Yahoo Finance Behind the brand: That Gorilla Brand, conservation clothing label
The stories you don't know about some of the world's best and little-known brands
A few weeks before the pandemic took hold, businessman Leo Gripari went on a five-day trip to Uganda. In the mountains, he saw a silverback gorilla named Rafiki, who was lying down holding a baby. A few months later, Gripari learned that a poacher had killed the gorilla after illegally entering the protected area.
Although the first seeds were sown in 2018, his trip led Gripari and wife Casey to co-found That Gorilla Brand, a global lifestyle and conservation clothing brand which is now saving the mountain gorilla from extinction through community-led water projects. It’s a small, growing brand with a passion-filled story.
The business aims to put impact and purpose over profit. For every item of clothing sold, they make a donation to The Gorilla Organization, an offshoot of the Dian Fossey fund which has been working for over two decades to save the mountain gorilla from extinction.
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Starting at their kitchen table after a jetlagged idea on holiday in Asia, That Gorilla Brand is now the second largest donor to The Gorilla Organization after the EU and operates across Europe, Asia, the US and Canada.
The brand is made up of three core pillars: clothing, film — a documentary is in the pipeline for release — and adventures for a cause, where Gripari undertakes physical challenge fundraisers, which have taken in treks across the Grand Canyon to ultramarathons. To date, more than €175,000 (£152,000) has been raised for water projects.
Despite the pandemic, the brand is approaching 50 stockists across the globe from LA to Vietnam, with clients renewing yearly. “The reason why the door opened is our story and the impact of the brand,” says Gripari.
“Where sales go well is where we have interaction with customers and what the brand is about. If they are behind us it gives something to talk about for clients coming through the doors. It’s definitely helped us to where we are today.”
As a growing lifestyle brand, the husband and wife team have learned lessons along the way, including costs on redesigning a lacklustre first website, as well as understanding import and export procedures.
“We have lived and breathed this since 2018 but for many people it is new,” says Gripari. “It is driven by passion and something we have built from our kitchen table.”
Primarily a Greek brand, Gripari says the business has a British mentality. “I was born and grew up there and Casey is Australian and also grew up in the UK,” he says. “The big surprise for us was Greece as gorillas and conservation don’t really fit into the norms of Greek life.”
However That Gorilla Brand soon stocked into two of the best hotels in the north and south when the manager heard about the story. They have since scaled to 28 locations in Greece, while impact fundraising, donations and initiatives have amounted to the tune of €300,000 (£260,000).
“To put into context,” says Gripari, “£152,000 is approximately 690 million Ugandan shillings. In that area, the government allocates 20m shillings for water projects. In terms of raising €300,000, that’s way beyond my wildest dreams.”
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All funds have gone into initiating and building the Bwindi Community Water Projects, which provide communities that neighbour the gorilla habitats in Uganda with easily accessible and clean drinking water to more than 7,250 people in seven communities.
To limit dead stock on the product side, the brand has also named its collections after places in Uganda such as the national forest parks or Rafiki, the gorilla killed by an illegal poacher.
“You never know how sales will go and we wanted to ensure items ran through each collection. It means that our stockists can pick different pieces from our early collections and we stay relevant.”
That Gorilla Brand also have a feature-length documentary film set for release on Gripari’s physical exploits and the water projects goal.
“The quality of the film has blown us away and it’s a way to tell a story, aspire and for people to join our causes," says Gripari.
“It’s all part of the strategy to bring the brand forward. We are now a tight package so we can communicate all as one.”
Watch: UNESCO chief attends Rwandan gorilla naming ceremony
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