UNICEF USA's Kid Power program had developed an innovative model connecting children's physical activity to life-saving impact. Despite strong market presence and user engagement, the hardware-dependent model created insurmountable barriers to scale and financial sustainability.
UNICEF USA's Kid Power program used wearable fitness trackers to convert children's physical activity into life-saving therapeutic food packets for malnourished children globally. For every 25,000 steps, UNICEF provided Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) to a severely acutely malnourished child somewhere around the world.
The Kid Power Band had become the #2 selling fitness tracker at Target. The program was earning phenomenal press coverage and building a thriving user base. By conventional metrics, the program appeared to be succeeding.
However, beneath the surface, fundamental challenges threatened the program's future. Manufacturing costs made the hardware model financially unsustainable. UNICEF's strengths lay in supply chain leadership, not goods manufacturing. The distribution complexity and price point created barriers that prevented the program from reaching its full potential impact. Without a viable path to scale while maintaining UNICEF's operational model, the program's long-term viability was in question.
As head of UNICEF USA's Ventures team, Ryan Modjeski led a strategic innovation initiative to amplify Kid Power's impact while enhancing operational efficiency. The transformation required identifying the program's essential value proposition and rebuilding the delivery model around what truly mattered.
Led a focused three-day strategic retreat to surgically identify the program's essential value proposition: children's physical activity directly helping peers worldwide. The wearable bands were a delivery mechanism, not the core value. The true innovation was empowering children to create measurable global impact through their own actions.
Evolved from a hardware-dependent wearable model to a scalable, digital-first streaming video platform. For every 10 videos students participated in through classroom movement activities, the program unlocked a packet of RUTF. This eliminated manufacturing constraints while maintaining the core mission and impact model.
Created a streaming video solution that seamlessly integrated into classroom routines, making implementation intuitive for teachers. The shift from individual consumer product to classroom-based program dramatically simplified adoption and increased consistent engagement.
Streamlined the operating model to significantly reduce overhead while maintaining program integrity. Reduced annual operating budget from $6M to approximately $2M while simultaneously multiplying program reach—demonstrating that constraint can drive innovation.
Pioneered new, lucrative fundraising channels for UNICEF that diversified and scaled revenue. Raised millions of dollars through innovative partnerships and funding mechanisms, establishing a sustainable financial foundation for long-term program viability.
By extracting the essential core—kids getting active to save lives—and rebuilding our technology around it, we transformed a promising but limited program into one of UNICEF's most successful initiatives in its 75-year history.
— Ryan Modjeski, Managing Director, UNICEF Ventures
This strategic evolution transformed both the program's reach and economics, achieving results that exceeded the most optimistic projections:
Reduced annual operating budget from $6M to approximately $2M while multiplying program reach. Proved that strategic innovation can simultaneously enhance mission impact and operational sustainability.
Expanded to reach 1-in-6 elementary school classrooms across the United States, touching over 1 million students annually. The digital-first model enabled rapid scaling impossible under the hardware model.
Pioneered entirely new revenue channels for UNICEF in the U.S., generating over $2 million annually through innovative partnerships and funding mechanisms never before used by the organization domestically.
Generated funding that saved the lives of over 100,000 severely malnourished children worldwide through Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food delivery. The core mission not only survived the transformation—it thrived.