Jonny Wilkinson is the Founder of One Living, a health drinks business with the ambition of truly improving people’s mental and physical health.
He spent 18 years playing professional rugby and now devotes the same energy and attention to exploring wellbeing and performance potential, supporting others in their journeys too.
- Tell us a little bit about your business…
Since we began in 2017 we have been priding ourselves on brewing authentic, great tasting, naturally living, sparkling drinks and making them as accessible as possible for people to enjoy. Our mission is to have a profound impact upon the health and wellbeing of our customers and communities through our products (One Living), through supporting local mental health charities (One Giving) and through sharing our own learnings and content (One Wellbeing).
2. How did you get into the industry?
I experienced great physical and mental breakdown as a professional rugby player. I lost all balance, treated my body like a machine and fed it with lab based, artificial food. I began exploring my potential on a deeper level and came across the importance of gut health and the power of living drinks. My wife and I started brewing them at home. The impact was huge. I wanted to make that same possibility accessible to as many as I could. One Living was born.
3. What are the biggest opportunities and challenges in your industry?
The opportunities for making a difference are immense because what we put in our bodies becomes our bodies and thus has a huge say upon how we experience life. A big challenge is keeping products as awesome, authentic and unprocessed as is physically possible along the path to the customer. Staying true to this goal takes serious dedication, effort and cost, it’s so much cheaper and easier to cut corners but that’s not who we are or why we are here..
4. How would you describe your leadership style?
I strive to be the change that I wish to see around me. I accept the challenge to be responsible for who and how I am on the inside. If other people and the way things turn out get to decide this then I am never leading. I am only ever being led.
5. How do you get the most out of the people who work for you?
I deeply care about them as human beings. That’s it! Everything follows from there. I seek to allow people to feel free to be all they are around me and feel excited about the possibility of each new day.
6. What are the most crucial elements to your business running smoothly and being successful?
For me we need to look after the vision and the team. Lots of ambitious, humble, clear communication, detail and feedback keeps everyone aligned to the plan and the goal. Then it’s about individuals knowing how valued they are by including them, learning from them, being open with them and encouraging them to express their gifts, explore and grow.
7. How has the past 12 months been for you?
It has been a brilliant year. We are growing, we have enhanced our brand, enabling us to connect and share our message as well as our products more widely and powerfully. So importantly we are forming great partnerships with amazing groups like The Mental Health Foundation Awareness and establishing meaningful relationships with retailers whom really care about impacting health and wellbeing. The future looks and feels exciting.
8. What will the next 12 months look like for your business?
We want to continue to enhance awareness and access to the power and the life changing health opportunities in our products and messaging. Growth in distribution is always important so we can reach more and more people and contribute more and more to local charities, this means expanding our team and building more relationships with retailers.
We’re also excited about the range of new products launching this year. This month, we officially launched our Cold Pressed CBD range, which we believe will set a new standard in the market for purity and effectiveness. Additionally, our Mango Organic Kombucha is scheduled to launch this week, offering a delicious and refreshing option for kombucha lovers. These product innovations reflect our commitment to continually evolve and provide our customers with the very best in health and wellness.
9. What are the highlights of your career so far?
The highlights are always when we hear from customers that feel like their lives have been positively impacted by our products. I also get an incredible buzz from connecting with people and businesses whom share the same vision as us and are keen to work together. That sense of momentum and “anything is possible” is very hard to beat!
10. What’s the biggest business mistake that you’ve learnt from?
It has been an enormously humbling experience. The lesson I keep coming back to is a familiar one from my rugby days: patience and trust. I am an ambitious idealist and yet I still hold the odd perfectionist tendencies. It is an interesting combination! I get very excited about the possibility of what we can achieve and can read in to setbacks and make them into big issues. I am learning to take a moment, breathe, listen to others and up my faith levels. These “problems” invariably turn out to be beautiful parts of the path and not wrong turns at all!
11. What’s the best piece of business advice you’ve been given?
How we respond to any event is what defines it. There is only one step we ever take in life and it is the next one. If we are willing to absolutely commit and fully give ourselves to it then we may be surprised where it can take us.
