Curious about the entrepreneurial adventure behind inspiring brands, Brand and Strategic Professional Martijn Arets decided to quit his job, hand in his lease car, ignore all uncertainties and follow his dream. For five months, he travelled more than 15,000 kilometres across Europe in a one-of-a-kind 1971 Volkswagen T2 camper van, meeting with the founders, CEOs and brand managers of 20 authentic European brands in what was to prove a unique trip: Brand Expedition. On popular demand, he has bundled the lessons and stories behind 20 appealing European brands such as Lego, Mini, Skype, The Body Shop and Adidas to create Brand Expedition, the book. More information? Check www.brand-expedition.com or send Martijn a Tweet: @martijnarets.

1. READ OUT LOUD
THE STORY BEHIND
- INNOCENT-
MAKE WAY FOR SMOOTHIES

2. BEFORE YOU START….
please look into your camera and tell
us slowly your name, city and
country… Then you can start reading
this paragraph out loud… Have fun!

3. Says Richard: “Finally, we decided
that we had dreamed and
philosophized long enough. It was
time to do something. If we failed to
come up with a good idea by the end
of the weekend, we would stop

4. talking about it forever. While
brainstorming, we came up with the
idea of a responsible diet. People our
age live on an unhealthy diet of fries
and beer. Though they are aware of
this, they somehow don’t seem to be

5. able to change it. We decided to
develop a healthy smoothie that offers
a natural serving of the recommended
daily vitamins. Without artificial
flavors or colorings, of course.” Over
the next six months, the three came up

6. with a business plan and experimented
with creating new combinations of
flavors in their kitchen. Though they
firmly believed in the concept, they
also wanted to know what their target
group thought of it.

7. - END OF RECORDING-