Jonny Wilkinson is to relaunch his No. 1 Living functional drinks brand under the name One Living.
The relaunch aimed to shift the messaging of the brand “towards feeling at one, feeling at ease, feeling peaceful and feeling at your best” instead of “being number one and beating others”, Wilkinson told The Grocer.
First introduced in 2018, No. 1 Living grew sales by 38.4% in the year to 7 October 2023 [NIQ] and is now the second-biggest kombucha in UK retail, with sales of £3.4m. The brand also produces gut health shots and water kefir drinks.
There was “always going to be a risk” in rebranding No. 1 Living while sales were still growing, CEO Tim Lennox admitted.
He added, however, that “there was going to be a point” where the messaging of the brand needed to shift.
“We’ve always felt that although our brand was strong, it was probably the weakest link of our proposition,” he said. “And as Jonny has articulated, we don’t feel it’s about being number one, it’s about living at one and living your best life.”
Wilkinson added: “We’re ready now I think as a business, to start doing a more powerful job of being able to communicate our bigger mission and make a real difference.”
The evolved One Living brand would focus on three key messages of “one living, one giving and one wellbeing”, the former England and Newcastle Falcons rugby star said.
The brand is to support four to six charities a year, starting with the Mental Health Foundation, for which Wilkinson has recently become an ambassador.
It will also provide free wellbeing activities and content, accessible via a QR code on pack.
Shoppers could access “a world of resources designed to support a balanced and healthy lifestyle”, including videos filmed by Wilkinson and other third-party wellbeing experts, One Living said.
Product and brand messaging, meanwhile, would seek to address “the vital link between mental health, gut health, and overall wellbeing”.
The rebrand, rolling into stores from this month, would be supported by spend across “shopper marketing and social” including promotion and shippers in store, Lennox said.
Despite selling five different ranges of drinks, One Living had “no plans to rationalise” its portfolio, and was planning further NPD for later this year, Lennox added.
“We will be launching outside of mainstream kombucha,” he said. “We’ve got the products already made and listings lined up.”
He could not be drawn, however, on what the NPD might consist of. “I’m raring to say but I have been told specifically not to,” he added.
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