What Palestine cola can teach us about building purpose-driven businesses

Swedish daily newspaper Sydsvenskan has investigated Palestina cola, revealing that the founders can’t – or won’t – account for how much money has actually reached Palestine. Instead, most of it seems to have gone into building the company itself.

That raises a deeper question:Can you really protect a purpose within the logic of the market?

It sounds obvious, that running a business for a purpose is different from running one for growth. Yet in practice, it’s easy to forget. The corporate form is so familiar, so deeply ingrained. Everything around us is built for it. The dream of building something big is seductive. And the purpose – the sacred reason you started in the first place – becomes something you talk about, rather than something you live by.

It’s an important reminder in a time when entrepreneurship has become politics. We increasingly choose brands that reflect our values. Companies take public stands. Boycotts can take down entire businesses overnight.

Yet there’s still a wide grey zone: when a purpose meets the tempo of market logic, something strange happens. The purpose starts to serve the company, not the other way around. Value that was meant to flow outward gets trapped inside the structure. Energy that was meant to circulate freely is absorbed by expansion. Suddenly, it’s no longer about giving – it’s about surviving as a company. Simply because that’s how business works.

When growth replaces purpose

A brand builds its entire identity around supporting Palestine. The founders’ goal is simple and beautiful: to channel money where it’s needed most. People buy the product, spread the message, believe in the promise. We don’t yet know exactly what happened. But the question that emerges is fundamental: Did the founders at some point switch the question they were asking? From “How do we channel the most money to Palestine?” to “How do we build a big company as fast as possible?”

The difference is decisive.

To grow fast, you need focus – and that focus costs money: offices, staff, machinery, transport, logistics, marketing. The result? Instead of money being channelled to Palestine, it gets channelled into the company. Growth consumes purpose. Maybe the founders believe that this will eventually lead to greater profits and therefore greater impact. But there are no guarantees of that.

This is where purpose gets lost. A purpose-driven initiative doesn’t follow the rhythm of the market.It follows the rhythm of meaning – a slower, grounded, responsive pace where every step must align with what you claim to serve.

The faster you run, the less of that purpose remains.

How to organize around purpose – for real

If we place purpose at the centre, the question changes. It’s no longer “How do we scale fast?” but “How do we channel as much money, attention, and pressure as possible – to this very call for help?”

1. Purpose as rhythm

Let purpose, and what’s happening in the world, set the tempo, resources, and narrative – not the other way around. Every decision should link back to one question: How does this support Palestine – now, today, in concrete terms? Ask it weekly. At every crossroads. When that rhythm is lost, we start building for ourselves. When it’s found again, something enduring begins to take shape.

2. Minimal infrastructure – maximal flow

Build no more than the purpose requires. If the goal is to send money to a war zone – why scale? Use existing networks, volunteers, cafés, breweries, artists. Collaborate.Add donation functions, transparent communication, live tracking of impact.Keep the punk energy alive – that’s where the real power is, not in logistics or distribution. Borrow infrastructure. Demand discounts. Negotiate hard – for the cause.

3. Feedback as ritual

Show, in real time, how much support has been raised week by week. Tell the story of what the money enabled. Involve donors in deciding where funds go. When people can feel the pulse of real impact, trust grows.Transparency isn’t just about accounting – it’s about relationship. Saying “We’ve sent 217,000 SEK to these three hospitals” is not PR. It’s remembering why you exist.

4. Stay close to what hurts

Don’t build yourself away from the pain – or from the people. A company is a system that easily isolates. Suddenly you’re caught in KPIs and production schedules, no longer in relation to what you serve. In war, needs change every week – let the money flow with that reality, not with the fiscal year. Call. Read reports. Listen to voices on the ground. Let reality set the pace.

5. Accept that it might not need to become a company

Maybe it shouldn’t grow. Maybe it’s meant to be temporary. An organisation can be like a ceremony: it arises from need, carries something essential, and then is released.Channelling support is an act, not a business idea. Be flexible with form – an association, a fund, a campaign, a series of events. The form can change, as long as the rhythm of giving, action, and feedback stays alive. Sometimes the most honest thing to say is: “We’ll do this for as long as it’s needed. Then we’ll stop. And thank you for your trust.”

Carrying a purpose is not like building a brand

It’s not a business model. It’s an agreement – with those who give, those who receive, and with the call itself. When you build something in the name of purpose, you take on a special kind of responsibility.

An agreement is made with every person who buys a bottle, shares a post, or believes in the message. That agreement is moral, not commercial. To build something in the name of purpose, and then fail to show what actually reached its destination, is to break that agreement. And that kind of betrayal does more harm than doing nothing at all.

This demands a new kind of intelligence – one that knows when to grow and when to rest, when to let go and when to take responsibility. An intelligence that stays loyal to the purpose, not the ego.

Purpose requires harmony – between vision, action, and feedback. It needs structures and processes designed to serve it. Without that, you’re just another company.