In a fascinating conversation about innovative brand building, Daniel Bedford shares the journey behind One Good Thing - a company that's created a groundbreaking solution to both nutrition and environmental challenges faced by runners and cyclists.

The inspiration for One Good Thing came from an unlikely but relatable source - Daniel's father and his cycling adventures. "It all actually started with my dad," Daniel explains. "He's the crazy cyclist that's referenced. If you've been running or cycling in the British countryside, there's just wrappers strewn around the place, in hedgerows on the side of the roads and cities as well."

This observation sparked a search for solutions, but as Daniel notes, they "quickly discovered that there weren't" any adequate alternatives on the market. With his background in biochemistry, Daniel decided to tackle the problem head-on: "I used that in addition to some material science to come out of one lab and jump into another one and just try and create a solution."

What sets One Good Thing apart is their revolutionary approach to product packaging. "We use an edible coating that is based on beeswax. It's fully natural. It gives you all the barrier properties that you need from traditional plastic wrapping, but it's fully edible," Daniel describes. The practical benefits for athletes are clear: "You can take a bar out when you're on a run or cycle, put it in your pocket. It's fully waterproof and you can eat it whenever you want without the inconvenience of a wrapper."

While the convenience factor is compelling, the environmental impact represents the company's true mission. As Daniel puts it, "a second hand bonus of that for us, which is really what we're doing it for. It means no litter ends up in the countryside."

When asked about how he defines a brand, Daniel offers an insightful perspective: "A company's brand is how it interacts with its customers and how it would distinguish itself amongst its competitors. So that can be in terms of his verbal identities, visual identity, and just really what it stands for." For One Good Thing, this means embodying three core pillars: "We are innovative. We are down to earth and we are optimistic."

Their brand journey wasn't without its challenges and learnings. Initially, they placed heavy emphasis on sustainability messaging, but discovered a fundamental truth about consumer behaviour: "What we really learn in our branding journey is initially we launched under a lot of sustainable messaging. But if it doesn't deliver on those three things, it doesn't really work."

Daniel describes a crucial insight about marketing sustainable products: "I think sustainability gets a bit of a bad rep. Because I think lots of people either associate sustainability with an increase in price, some sort of deficit in flavour or slight inconvenience."

This realisation led to a strategic pivot: "What we want to do at One Good Thing is show customers that you can have sustainable solutions without any of those qualities taking a back seat." The approach now focuses on solving functional problems first, with sustainability as an added benefit: "Now we're solving this functional benefit and sustainability is a nice to have. And that's where consumers, once on board with the product really, really like us."

After initial attempts to reach the mass market, One Good Thing refined their approach: "We then did a market research piece and basically looked at where this kind of product would over index in the population. And we found that running, cycling and being active is where we could really make some impact."

This focus has helped them build a passionate community. "What we have now is a really loyal core community of cyclists and runners," Daniel shares. "When we go to events and cycling shows and conventions, people show up and they just say, guys, we love what you stand for. It's a really tasty product. We love the innovation and we love that we can preserve the countryside that we know and love so well."

One Good Thing continues to push the boundaries of what's possible with their technology. "What we have now is a product that will only get better," Daniel explains. "With the technology, we aim to make it even less perceptible by the consumer, make it thinner, more uniform. And as we do that, we will naturally be able to push into more and more mass markets."

The company has achieved a significant milestone in product development: "We're now very proud to announce that we're at a six month shelf life. There's certain SKUs in our range that are going to make it to nine months and we're going to carry on pushing it. Now, no one has done that before. A fully edible wrapper that can just sit in your cupboard ambiently with no special storage conditions."

When asked what advice he would give to early-stage entrepreneurs, Daniel emphasises the importance of specificity: "You need to be very specific in terms of your product. What needs does the consumer have? How is your product solving that? And who actually is that consumer?"

He warns against the common pitfall of trying to appeal to everyone: "Don't be scared to be specific. I think when you're starting out, a lot of founders or new business starters think their product is for everyone and therefore will go very scattergun at the start."

Instead, Daniel recommends doubling down on your core audience: "Once you saturate a certain vertical and you've got that core loyal following, you can then expand out to other customers as your product changes and as your awareness grows. So know your customer and don't be scared to focus on them."

As One Good Thing continues to innovate and expand, it stands as an inspiring example of how a focused brand with a genuine mission can create products that are good for consumers, good for the environment, and good for business.

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