Bionade has become a symbol for a better world and a better lifestyle, says Georg Meck, editor of Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung: healthy, open-minded and full of enjoyment. Bionade has become more than just an organic soda with elderberry, lychee, herb, ginger-orange and the new, sporty “active” flavour. It hit the German Zeitgeist in a way we have very rarely seen before.

So where did the success story start? In Ostheim vor der Rhön, a small town in Bavaria - a typical setting for a German fairy tale. The protagonists are the hard working but struggling old brewer family Peter-Leipold who were about to lose their business.
Until Dieter Leipold started experimenting and began to brew against all odds: 1. They brewed lemonade instead of beer. 2. The lemonade was sour instead of sweet. 3. It no longer tasted of apple or lemon but forgotten fruits such as elderberry. 4. And it was organic. But those who back then in the ’80’s thought that the heroes of this story would run bankrupt soon were proven wrong: Bionade now hit the German Zeitgeist and became the new water for the Lohas.

Why did the Bionade magic happen? What’s the secret? Bionade seems to have all the components a modern eco-brand needs in Germany and this doesn’t mean the word bio in its name. Lohas fell in love with Bionade because they like the story behind the brand: Brewing lemonade instead of beer reflected a new health consciousness approach. Substituting alcohol with organic soda was at the same time such an unconventional thing to do that the early adopters within the Loha community started drinking it. Bionade was a new organic product that had the potential to differentiate itself from the evolving eco-masses. Distribution strategy also helped a lot since it was first introduced in the trend city Hamburg only. Was sold in a few bars only. And therefore was for the really hip eco only. Learning: Even the better world is exclusive.

But the mission of bionade goes beyond health and trendiness: Bionade managed to keep the naïve charm of an old family business, especially when Peter Kowalski, son of the Bionade inventor, declared that he counts on his 10 year old daughter’s opinion when a new taste is developed. So, in times of globalisation, Bionade turned out to be the desired oasis of traditional family business - a company that works with regional suppliers and supports farmers in Bavaria. This is the story so far. Follow the next entry to continue the discussion and read about upcoming challenges for eco-brands.

The Bionade story by Deutsche Welle TV:

The new print ad campaign to justify higher pricing

“The biggest achievement of our competitors is that they copied us even before the Chinese did.”

How you can impressively fail shows another important German green-player: The eco-supermarket chain Basic recently faced massive losses when the discounter Lidl bought 23% of the eco-chain. Sales decreased by 20% when this was announced and Basic lost loyal eco suppliers and customers which nowadays seems to be the biggest threat for eco-brands, as journalists declare a shift from “boycott” to “strategic consumption”. Meaning, Lohas won’t boycott since they love consumption, they will simply swap brand loyalty. So once you loose a Loha, he will find himself a new green brand fast. And you might have lost him forever.

At the same time Lohas have all the potential to become the most loyal consumers: They are not only “strategic” but also highly “emotional consumers” – as they are consuming for a better eco-ego. So the Zeigeist of the new German eco generation would no longer ask brands: “Are you green?” but “Do you make me feel green?” which is a by far more self-focussed approach than the community loving eco-hippies used to have in the 70ies and 80ies. Bionade might answer the question shortly whether internationally expanding eco-brands will still make Lohas feel green. We will be following the roll-out in the U.S. with interest.

There was an incredible amount to learn from the Sustainable Brands conference in Monterey. I have picked the following six big lessons:

1. Brands which aspire to become sustainable need to communicate on a personal, not a political, level. Landor/Cohn & Wolfe’s own ‘Green Brands’ study showed that consumers on both sides of the Atlantic are much more concerned about personal environmental issues, such as waste and packaging, and they are being ‘turned off’ (to some extent) by abstract concepts like ‘global warming’. This is why supermarkets are making such a connection with people in both the UK and the USA. Abstract appeals to ’save the planet’ won’t work as well for brands as aspiring to make individual lives more ’sustainable’.

2. The environmental/sustainable message of brands must be combined with the more traditional consumer touch points, such as efficacy, price, etc. This was the starting point for Method, the home products company, which is growing incredibly fast from a zero base. There were many other examples of this important point.

3. Becoming a sustainable brand is also about better, long-term business performance. At a time of economic woes, a week of talking about sustainability might seem like a massive irrelevance. But we heard time and again that this big subject is just as much about profitable business as it is about the environment or social impacts. The people who created ‘Hip Investor’ believe they can outperform the market by investing in sustainable brands.

4. Any company can aim to create a sustainable brand. That was the view of green marketing guru Jacqueline Ottman, when I put the question to her. In Monterey, we heard from two companies, Dow Chemical and Clorox (best known for making bleach), who would not have been top of anyone’s ’sustainable brands’ list a few years ago. Yet both have embraced the sustainability agenda (in very different ways) which has earned them credit from customers, employees, shareholders and the media. Even coal companies, one of the biggest sources of greenhouse gas emissions, can become ’sustainable brands’ if they truly embrace the ‘clean coal’ agenda and invest in new technology.

5. Brands which aspire to be sustainable must ‘get their house in order’ before they even start planning any ‘green marketing’ initiatives. Measurement is critical. The best brands are performing ‘life cycle’ analysis - complex assessments which provide critical data on the social, environmental and economic impact of products through the supply chain, production process and after purchase. Life cycle analysis tells a brand just how far it needs to go before it can claim to be ’sustainable’. A good example of this is the work done by the New Belgium Brewery, Colorado, on some of their beers. This showed the company that, even though they prided themselves on making big progress in the production process (e.g. 100% renewable energy), life cycle analysis of the product after purchase showed they had a long way to go. But that’s OK! Sustainability is a journey, not an end point. Consumers don’t expect perfection when it comes to sustainability. But they do want to see that brands understand the scale of the problem, have a plan, and are in the process of implementing it.

6. There are now unprecedented opportunities for brands to get their sustainable messages across through both old and new media. This point came through loud and clear during the media session which I hosted, with Claire Alexander from Discovery Channel’s new Planet Green, Nick Aster of Triplepundit.com, Anya Kamenetz of Fast Company, and Betsy Rosenberg of Eco-Talk. After being a little slow off the market, traditional print and broadcast media are embracing the sustainability wholeheartedly. The launch of an entire network devoted to the subject is a significant moment. And online, Nick Aster was a great example of the passionate, innovative and interactive journalism which is springing up all over the digital media landscape.

To finish off, I have a clip from my interview with green marketing guru Jacqueline Ottman. Jacqueline has been in this business for more than twenty years, advising huge brands like HSBC. Her insights into sustainable brands in 2008 are well worth listening to.

Naturally, the quirky, fun-loving company faced trials and tribulations in defining its sustainable image, including marketing efforts developed both internally and externally that showcased their core values but failed to tell their whole, quite impressive, sustainable story.

One challenge that often arises in this space, is ‘walking the talk’ - incorporating sustainable practices within the organization to coincide with marketing sustainable products or services to customers. Companies often jump ahead to the marketing part and forget that the proof truly is in the pudding, then come under attack for slacking in their own sustainable manufacturing or business practices. New Belgium faced such an experience when an ex-employee challenged its 100% wind power claim to local media by explaining that the company still utilized natural gas in its brewing process.

Greg’s advice to companies who face an experience such as this is to be completely transparent about whatever it might be they’re under fire for. He advises that acknowledging your slip-ups and working to correct them will ultimately put you in your customers’ good graces. Covering them up only makes for an inevitable uncovering and a deceitful reputation to follow.

This is a topic we face often in the PR industry, in crisis situations or more recently with clients building more of a presence on the blogosphere. We can all learn a lesson from New Belgium Brewery, which started with one man in a basement in Fort Collins, Colorado and has become one of the most recognized sustainable brands of our time.

If you’re battling how to walk the talk with your sustainable practice, or facing a communications crisis, just sit back, have a Fat Tire and be transparent. Your customers will understand and even value you for it.