Kalkman: fueling a dream from the heart

The challenge

Imagine the moment you decide to leave a familiar world behind to follow a feeling. A deep sense of purpose that calls you to create something truly your own. This was the journey of Alexander Kalkman when he stepped away from his corporate career. He had a powerful vision: to launch a healthy, sustainable product for endurance athletes in a world often filled with artificial shortcuts. The challenge was how to give this idea a name, a story, and a soul.

Our journey together

We felt privileged to join Alexander on his journey from the very beginning. Through a series of playful and science-based co-creation sessions, we helped unearth the brand’s core truth. Using our 23plusone emotive methodology and design thinking, we explored different strategic paths to capture the heart of his vision. From day one, we shared stories and concepts with friends, family, and cycling insiders, weaving a community of ambassadors into the brand’s DNA. This is how great things are made, human by human.

The transformation

The result is KALKMAN Good Energy. The brand is a beautiful tribute to Alexander’s grandfather, Chris Kalkman, a Dutch cycling champion from a century ago. It offers 100% natural power bites for cyclists seeking honest fuel. We helped shape the heartfelt story, the name, the logo, and the warm visual identity. As the first prototypes are shared within the cycling community, the overwhelmingly positive response confirms what we felt all along: when a brand is built on a genuine human story, people feel it instantly. This is where purpose meets performance.

Do you have a vision you’re ready to bring to life? Let's connect and build your next better, together. Contact Kim Cramer or Alexander Koene to start the conversation.