Craftory wisdom - big strategic decisions facing challenger brands.

Craftory co-founder Ernie speaks about what makes a great challenger brand, how to succeed at scale and against shifting markets, what to do about amazon, and why to stay away from physical retail for as long as you can.

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Challenger brand strategies for a new era.

In the third episode of PHD and eatbigfish’s podcast series Overthrow II, Craftory co-founder Ernesto Schmitt discusses the role of cause for challenger brands and progressive sources of investment. How can challenger brands effect change at scale and what lies ahead for investment in this evolving landscape?

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Why we became a certified B Corporation

Since 2018 the Craftory has been amplifying the world’s best challenger brands. So it’s hardly a surprise that for us,​ it was a natural next step to join the B Corp movement​…

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Investing through the lens of female empowerment.

We’re making investment decisions that aim to earn a financial return and address the challenges that women and girls face across the world.

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We all want slave-free chocolate but the awkward truth is there simply isn't enough to go around.

Any brand trying to transform this category must tackle the problem of slavery and child labour at its cultural roots ...

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At The Craftory we know that business is more than just about making a profit.

It’s important to us all for your business to make money, but we want to make a profit, sustainably. What’s the state of play and why isn’t socially conscious/cause-driven investment the dominant model?

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The benefits of venture capital can be attractive, especially if you’re focused on accelerating the growth of your business quickly.

But isn’t right for every business. Here’s our take on the advantages and disadvantages of venture capital - written as always, with ambitious, cause-driven entrepreneurs in mind.

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Corporate venture capital can be an attractive option, especially if you’re looking for innovation expertise, network access and long term strategic support.

Here’s our take on the advantages and disadvantages of corporate venture capital - written as always, with ambitious, cause-driven entrepreneurs in mind.

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New gender neutral stereotypes are emerging but are they enough?

We are seeing the lines between traditional male and female binaries becoming increasingly blurred and nowhere is this more apparent than in what we choose to wear.

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What we eat has consequences for the planet, and this can no longer be ignored.

Understanding why we keep choosing animal products, even when we know they are unsustainable is now critical.

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Craftory co-founder Elio talks NotCo with Impact Alpha

How the Craftory is deploying ‘cause capital’ to back impact-driven challengers to consumer brands

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I Shopped the Category: Period-Proof Underwear

Does period-proof underwear work? Is it a viable alternative for pads and tampon users? To find out I tried the big four brands. Here’s what I learned.

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Insights and challenger opportunities from a category in crisis

These aren’t happy days for men. Toxic masculinity, #meetoo and decades of entitlement have finally come home to roost, and what exactly constitutes the right model of masculinity in our woke, enlightened times is a topic of considerable (and refreshing) debate. As new definitions of covetable manhood replace the discredited old, so behaviours are changing – and the towering brand equity of incumbent male brands is crashing down. This leaves the space wide open for an exciting new generation of cause-driven male brands to define our times.

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Elio addresses the One Young World 2018 summit

Watch Elio explain how consumer packaged goods uniquely have the potential to effect large scale positive change, fast.

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There’s a critical difference between natural bleeding while menstruating and the unnatural bleeding of injury.

Period blood not only has a different look, consistency and smell, it also means something different: Menstruation is fertility and life. It’s time for cultural attitudes to menstruation to take a giant leap forward.

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The vape shop is becoming the arena of a significant economic and cultural change.

Visit any vapery and you’ll find once mighty Tobacco reduced to a niche enterprise attempting to redefine itself through twinkly tech and cute aromas.

Look closer and you’ll also find CBD oil for sale.

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How’s your gut microbiome these days? I’m talking about that 2kg smear of good bacteria, fungi, and protozoa hanging out in your intestines.

New science points to the importance of a flourishing gut microbiome in maintaining optimum physical and mental health, and new brands are leveraging old knowledge to help you and your gut stay in optimum health.

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When it’s gone, it’s gone. Rejoice!

There was genuine sadness in their eyes, and more than a hint of hurt pride. For the assembled coterie of McDonald’s executives, the maligning of their brand was simply incomprehensible. “All our beef comes from sustainable, local farms”, one of them said. “There’s only prime chicken breast in our Nuggets”, another insisted. “We give some of the most disadvantaged in our society safe jobs with decent pay and real prospects for productive lives. So why does everybody think we’re slave drivers and that there’s only disgusting gristle in our burgers?”.

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(Not) announcing the launch of The Craftory

The Craftory Ltd today pointedly failed to announce its launch via conventional PR Newswire. That’s because press releases are both endearingly ineffective corporate relics of the 20th Century, and because The Craftory’s target audience – those fearless CEOs and founders of the world’s boldest challenger brands – wouldn’t know what a PR Newswire was if it bit them in the derrière.

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