Type Social Enterprise | Website thankyou.co | |
Founded 2007 in Melbourne, Australia Founders Daniel Flynn
Justine Flynn
Jarryd Burns Brands Thankyou Water
Thankyou Food
Thankyou Body Care
Thankyou Baby | ||
Thankyou is an Australian social enterprise. From the sales of its water, body care and food products, the company donates funds to safe water, hygiene and sanitation programs, and food security programs in 16 countries. The company has gained attention for its use of public lobbying via mainstream and social media in order to influence supermarket retailers to stock their products. Campaigns have led to partnerships with retailers including Coles Supermarkets, Woolworths Limited and Australian Post.
Contents
History
Daniel Flynn, Justine Flynn and Jarryd Burns created Thankyou in 2008. Production began after an agreement with a factory that provided services at no upfront cost as well as a donation from Visy Industries of 30,000 prototype bottles. Distributor Metro Beverage company picked them up shortly after.
In 2013, Thankyou launched lines for body care and food that fund hygiene and sanitation programs as well as food security programs. They rebranded from Thankyou Water to Thankyou and launched the Coles and Woolworths Campaign – a digital marketing and social media campaign targeting Australia's major supermarkets. In addition to social media efforts, Thankyou had support from the Channel 7 programme Sunrise as well as celebrity endorsements from Chrissie Swan and Jules Lund. They also flew helicopters (donated by benefactors) carrying banners over both Coles’ Melbourne headquarters and Woolworths’ Sydney headquarters with messages thanking the retailers for "changing the world (if you say yes).”
In 2014, Daniel Flynn was named Victorian Young Australian of the Year. By 2016, Thankyou raised $3.7 million for projects that have given over 190,000 people access to water, another 300,000 access to hygiene and sanitation, as well as funding 19.1 million days’ worth of food aid.
Development work
In 2014, Thankyou launched "Track Your Impact." In April 2015, Thankyou began its first Australian project, The Salvation Army's Hamodava Café in Melbourne CBD. They currently work with, Red Cross, Oxfam, Salvation Army and CARE.
By 2016, Thankyou raised $3.7 million for projects that have given over 190,000 people access to water, another 300,000 access to hygiene and sanitation, as well as funding 19.1 million days' worth of food aid, across 17 countries.