Recapturing One Water’s Purpose Through Design

Strategic food and drink brand consultancy The Collaborators has worked with fellow B Corp and ethical bottled water brand One Water to refresh its brand identity and packaging – bringing greater warmth, purpose and clarity to a business founded on doing good.

Set up in 2005 by Duncan Goose, One was created with a clear mission – to ensure everyone has access to clean, safe water, forever. Since launch, it has raised over £30 million and transformed the lives of more than five million people. But despite its powerful purpose, the brand’s difference was failing to land, particularly through its packaging. Whilst consumers responded strongly to the mission in research, the visual identity wasn’t connecting with them as it should.

The brief was to sharpen One’s visual identity and packaging within the constraints of the trademarked ‘footprint’. The objective was to make One a deliberate choice for two key audiences: the Moderately Motivated (who seek out ‘good’ brands that align with their values), and the Highly Ethical (who interrogate ethical brands and claims more closely). With a limited marketing budget but strong retail presence in outlets like World Duty Free, Starbucks and Sainsbury’s Local, packaging had to work much harder.

Jayne Noblet, Founder & MD of The Collaborators, explains:
“People want to feel good about doing good and they want brands that help them show that. Our goal was to dial up the emotional payoff and make the impact of choosing One feel tangible. At the same time, we needed to bring back some of the warmth and humanity the brand had lost over the years.”

The creative solution had to work within very tight parameters, so the team turned to One’s historic assets for answers. A trademarked strapline from 2010 – ‘Do One Good Thing’ – and the archived ‘Butterfly’ logo offered the perfect solution. Both were reimagined and brought together for the first time in a single lock-up, creating a distinctive and motivating call to action.

Staying within the fixed logo footprint, subtle refinements were made to improve warmth and impact. Softer, more optimistic letterforms, a friendlier icon and a brighter, more hopeful colour palette brought heart back to the brand. Messaging was made clearer and more actionable across all touchpoints, from pack to POS to social.

The result is a rejuvenated identity that reconnects the brand with its purpose and audiences, all without the need for costly trademark changes.

Ian Spooner, Brand Director at One Water said:
“We put a lot of time and effort into choosing the right creative partner for this project as it was so fundamental to the brand. The Collaborators’ approach and work stood out head and shoulders above everyone else and we enjoyed the process, their professionalism and their pragmatism, as much as the result.”

Founder of One Water, Duncan Goose, added:
“This isn’t just a design update. It embodies everything we stand for – from the way we do business to the way we change lives. It’s reignited the brand’s spirit and is already helping us move towards our next milestone: changing another five million lives through clean water.”