Chris Baker has a great book, called Obsolete, which focuses on Change Brands. The book discusses how these innovative small brands can help drive towards a more sustainable society.
Change Brands
The idea of a change brands is similar to a challenger brand but with added purpose. The change brand is a small player attempting to secure a share of the market to make an outsized positive impact on the world. To do this against successful incumbents the change brand needs to offer something different and better (at least for some customers). Such change brands have a purpose that allows them to have an appeal beyond simply decent quality, good value, and easy to find. Examples are Tony’s Chocolonely, a brand which aims to fight modern slavery, Who Gives A Crap, which avoids cutting down trees for its toilet paper, and Liquid Death, which supplies canned water to reduce plastic waste.
These brands all have a story to tell and can articulate a meaningful purpose beyond making the owners rich. This allows the change brands to offer something different and so give consumers a reason to move on from the incumbents, a reason to try something new. When they have built a modest following these change brands can take moral leadership of the industry and get everyone talking about what they are doing.
Positive Example, Not Shaming
Chris Baker has worked in industry and doesn’t believe that the incumbents are irredeemably evil although they are flawed and too slow to improve. He is against simplistic ideas of virtue shaming companies. Instead, he is about encouraging all firms to get better. Any genuine endeavors to improve a business model, even from a relatively low level, need to be encouraged.
The shift towards more sustainable practices is a journey and can’t happen overnight. If [those changing are] not getting credit and encouragement for positive shifts, will they even bother in future?
Baker, 2025, page 125
While it is important to hold companies to account, they also need a bit of positive reinforcement and encouragement to continue down the track they’re on.
Baker, 2025, page 126
What Change Brands Can do?
Baker discusses the idea that a change brand doesn’t need to achieve domination of the market to change the world. While Tony’s would no doubt be happy to dominate the chocolate industry its positive impact doesn’t have to just be through its own sales. If enough sales are taken from the established brands then the big players will notice and see a reason to change themselves. (Baker gives a percentage to hit to make this breakthrough but I wouldn’t focus on any specific percentage. A significant enough market share to impact the big players is what is needed whatever the precise number).
This means that, beyond the positive impact of their own sales, the change brands can act as a proof of concept. When told that the chocolate supply train couldn’t be slavery free, Tony’s went on to prove otherwise. Now other providers use the same ‘open chain’ sourcing principles, e.g., Waitrose a slightly upmarket UK supermarket. The change brand shows that things can be different making it easy for those who want to change their processes for the better but were previously too nervous to do so.
When this change starts to gather momentum and money starts to move, those in positions of power and influence have to sit up and take notice. Businesses react to losing share and have to make changes to their supply chain or marketing.
Baker, 2025, page 43
When the market changes the world is a better place. If the incumbers get better so much the more impactful. There is no reason the founders can’t do well out of the success, maybe even with the change brand being acquired by a big brand. If the big brand with its resources and massive footprint sees the benefit of change that can really help the world.
For more on sustainable marketing read here, here, and here.
Read: Chris Baker (2025) Obsolete: How change brands are changing the world, Bloomsbury
