It feels almost surreal that we're wrapping-up 2025. It’s been a busy 12 months, with so much happening that we’ve hardly had time to stop and take it all in.
2025 has been a remarkable year for our organisation, filled with achievements and progress. As we wrap up the year, we have much to be grateful for and even more to look forward to. With 2026 on the horizon, we're confident it will be a pivotal year and we're genuinely excited to dive into what’s ahead.
Before we get too ahead of ourselves, it’s important to recognise this year’s highlights and show a little gratitude for where we are as a team.
The London Healthcare Innovation Forum, in partnership with Skillwork, was our first major event and it could not have been a greater success. When we initially spoke about the idea for the event, we wanted to create an environment where leaders in technology, industry, policy, regulation, legal and funding could come together and meaningfully talk about what it takes for innovation to succeed.
Following the initial conversation in October 24, we decided to take the plunge in January and by April we had brought it to life. Proof that if you want to make something happen, all you need is to be naive enough to start, stubborn enough to finish and be willing to work around the clock to do it in three months. That and a fantastic coordinator in Lisa who we have to give a special shout out to.
We thought we might get around 50 people… Boy, were we wrong. 250 of the most incredible voices in the industry expressed their interest in being a part of what we were doing. It was a ‘pinch us’ moment for Johnny, Ali and Jan and it showed us that it was clearer than ever that there is the demand for connecting all these parties in a way that hadn’t been done before.
With a toast from Johnny, The London Healthcare Innovation Forum began the night before at Coya, with the main event, made up of panel discussions, fireside chats, honest perspectives, knowledge sharing and connecting, happening the following day.
We’ve already got big plans for next year and can’t wait to share these with you nearer the time.
It’s always wonderful when the team comes together to plot the future direction of the company. Our April strategy day was an opportunity for us all to gather together and celebrate the wins over the past 12 months and plan for the year ahead. The day was a wonderful opportunity for the team to input and share their ideas on how we can grow areas of the business, the types of projects we would like to work on and also to have some fun. To reward ourselves for the hard work, we headed to Los Mochis in the city to celebrate, which, it must be said, has a rather incredible view.
Our first new addition was the incredible Oscar, who has proven himself to be a real asset to the team in his energy, enthusiasm, willingness to learn, and the adaptability that he has shown. It’s not easy when you have come from an entirely different background, which Oscar did. Architecture and user experience design may share some commonalities but the disciplines are most certainly separate. Oscar has thrown himself into the challenge though and has become an integral member of the team able to help out where required with a positive attitude and willingness to embrace uncertainty.
We also welcomed our CBO - chief baby officer. You won’t find the position on LinkedIn, but in June, our founder Johnny welcomed his first daughter Odette Sophie Isaacs and she quickly snatched the Chief Baby Officer role at Explosive Brands. She has been instrumental in setting the direction for Johnny and keeping firmly on task. We can’t wait to see what heights she will reach as she continues to grow in stature in the company. Watch this space.
We onboarded multiple new clients across a range of different therapeutic areas. Working with Lifelight on their rebrand and multiple initiative launches is one of those highlights. Especially, as it's a particularly close-to-home project for Johnny and his family. Being a part of how their company and brand is evolving, helping to shape how they communicate their value and how they show that to the world has been an enormous privilege.
Another special mention goes to Dominic James and his new venture Future Centric, which is helping shape and build the healthcare companies of the future.
Ever keen to continually offer value beyond one-off projects, we launched our retainer offerings. Being able to help partner organisations with regular services at a consistent monthly cost so that we can help them build, scale and grow. Price sensitivity is real, especially in an age of AI, so why deny it? Clear and transparent pricing, a set amount of hours a month, working with UK based designers on hand to provide the support you need, when you need it. All the benefits of an in house team, without the payroll. Offering this with the opportunity to roll over hours if required seemed a no brainer, so that’s what we did and it’s been a hit.
Starting in November we launched series two of our Trail Blazers series, shining a spotlight on wonderful people in the world of health, wellbeing and technology, who are making this big blue marble a better place. In the first two episodes we spoke with Lauren Redfern of Hormonally about the challenges women face in accessing helpful information about their hormone health. And Bianca Errigo of HumanOS, who spoke with Johnny about the workplace wellbeing report they launched and how building psychological safety using an IBD framework has never been more important for companies looking to build high performing teams.
For our annual Christmas get-together we visited Claridge’s for the unveiling of the Christmas tree. After a stunning breakfast, we headed to Clay’s Soho for a round or two of virtual clay pigeon shooting. Because nothing says Christmas like arcade games, competition and one or two cocktails. What a day, what a team, what a year we have had!
All this and much more happened in 2025. In classic design-world style, a lot of the work we do is still under NDA and as we can’t brag about it, we haven’t even mentioned the trips the team went on. To stay up-to-date with more regular updates, make sure to check out our Substack, where we regularly share inspiration and news.
“The Explosive Brands team has been amazing this year, and I want to thank them all immensely. You are the lifeblood of this organisation and you make it what it is. Thank you for being so pivotal in the company we are all building together. What’s funny is that it isn’t until you start to write it all down that you realise how far you have come and how much has been achieved over the course of a year. All I can say is that this only represents probably a small handful of the amazing stories and successes we have achieved over the last 12 months.It is a unique privilege to be able to work with brands that are changing the world for the better and we are incredibly grateful to be able to enjoy the freedom to do that. Thank you to our partners for being a part of this journey with us.”
From all the team at Explosive Brands, have the most wonderful festive season, happy holidays, merry Christmas and New Year. Here’s to 2026 and beyond!
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