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
THE BODY
SHOP
TRULY GREEN

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. “For this purpose, she used the
experience she had acquired working
and traveling throughout the world.
Abroad, she had visited many cultures
and had seen how women across the
world took care of their bodies. From

4. the start, the focus of The Body Shop
was on the nurturing and natural
properties of the products and not so
much on the women’s looks. It is for
this reason that the company
consciously did not go along with body

5. care campaigns that emphasized the
ideal woman. And we still don’t.” Anita
was raised frugally and hated waste.
She used one type of reusable bottle
with a hand-written label and recycled
everything she could. The signature

6. green color of The Body Shop owes its
use to the fact that, initially, it was the
only color that could camouflage
the mold stains on the walls of the first
store. There was no money for
advertising.

7. - END OF RECORDING-