For more and more of the mainstream—from educators and parents to the
next generation of consumers—organic has become a way of life, ethos and value
structure that they identify with and seek to embody. In fact, according to the
Organic Trade Association’s 2010 Organic Industry Survey, mass market retailers in
2009 sold 54 percent of organic food, an increase of more than 10 percent in just
one year!
Mainstream corporations are even acknowledging the importance of the or-
ganic movement. Franck Riboud, Chairman and CEO of Groupe Danone told a
reporter from the Wall Street Journal
after closing their deal with Stonyfield
Farm that “Stonyfield is much more
than just a balance sheet—Stonyfield
represents an ethic and it’s an ethic
that we at Groupe Danone have to
adopt if we’re going to be successful in
The values, vision and strength of
the organic industry have catapulted it
from dream to mainstream, but how
can this mainstream momentum and consumer loyalty be leveraged to take or-
ganic enterprises to iconic status? Are there secrets we can learn from major
brands like Coca-Cola, Apple, Nike, Starbucks and many others that have
achieved iconic status in the conventional realm?
Understanding the genesis of iconic brands and movements and using these
insights to create transformational impact in business and society is the specialty
of Udaiyan Jatar, a twenty-two year veteran of innovation and business development who has launched dozens of products globally for companies such as Procter & Gamble and Coca-Cola. Most recently, as global vice-president at Coca-Cola,
he headed up the development of Far Coast, a premium, sustainable coffee and
tea brand. It is one of the first Fortune 100 coffee products to have 100 percent
of its blends certified either by Fair Trade or Rainforest Alliance and is carbon
neutral.
Drawing upon these experiences, as well as over a decade of applied research,
Jatar’s Blue Earth Network has developed a process for iconic branding based
upon what he calls “The Six Disciplines of Iconic Entrepreneurship.” This article
will highlight these disciplines as well as offer tips and strategies for developing
powerful marketing programs with the least amount of resources based on
“Organic Marketing Technologies,” an approach developed by Christie
Communications.
Cade. Google was founded by students Sergey Brin and Larry Page.
Phil Knight was an accountant before
inventing an athletic shoe using a
waffle iron resulting in a company
called Nike. The list goes on.
Jatar wondered how these small entrepreneurs were able to discover these
“How can organics’ mainstream momentum
and consumer loyalty be leveraged to take organic
enterprises to iconic status? Are there secrets we can learn
from major brands like Coca-Cola, Apple, Nike, Starbucks
and many others that have achieved iconic status in the
conventional realm?”
The Epiphanies: The Humble Beginnings of Iconic Brands
When Jatar first began researching Iconic Entrepreneurship (a term he
coined) in 1999, he noticed a few things that were intriguing. First, each of the
brands that we’re so familiar with—Harley-Davidson, Gatorade, Nike, Red Bull,
Starbucks, Apple, Coke—were started by a small entrepreneur. Not one of these
truly iconic brands was started by a large company!
Secondly, all of these entrepreneurs that created iconic concepts and prod-
ucts came from outside the industry that they ended up leading. So, they
didn’t have the industry expertise, nor did they have a lot of money because
they were, after all, small entrepreneurs. Coca-Cola was started by pharmacist
Dr. John Pemberton. Gatorade was created by college professor Dr. Robert
huge unmet consumer needs and de-
velop “disruptive” innovations—a term
used to describe a solution (a product
or service) that literally disrupts and
displaces the status quo.
