What you can learn from CAKE’s approach to social and environmental impact

You wouldn’t think that a motorbike manufacturer could be a leader in the field of social and environmental impact efforts, but that’s the case with CAKE. The Swedish electric bike manufacturer was built on the vision of creating high quality, well designed electric motorcycles with zero emissions. Founded in 2016, the design team was given the direction of creating motorcycles that were ‘light, quiet and clean’, designed to create ‘excitement with responsibility, while inspiring the shift to a zero emission society’.

CAKE’s products are undoubtedly a thing of beauty. Until they came on the market most electric bikes were clunky and electric motorcycles almost unheard of. Unsurprisingly their modern , sustainable design approach and range of motorbikes has won the brand a host of design awards. Like other EV manufacturers the business sadly failed to raise enough funding to continue operating in 2024, but there's a lot every brand can learn from how they made sustainability and the environment core to their DNA.

The range of bikes CAKE built delivered on a wide range of motorbike use cases, from urban commuting to off-roading. Each design is modular and adaptable, enabling simple modifications, such as being able to add a surfboard-carrying attachment. It’s this adaptablity that gives their product real breadth of use cases, and this is where they created an integrated sustainability and social impact approach. To ensure the brand delivered on its mission, CAKE created a specific company arm they defined as their Mission Group.

‘CAKE is on a mission to speed up the transition towards a zero-emission society, by combining excitement with responsibility in the development of our electric motorcycles. In order to live up to our creed, we have adopted a cross-scientific approach to working with sustainability issues. Leading the way is our CAKE Mission Group, a group of experienced individuals that coach and help lead processes connected to sustainability.’

Sustainability was core to the product CAKE developed, so it’s vital it lived it across the brand. Establishing their Mission Group enabled them to hold the company accountable to its mission and ensure that sustainability is ingrained in everything it does. Failure to do so would have drastically impact how the company is viewed by consumers.

“It’s crucial for us to develop bikes that can stand jumping 30 metres, doing a double flip, or doing whatever it is that may be needed for anti-poaching in Africa, or for polar expeditions” — CAKE founder Stefan Ytterborn

Where some brands try and bolt on sustainability, CAKE’s product was built on enabling it. What's interesting is that, the brand has took their core product and worked out how it could be further leveraged to deliver on its mission. A great example of this natural extension is their partnership to stop poaching in South Africa. In a collaboration with rangers from the Southern African Wildlife College, CAKE’s engineers developed the Electric Bush Bike series, allowing rangers to approach poachers silently without being detected, paving the way for solar powered anti-poaching patrolling.

"We have a strong commitment to sustainability, and I would say that the biggest threat to sustainability is our pace of consumption, so on our side it's all about extending life cycles," said founder Stefan Ytterborn.

"And therefore, it's crucial for us to develop bikes that can stand jumping 30 metres, doing a double flip, or doing whatever it is that may be needed for anti-poaching in Africa, or for polar expeditions, so we can implement those learnings about durability and longevity in our bikes for more ordinary uses."

Cake took a strategic approach to sustainability and looked for natural ways that its products and business could further deliver on the brand’s goals. As part of its B2B efforts they developed and tested a ‘last mile’ delivery approach that enables food to make it from restaurant to table whilst limiting the impact on the environment. CAKE developed a state-of-the-art, temperature controlled delivery box, featuring compartments that can be individually temperature controlled and tracked in real time. The box was powered by the bike itself. They then used the same technology and approach to enable temperature-controlled medical supplies to be delivered to remote areas in Ghana. These initiatives then provided a huge opportunity for brand content and storytelling around the products.

The key to CAKE’s approach is that, unlike a lot of brand’s, they didn't just paying lip service to their work in environmental and social impact. Sustainability runs through everything they did, but it’s just one part of how they view their technology tried to solve bigger problems. From anti-poaching efforts to temperature-controlled delivery, they leveraged the inherent product values to change how people live and work.

THE TAKEAWAY

Explore how your product can be used in different ways to deliver true value for both social and environmental impact.
Consider how those can be used to deliver storytelling across your platforms.
Think long-term. Sustainability is important for a vast majority for consumers now, does your brand deliver on it? What changes could you make to deliver a more sustainable approach?

GO DEEPER

Read more about CAKE’s anti-poaching initiative here.

Listen to CAKE Founder Stefan Ytterborn talk about the brand and the importance of purpose on this insightful podcast here.