Business Case - 4Ocean

Case Study: 4Ocean

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Critical Thinking Questions to Keep in Mind as You Explore this Case Study:

1. What is 4Ocean really selling? 

2. Search the internet and describe in greater detail the impact this company is making?

Case Study: 4Ocean

4Ocean, with headquarters in Boca Raton, Florida, is on a mission to clean up waste in our oceans and on our beaches. While on a surfing trip in Bali, Indonesia, founders Alex Schulze and Andrew Cooper, were shocked to see the beaches covered with waste and “trash-filled waves delivering more garbage with each break”. That surfing vacation turned into a mission. They saw the magnitude of the problem and decided to do something about it. They started with hiring boat captains and local workers to clean the oceans full time. The plastic coming out of the ocean was then repurposed into bracelets. The average price of a bracelet to the consumer is $20 and the company claims to remove 1 pound of plastic waste from the ocean for every bracelet sold.

The company has created an extremely strong core mission around which it revolves the sales of its merchandise. The customer doesn’t just buy a bracelet, they buy into a cause. The mission that 4Ocean focuses on is easy to relate to and buy into—everyone wants to “walk along the beaches in Bali, in Haiti, in Florida, and around the world and see nothing but warm sand and rolling waves,” and everyone wants to save the planet from pollution by plastic. Currently, the company sells over 30 kinds of bracelets, most of which are named after different animals that the company is focused on protecting through its activities such as sharks, whales, penguins, and sea turtles. The company offers its customers the option to take a monthly subscription that entails them to receive one bracelet per month, customers can buy directly online, and 4Oceans partners with retailers to sell their bracelets in stores. Apart from selling products online, they also partner with retailers to sell the product in their stores; however, their retailer must have a mission that aligns with their own. 

4Ocean has gone on to expand the merchandise line to include water bottles, clean-up kits, single-use alternatives and reusable straws. Since its founding in 2017, they removed over 9 million pounds of plastic waste from the ocean. According to their website, their mission is stated as follows: “We are a purpose-driven business, founded to help end the ocean plastic crisis. Today, our ocean cleanup and advocacy mission is funded primarily by your 4ocean product purchases.”  Given the strong mission of cleaning up oceans, it emphasizes keeping customers informed about the impact their purchases are making around the world. The company invests a lot in documenting its efforts, and posts regular updates and compelling content on Facebook (1.2 million followers), Instagram (more than 2 million followers), YouTube (more than100,000 subscribers), Twitter (more than 250,000 followers), Pinterest (more than 16,000 followers) and Vimeo (more than 1,000 followers). The emphasis of all of their marketing is drawing attention to the plastic problem in our oceans and how customers are making a difference around the world. More recently the company is focusing on cleaning up rivers because rivers are the source of most of the plastic that is ending up in our oceans. 

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