The Challenge

Frustrated by a lack of sustainable, effective fuel options for endurance athletes, ultra-marathoner and running coach Alison McPherson came to Birdway with a challenge: commercialize a portable, high-performance energy source that doesn’t rely on single-use plastics or synthetic ingredients.

Unwilling to risk funding, Alison was apprehensive to launch without knowing if her vision was commercially viable or even technically viable.

The Approach

Working with a championed and funded, but net-new idea, Birdway applied our proprietary discovery model to validate the product and find a way to bring the idea to shelf.

The Birdway Process:

• Quantitative Consumer Insight Research to perform a category assessment.

• Competitive Benchmarking across product specific categories.

• Opportunity Assessment to define whitespace.

• Qualitative Consumer Insight Research to capture emotional motivation.

• Branding and packaging to bring her values forward.

• Product development to meet the vision of the founder and specific needs of the target market.

Our Solution

To solve the challenge at hand, like Alison, we went the extra mile, blending creativity with technical problem-solving.

• Birdway validated the concept and market, proving there was a strong opportunity for the fledgling brand.

• We refined the product with food scientists; experimenting with texture, viscosity, and ingredient stability to meet target and food safety requirements.

• Engaged a fabricator to build a custom prototype to meet technical product needs and bring the founder’s vision to life.

• Enhanced nutrition labelling to clearly communicate product ingredients and benefits.

• Created a roadmap for process optimization and future scale-up.

• Delivered exclusive network access to support creative development and influencer partnerships to build the brand holistically while keeping the founder’s values front and center

The Result

Dig Deep. A clearly defined brand and product that unites function, sustainability, and emotional motivation. Poised to take over the market, this brand, which aligns with Alison’s personal mantra, has a clear strategy, proof of consumer demand, and a community-rooted brand story.

Alison’s idea, born on the trail and refined through collaboration, is a testament to what happens when passion meets process.