What Can The Method Brand Teach Us About the Future of Business?

The Idea:  what does EOS, Every Man Jack, Hello Oral Care and now Olly Vitamins share in common? They are companies that have been inspired by the iconic brand Method.  Method Home Products, co-founded by Eric Ryan and Adam Lowry, is one of the leaders blending design (and purpose) to transform functional categories into experiential categories.  I have been a fan of this company for over a decade and I still marvel at the community of loyalists that can’t get enough of this brand. Unlike any other soap and cleaning products, the zealous Method consumer looks forward to decorating their bathrooms and kitchens with bottles of soap.  They aren’t looking to hide it from their neighbors.  That’s an emotional connection.  That’s loyalty.

Recently, Method co-founder Eric Ryan introduced a new brand into the vitamin category called “Olly.” The vitamin category is worth $11 billion and seems to be impossible to crack – especially if product claims is the only pitch.  Can Ryan use design to penetrate the category? The OTC experts would say no way.   I am betting on it.

That’s because Ryan believes he can bring a new spark to this dynamic category.  His team breathed new life into the liquid soap and household cleaning categories a decade a go through package design, sustainable formulas and an experiential culture rooted in corporate cause and simplicity.  Given the confusing nature of vitamin shopping, his strategy will work perfectly: disrupt the shelf with better design. Once again Ryan is introducing a new brand steeped in design, experience and simplicity.   

The Olly blueprint looks a lot like the Method model.

• Experience:  Similar to his days with Method, Ryan approached Target with a hand full of slides on an iPad, and he shared his vision of transforming the category and pulling in Millennial vitamin consumers.   Together they co-created the product solutions and tested the brand in a small format TargetExpress store in San Francisco not far from the Olly headquarters.   A few months later, the product line was placed in all Target stores and launched with a front page announcement. Only a few months into the launch the brand was emotionally connecting with Target’s core consumer.  
  
• Design:  Olly’s believes in birthing their own product and package design as well as crafting their own public relations campaigns.  This is another step right out of the Method playbook.  Ryan shared in an Adweek article, “I’m a big believer that the two things you bring in-house are PR and creative; you should always own those.”  Like Richard Branson (whom Ryan has said he respects), Ryan loves disruptive designs, aspirational branding, and organizations fueled by social mission.  Method and Olly disrupt with design.
  
• Simplicity:  Olly has a simplified brand promise with a minimalistic yet sophisticated look and brand position similar to Method, Apple, EOS and other clear brands.  Brand names such as Endless Energy, Undeniable Beauty, Totally Calm, Solid Bones, Simply Fiber, Purely Probiotic and Effortless Digestion make it simple for consumers to shop the shelf.  It’s intuitive, nicely color coordinated, and fun to shop.  Some of today’s great brands simply shout out “what am I” and “what do I solve.” Olly’s gummies and soft gels deliver delicious flavors and vibrant colors from all-natural sources. Simplicity is chapter three of the Method/Olly playbook.

Will Olly be another success story similar to Method?    

The lessons of Method play well with today’s younger consumer.   Is it appropriate in the world of over-the-counter products?

I am betting yes.