It seems an international race is on to get women to drink more beer. Following our previous coverage of Karla, a functional German beer for women, comes a related spotting from Poland. Karmi, a regional brand produced by the Polish division of Carlsberg, is a dark beer that has been around for a while, and is characterized by its sweet caramel flavour.

Categorized as a near-beer for its low alcohol content (0.1%), the drink has been revamped and is now being targeted to women. Besides pretty new packaging, Karmi has also introduced three new flavours: Poema di Caffé (coffee), Selua (pineapple/piña colada) and Lamai (guava, dragonfruit and mint). Unlike its German sister Karla, Karmi isn't touted as having medicinal properties. Karmi's positioning is all about flavour, low alcohol content and packaging. Although we can't personally vouch for its taste, the coffee flavoured beer is stealing the show, and was singled out by Polish business magazine Handel as Poland's best new FMCG product of 2006.

Website: http://www.karmi.pl
Contact: karmi@karmi.pl

In April, we reported on Stylehive, a collaborative shopping network. Since then, two big new players have entered the arena: Crowdstorm and ThisNext.

Crowdstorm is a new way for consumers to find what to buy by measuring the buzz around products. Users recommend products, and the crowd defines the best products by recommending what they know and like. Good products go to the top of the list, weak products disappear: the setup is very much like the popular news website Digg. Buzz is measured by the amount of activity surrounding a product: how many times a product has been viewed, how many bloggers have written about it, and how many Crowdstorm users have commented about it.

Users can add other users as friends, either people they already know or those they've met on Crowdstorm and whose product recommendations they trust. Future enhancements will let users post their own product images and videos, and top-rated members will also be invited to beta-test new products from big brands. UK-based Crowdstorm was founded by Phil Wilkinson, who also set up online price comparison sites ShopGenie and Kelkoo, and aims to be one of the internet's best sources of impartial product information.

Another social shopping network to have launched recently is ThisNext. Much hyped, LA-based ThisNext features a slick design and sends visitors down one of three paths: Discover, Recommend and Shopcast. The discover section lets users browse products recommended by others. Clicking on a item allows them to add it to their wishlist, recommend it, or find out where to buy the product. Users can recommend products by creating themed lists (from 'Japanese Snacks' to 'Things I Cannot Do Without'), or simply by clicking on an easy to install 'Add to ThisNext' browser button.

Appealing to the blogging crowd, ThisNext's standout feature is shopcasting: bloggers can create small banners for their website. These so-called shopcast badges either display their own recommendations or those of the ThisNext community, broadcasting the products they love or must have.

The combination of consuming, curating and creating buzz is hot, as witnessed by the arrival of not only Stylehive, Crowdstorm and ThisNext, but also others like Wists, ShopWiki and Kaboodle. Most are very US-centric. Time to launch local versions and find out who will lead the pack!

Website: http://www.crowdstorm.com
Contact: info@crowdstorm.com

Website: http://www.thisnext.com
Contact: http://www.thisnext.com/contact

Just as everything can be upgraded, most things can be simplified. For consumers who struggle with regular ready to assemble furniture and it's complicated instructions, Real Simple Furniture will come as a welcome relief. Real Simple Furniture lives up to its name: their flat-pack furniture can be assembled and disassembled with absolutely no tools, other than a pair of hands. The pieces simply click together using lips and grooves.

Besides offering super fast and easy assembly and disassembly, the company also stands out by making all of its pieces from real wood, not particle board, and manufacturing everything in the United States. RSF's simple and contemporary designs -- chairs, couches, shelving, storage, tables and desks -- are currently only sold through their website. One to partner with, setting up local manufacturing and distribution? IKEA's marketshare is more than big enough. Time to steal a piece of the action ;-)

Website: http://www.realsimplefurniture.com
Contact: http://www.realsimplefurniture.com/contact_us.html

Designed in California and manufactured in India, GoinGreen's G-Wiz electric cars are a hit in London, where the company has sold over 600 units, making London the electric car capital of the world. GoinGreen, which was founded in 2004 and has received numerous new business awards, did so purely by word of mouth – without dealers, showrooms, advertising, or sales staff. The company cuts costs by selling directly to consumers through its online store. No need for showrooms, either. Interested consumers can make an appointment to test-drive a vehicle at one of four locations in and around London.

Potential emission-free drivers have a choice of two models, aptly named AC and DC. The standard DC model has a maximum range of 40 miles, can go up to 40 mph and is priced at GBP 5,956. Its slightly faster (45 mph) sibling features optional extras like leather seats, remote central locking, and batteries that are upgradeable to hi-performance lithium-ion. AC is available in a variety of colours, including leopard and tiger prints, and is priced from GBP 6,807. Unlike most electric vehicles, the G-Wiz can seat four.

Besides saving on gas, G-Wiz drivers in London are also exempt from paying the city's congestion charge of GBP 8 per day and don’t have to pay road tax, either. Some neighbourhoods also offer free parking for electric vehicles. Limited range and speed are hardly an issue in the city, where most trips are short and traffic doesn't usually allow for speeds over 15 mph. (To see the G-Wiz in action, check out this video.)

Green to the core, GoinGreen not only lobbies for a switch to emission free transport, but also off-sets CO2 produced in the manufacturing, delivery and first two year's driving of every car they sell. Offsets are bought from Climate Care, which uses the money to fund CO2 reduction projects.

GoinGreen is the first retailer to sell a large number of this model, which is known as Reva in its native India. Reva is said to be the cheapest commercially produced electric car in the world, and suggested niche markets include small island nations (expensive to get fuel to), and postal delivery services, whose vehicles stop and start frequently and don't need to drive at high speeds.

Interested in selling a racier battery-powered ride? Check out Tesla, which is building electric roadsters that will be available for purchase in early 2007, with an anticipated delivery date of fall 2007. A Tesla Roadster can do zero to 60 mph in about 4 seconds, has a top speed of over 130 mph and a range of 250 miles.

Plenty of opportunities for emission free entrepreneurs!

Website: http://www.goingreen.co.uk
Contact: ask@goingreen.co.uk

Dutch cadeaucode.nl, which launched earlier this week, lets late or lazy gift givers send presents by text message. How it works: the giver goes to the company's website, enters the recipient's phone number and a message, pays by credit card, and a message containing a unique gift code is immediately sent to the recipient.

While gift vouchers by email have been around at least as long as Amazon.com has, there's a fun immediacy to receiving a gift by text message -- a greater element of surprise, compounded by the gift voucher being instantly redeemable online. Cadeaucode's gift selection is limited to ten items, currently ranging from a Madonna Live cd/dvd to the infamous 'shave all over' Philips Bodygroom, and the assortment is regularly updated.

According to the company's founders, the limited selection is there for a reason: Cadeaucode doubles as a buzz marketing tool. Gifts are provided to Cadeaucode at no cost by brands hoping to gain a bit of inexpensive exposure. From that point of view, it would definitely make sense for the website to offer more information about the products than it currently does. None of the gifts show a price tag, and although the gift voucher only comes in one value (EUR 25,25), some products have a higher retail value. Which adds to the appeal for consumers – it's a present and a potential bargain, sweetly wrapped in a short message. ;-)

(We reported on a similar initiative last year – Buy Me A Beer, a British hospitality spin-off that lets consumers turn 'I owe you a drink' into an sms that's redeemable at participating pubs. More >>)

Website: http://www.cadeaucode.nl
Contact: service@cadeaucode.nl