At Belu, we’re lucky enough to partner with some of the true champions of purpose-led hospitality.
These are the organisations that, like us, think differently. They embrace sustainable, innovative and socially conscious ways of working which inspire others to think, learn and make changes of their own. As such, these ‘Tastemakers’ have become the basis of our exciting new campaign ‘Served with Purpose’. We want to spotlight these hospitality and business heroes, amplifying their purpose-led thinking and sharing how they are delivering positive impact whilst commercially thriving, far and wide. Then we hope many others will join in too.
To launch ‘Served with Purpose’ and start people talking, we hosted a very special dinner.
The venue was Chantelle Nicholson’s award-winning restaurant ‘Apricity’ because it perfectly embodies what we mean by ‘Served with Purpose’. Chantelle’s ethos is to prioritise sustainability, work with wonderful seasonal and local ingredients and mimimise waste. From the Belu filtered water that flows in the restaurant to the lampshades made from recycled plastic bottles, everything is carefully considered. Low environmental impact yet absolutely impeccable. That’s why Chantelle has retained a Michelin Green Star for the last two years.
We were joined by a wonderful collection of hospitality heroes and pioneers in purpose-led business.
The aim of the evening was to bring together some of our inspiring hospitality ‘Tastemakers’, (including some of the faces featured already captured in our campaign) with our wider network of business thought leaders and industry innovators – and get them talking about putting purpose before profit. Belu Co CEO Charlotte, kicked things off with an intro, which included the excellent news that our latest ‘money to WaterAid’ figure (since 2011) has reached £6.1 million. Co CEO Nat then shared her thoughts on how, whilst there are many people on a purpose journey, they don’t necessarily have the tools to make it meaningful. She invited guests to consider the things that make the difference so we could capture these ‘secret sources’ and spread the word.
As the beautifully presented, plant forward plates were shared, the conversation flowed.
The question ‘What does Served with Purpose mean to you?’ triggered a flurry of ideas. Chef and author Sabrina Gidda summarised her thinking beautifully, “A series of actions plus contributions that build meaning and legacy.” Which she elaborated on by detailing the questions we could challenge ourselves with.
“I can take action – but what else can I do with it?”
“Does my decision making inspire, encourage or benefit anyone but me?
“Am I doing work that I am proud of?”
Others added that “Serving with Purpose is to deliver with a reason. To do the right thing despite the landscape of business. To be brave in the pursuit of change.” And “Going above and beyond, creating a business that empowers peoples to operate with integrity and bring their values into their work.”
We’ve gathered many similarly inspiring snippets of conversation from the evening.
Our inimitable host Michael Hayman, who as Founder of PR agency Seven Hills, has been part of Belu’s journey for many years, kept the discussion on track and drew out the themes.
They’re being collated into a must-read ‘Served with Purpose’ guide which we will share far and wide so the inspirational thinking and actionable insight we gather throughout the campaign can be put to very good use.
It’s great to see our ‘Served with Purpose’ Tastemakers bringing fresh thinking to the table already.
Rik Campbell and Will Bowlby from Kricket, Tammy Kenyon and Luke Holder from Lime Wood, Louise Sheppard and Angie Loyns from Zurich all feature in our campaign and have shared their ideas on ‘Serving with Purpose”. Watch out for their voxpops and images in the press and on socials. This week we caught up with The Hari’s Angela Montebello and Lorna Macpherson-Johnston from Cubitt House too.
If you have ideas about how we can all ‘Serve with Purpose’ we’d love to hear them.
Or if you know someone from Hospitality or Business who is thinking differently, leading with purpose and could inspire change – why not nominate them as a ‘Served with Purpose’ Tastemaker – so they can join the conversation?
Thank you to everyone who joined us for our launch event. And to Chantelle, Alice and the Apricity team.
