151 Property is committed to making a positive contribution to the communities in which we operate. Since late 2018, we have partnered with Two Good Co. – an Australian social enterprise that operates on a ‘buy one, give one’ philosophy, donating meals as well as providing work opportunities to women who have experienced domestic violence. We spoke with Rob Caslick, Two Good Co.’s founder about how Two Good Co. is helping to change of course of vulnerable women’s lives.
Two Good Co. is known for its “Buy One Give One” philosophy and providing quality meals to vulnerable women in need. Does this remain a key focus for TGC and how has TGC evolved from this?
It was certainly how we started. You buy a salad jar and we will donate a second salad jar to a women’s shelter. Through asking the question – how do we have more social impact with the least impact on the earth we’ve evolved this concept considerably. The first evolution was to change the meals. The ‘Buy One Give One’ for me was about equality and making sure that a woman in the shelter could eat the same as the person working on Macquarie Street. But we pushed equality harder and defined it as two equal clients of Two Good Co and our research showed that the person in the shelter wanted more comfort and familiar meals than the person in the city who wanted to explore more trendy foods. On reflection, it makes so much sense and was an early lesson for us about assumptions.
We now no longer do jars. As we evolve, we realise we can have more impact through employment. Our revenue in the food business has also shifted significantly into more catering and events. Catering jobs provide an opportunity to build employment hours and with Corporate Team Building activities, we now serve 42 women shelters and refuges. Our dedication to delivering the absolute best meal continues. There are many incredible services out there that donate food, we position ourselves as the special treat during the week.
Two Good Co. works closely with various corporate supporters. How do these partnerships enable TGC to create social impact or help “change the course” for vulnerable women?
Partnerships are key to our growth. Most of our revenue and ultimately our social impact comes through B2B sales. I love the line by Stephen Covey – “Change happens at the speed of trust”. It takes a while to build trust between partners but once it’s there – good things can happen quickly. Our premise is to deliver a great product and compete with pure commercial suppliers. Our social impact is why we do what we do but our service and product suite are equally important. Nobody likes soggy sandwiches 🙂
You have recently opened your second Two Good Co. kitchen at Yirranma Place in partnership with the Paul Ramsay Foundation. How does this site differ to your HQ and support TGC’s mission?
Yirranma Place allows us to provide a client facing service that welcomes people back to the office with empathy. We redesigned the traditional concierge service offering and rebranded it as the ‘Goodcierge’. It allows us to play to our own values and design in KPIs that talk about good deeds we can do for the people in the building. It’s 90% slick service delivery, and the 10% is where the magic is at. We’ve been getting quite a bit of publicity and I love hearing about the warmth and connections we are creating through the service. On an impact level it allows women who want to explore hospitality roles, an opportunity for further employment and specific training before they go further in the sector.
As a social enterprise that creates Good Food and Good Things, is sustainability a key focus for Two Good Co. and how is it embedded across your operations?
Absolutely, but it’s a close second to social impact. To enable us to drive revenue into our programs, we have plans to scale our soap sales but the one dilemma we were facing is increasing our plastics consumption. Our solution – we designed and locally manufactured soap dispensers out of ocean plastics. See it here.
As Two Good Co’s founder, what inspires you to continue to do good and support people in need?
I’m of course inspired by the women we walk with, but I also realise I’m inspired by the huge opportunity to be able to scale our social impact without having to rely on fundraising.
Two Good Co. has changed dramatically since it’s humble beginnings as a BBQ in Kings Cross, Sydney. What’s next for TGC and what excites you most about TGC’s future?
Focus! During Covid we did everything from sewing face masks to almost launching a cleaning business. We have an incredible leadership team and are focusing what we are good at. You will hopefully see more Goodcierge sites open as well as a retail store for our Good Things!