From Classroom to Changemakers: How the Next Generation Is Building Brands With Purpose
If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know I’m passionate about purpose as the key to building winning brands.
And here’s why:
- Purpose is your biggest competitive advantage – helping you stand out in a saturated market
- Purpose creates an emotional connection with clients who share the same values and beliefs - fostering loyalty and advocacy
- Purpose is a business opportunity that drives positive impact - in a world that is crying out for solutions to huge challenges
What you may not know is that I have recently had the amazing opportunity to develop a new course for the final year students of the International Business Management bachelor at the Haute Ecole de Gestion in Geneva (HEG), where I have now been teaching for two years (time flies!).
Over the semester, we explored marketing’s impact on society—both in terms of footprint and brainprint—the responsibility we hold as marketers today, and how we can build brands differently, with positive impact at their core.
Switching their mindsets from product-first to purpose-first was not easy for some of the students. But once they started looking deeper at what truly matters to them, the floodgates opened.
We then built their brands from what they felt passionate about changing in the world.
From there, powerful purposes are born.
And that's what changes everything.
So, as you prepare to shut down your computer for a well-deserved summer break - or you sit by the pool enjoying the sun – I thought I’d share the inspiring brands that this next generation of changemakers created.
Watch this space - this generation is ready to lead with purpose and create real impact!
- 🌿Parentèse: Reclaiming the Female Cycle
Empowering women to reconnect with their bodies through natural tea rituals.
The first cycle-specific, natural tea ritual brand designed to empower women to reconnect with their bodies through knowledge, self-care, and sensory experience.
Parentèse offers an accessible, natural alternative that not only eases symptoms but also helps women understand, honour, and embrace their bodies through every phase.
The frustration: Women's hormonal struggles are dismissed with a simple pill.
The brand purpose: Parenthèse was born to nourish and restore balance through nature.
The outcome: Every woman can feel radiant, empowered and in tune with her body, one sip at a time.
The communication is focused around the key message "Your body is not a problem to fix – it is a rhythm to embrace.”
The brand also takes action behind its purpose by supporting organisations like The Pad Project and Days for Girls, helping to provide menstrual education and access to period products for women who need it most.
- 🌍 Kumbuka: Remembering Your Roots
Centralising African heritage to empower the next generation.
A dynamic, digital learning platform that centralises African knowledge by combining language learning tools with cultural and historical content (videos, podcasts, books, stories, etc.), offering a space where users can learn, grow and feel connected to their roots.
The frustration: many Afro-descendants lack access to their heritage due to the absence of centralised and accessible resources.
The brand purpose: empower the next generation by making African history, languages and cultures accessible all in one place.
The outcome: children grow up proud of where they come from, equipped with the knowledge and confidence to carry their heritage forward.
Kumbuka means “to remember” in Swahili, a beautiful testament to what has been created.
This project particularly touched my heart. In our first session, the team struggled to identify something they truly cared about. I asked them to go for a walk and think about what they wish could be different in the world for their children.
That's where raw emotions come into play and a beautiful purpose is born! ❤️ 
- 🌙 Somnai: Sleep With Intention
Helping high achievers rediscover the value of rest and ethical clarity.
A revolutionary sleep eco-system targeted at high-achieving individuals who often value productivity over sleep, the brand aims to raise awareness about the deep connection between sleep, health, emotions, and performance.
Believe it or not, research shows that lack of sleep can even lead to less ethical decision-making.
The frustration: in today’s world, sleep is often the first thing we give up in the name of productivity.
The brand purpose: help people understand the true value of sleep and support them in improving it.
The outcome: you sleep better, with intention and understanding enabling better health, higher productivity and more ethical decision-making.
- 👕Re-Fashion Co: Rethink, Repair, Rewear
Transforming fashion through conscious consumption and creativity.
Fuelled by their frustration with the fast fashion industry, this group didn't just want to create another sustainable fashion brand. Instead, they built an educational platform that inspires us to create timeless pieces from old clothes.
The frustration: the fashion industry is one of the world's most resource-intensive and waste-generating sectors.
The brand purpose: empower more conscious consumption by extending the life of garments and reducing textile waste.
The outcome: every piece of clothing is valued, repurposed, and cherished for generations.
- 🏍️Air Rider: Don’t Sweat the Ride
Revolutionising biker safety with cool, comfortable innovation.
Created by a group of bikers, this brand was born from the frustration that many motorcyclists compromise safety over comfort in the heat of summer. 🥵
Motorcycling gear is often heavy and hot and, with increasing temperatures in big cities, many end up forgoing their protection.
The frustration: many bikers compromise safety over comfort due to the heat.
The brand purpose: revolutionise the riding experience by designing innovative, air-conditioned motorcycle jackets that deliver both safety and comfort in hot weather.
The outcome: a future where no rider hesitates to gear up, even at the height of summer, making safety effortless.
Through a campaign entitled "Don’t Sweat the Ride", partnerships with key players such as the TCS and events like Moto Festival Bern and La Course de Verbois, the brand is set to change the safety standards in motorcycling.
- 💧Relief: Skincare That Celebrates Healing
Redefining beauty through body-positive, science-backed care.
Relief exists to celebrate healing, honour real skin, and redefine beauty through health, authenticity, and self-love.
The brand envisions a world where conditions like eczema, rashes, and sensitivity are met with care, through safe, effective, and nourishing body skincare rooted in science, compassion, and natural ingredients.
The frustration: so much skincare focuses on the face, while many women struggle with body skin issues like eczema, rashes, or sensitivity.
The brand purpose: provide young women with body skin security.
The outcome: all women feel confident and at peace in their own skin.
- 🌱Dermacure: Healing Acne Naturally
Creating plant-based solutions that restore balance and confidence.
As a teenager, I remember my mom taking me to the dermatologist and having to take harsh chemical pills to solve this issue. And my students faced the same. Guided by innovation and a passion for plant-based healing, they created natural pills that offer a clean, effective, and sustainable solution for acne skin.
The frustration: harsh chemical pills are often the only solution offered for acne problems.
The brand purpose: restore skin’s natural balance by providing a natural, paraben-free, and eco-friendly alternative to acne.
The outcome: teenagers can nurture their skin without compromising their overall health -to feel confident inside and out.
Again, it goes to show how powerful, passionate and creative we can be when we create from a where we truly care about making a difference!
What I love about each of these brands is how the students transformed personal frustrations into true purpose, not just in the brand communication, but across everything: the brand design, what it stands for, what it says and, most importantly, what it does.
Seeing what these students created gives me so much hope for the future: this is a generation ready to lead with purpose and build brands that make real impact.
If you’re wondering how your own brand can move in this direction - more meaningful and more future-ready - I’d love to support you.
I partner with leaders and teams to bring clarity, purpose, and bold differentiation to your brand strategy. Whether through team training, brand workshops or executive leadership coaching, I’m here to support you in building a brand that truly makes a difference.
You can reach me at: [email protected]
A shout out to all my wonderful students, who I will truly miss!
Wishing you all the best in the professional world: Stacy Quinodoz Estelle Freuler Nhung Nguyen Adèle Schöffmann Laura Temponi Alexandre Waelti Keesha Sadia Agatha Duperrex Joé Madiata Onome Atole Thomas Hernán Campos Marc Perick Lewin Höltker Gilberto Alesi Samuel EKANI Gonzalez Olvera Naomi JEUNG YEAEUN Kangchart Nattakarn Leung Hoi Yan Nicolas Zaugg Mathias Aguiar Hasan Perto and Giancarlo Mendoza Lara Sofija Aleksic Eva Canosa Rodalena Guisy Rahel Germann Noémie Kossovsky Natalia Acebes Aguilera Enrique Pita Souto AikateriniSamiotaki and Nikoleta Smpoku
