New Zealand, we didn’t take water; we launched with the personal care range and that gave us a great sense of confidence that Thankyou could work without the water.”

Listen to Daniel Flynn on the First Act podcast:

Going global inspired by Yeezy

Also in 2020, the team launched the ‘No Small Plan’ campaign to bring global companies large and small on board Thankyou’s mission. According to Daniel, the idea was inspired by the global success of Kanye West’s ‘Yeezy’ footwear brand, which used an innovative brand licencing business model.

“People know Yeezy the shoe for the brand and the disruptive design by the team at Yeezy, but the actual building of the shoe and the big machine of delivering that shoe into stores and online globally, that’s run by Adidas,” Daniel reveals. “Adidas have the licence to make and distribute that shoe, and Yeezy are paid a brand licencing fee.

“We believe Thankyou can’t be owned by any big multinational or individual, so we spent time diving into brand licencing and different forms of partnerships. And that entered an even bigger idea,” says Daniel.

“We think every business and every leader wants to make a difference. Everyone’s talking about purpose and many people are trying to figure it out and struggling with it. We’ve gone all-in on purpose at Thankyou, so what if we bring the purpose and the innovation, the idea and the brand, and they bring the distribution and together, we flip business as usual and help make an even bigger impact?

“No Small Plan was an invitation to the biggest companies in the world to help make and distribute Thankyou products globally. We set out with a mission to find the right partners, which led to conversations with the biggest companies in the world and then to many tier-two and three companies. It’s an invitation to help scale Thankyou together, whilst not compromising the mission, the ownership, and ultimately, the dollars to impact. Next year and the years beyond, you’ll see Thankyou popping up in new countries because there are a bunch of great people around the world who have realised the part they can play.”

Measuring social impact – what can individuals do?

While it’s all well and good to get companies on board the mission to create a more equitable world, many individuals believe that the problem is too big for a single person to have much impact. What does Daniel say to people who think that one person can’t make a difference?

“I would say I know exactly how you feel,” he says. “But my personal experience has been that individuals can make a remarkable difference in the world, both individually and in collective small choices – when combined, it’s a huge collective impact.

“I think we measure wrongly; we think if one of us can’t change the whole world, then there is no point. But when you realise the impact that you can have on another person or another issue at a micro level, and you see the significance of that, your perspective shifts.

“The overall idea of ending extreme poverty is incredibly lofty,” Daniel admits. “One of the big misconceptions, because the poverty numbers are in the hundreds of millions, is that we think it can’t change. But history shows us that we can improve that number. While we talk about it at Thankyou as a mission that we’re on, in reality, it’s a mission that many people are on and we’re looking to contribute to that. We’ve joined many people on the journey and it is a mission that is reachable in our lifetime.

“Our impact has been, in part, the dollars raised in the organisations we’ve backed, but it has also influenced other people, other companies on their journey of giving. That indirect impact is encouraging.”

Thankyou founder Daniel Flynn on the First Act podcast