If free notebooks and notepaper are both effective ways to get a message in front of college students' eyes, what would be the closest equivalent for office workers? The ubiquitous coffee cup seems like a pretty good guess, and it's also precisely the medium used in the latest round of free love with advertising.

FreePaperCups provides just that to corporate customers across the US through an arrangement with both advertisers and suppliers. Specifically, operating through an exclusive national network of office coffee service providers, FreePaperCups works with advertisers to provide the cups to companies for free in exchange for branding them with sponsors' messages. The result? Advertisers get their brands in front of consumers and business decision makers in offices, conference rooms, break rooms and corporate dining facilities across the nation; companies get to eliminate the expense of buying the cups themselves; and participating coffee services get to offer more competitive pricing.

Once again, free love is a win-win-win for everyone involved. One to continue emulating whenever, wherever possible! ;-) (Related: Free love at the food court — More free photocopying, this time for charity.)

Website: www.freepapercups.com
Contact: info@freepapercups.com

Spotted by: Susanna Haynie

A few weeks ago, we wrote about a Washington, D.C. bar that cuts wait times for drinks through a no-standing policy. A new bar in Amsterdam has devised a different strategy: guests serve themselves from their own mini bars.

The establishment, Minibar, is set to open soon. How it works? Customers leave a passport or driver's license with a staff member and are given an ice bucket and a key to their bar. The numbered mini fridges fill an entire wall, and vary in size and content—guests can choose from beer bars, champagne bars and mixed bars. Like an old-fashioned food automat, the mini bars are stocked from the back, making for easy restocking and out-of-sight logistics.

Designed by renowned Dutch design firm Concrete, Minibar offers consumers a new experience—one that's sure to be welcomed by those who are fed up with waiting in line or aren't willing (or able) to shell out for pricey bottle service. We wouldn't be surprised to see similar concepts popping up around the world. (Related: Tap your own beer.)

Website: www.minibaronline.com
Contact: contact@minibaronline.com

Spotted by: Ruben Feith

Frozen yoghurt is a topic we've already covered on a few different occasions: first the Korean-style frozen yoghurt trend, as exemplified by shops like Pinkberry and Red Mango, and then the arrival of self-serve contender Yogurtland. Now adding further differentiation to the industry is Sno:la, a Beverly Hills-based shop that bills itself as a socially conscious alternative.

Sno:la's shops—it just opened one in Kyoto as well, with another due to launch in Santa Monica soon—are designed to be eco-minded and plastic-free. All containers are biodegradable and compostable, with yoghurt cups made of sugar cane, verrine cups made of corn, and spoons made from wood and potatoes. Sno:la's countertops are crafted from recycled computer chips, and tabletops are based on eucalyptus, a fast-growing and sustainable tree. Wall decorations are made from recycled wood, and the concrete floors are soy-painted. Then too there's Sno:la's support of social causes: It gives 1 percent of its gross proceeds to Slow Food USA, which supports sustainable farming, and 1 percent of proceeds from its Chocolate Cremita flavour to the United Nations World Food Program, which helps children worldwide. All that on top of a range of seasonally flavoured yoghurt treats made with organic dairy products, "sweetened only by nature" and accompanied by a choice of some 40 toppings.

Need further proof that the frozen yoghurt industry is maturing? Red Mango recently launched Club Mango, a loyalty program that rewards customers for their purchases. Make no mistake: the era of differentiation has begun. Something to keep in mind for your own next big, yoghurty venture....?

Website: www.snolayogurt.com and www.snola.co.jp

Spotted by: PSFK via Raymond Kollau

We’ve covered several food brands that provide consumers with detailed information on the sources and background of their spinach, bananas and coffee. It’s a trend that continues to pick up steam, as witnessed by condiment maker Beerenberg’s introduction of Provenance Pathway, an online tool that lets customers trace their jam or sauce from ‘soil to shelf’.

After purchasing a Beerenberg product, customers enter the item’s barcode and expiration date on the company’s website. An overview of the product appears, including photos of the people who made it, full product specifications, and an elegant implementation of Google Earth to map the farms where the main ingredients originated. Launched this month, Provenance Pathway is part of the Australian company’s recent revamp to underscore the ‘home-made’ authenticity of its brand. Despite being a major food manufacturer, Beerenberg wants to emphasize that its traditional recipes are still cooked in open steam kettles, free from artificial flavours, colours or preservatives.

Now that major brands are tapping into the power of transparency to emphasize their grass-roots qualities, it will be interesting to see just what the grass-roots companies do. ;-)

Website: www.beerenberg.com.au
Contact: admin@beerenberg.com.au

Catering to customers who are tired of queuing outside club entrances before elbowing their way to the bar, The Gibson is a pseudo-speakeasy with a no-waiting and no-standing policy. The Washington D.C. bar, owned by Thievery Corporation's Eric Hilton, doesn’t publicize its address or phone number. Patrons who find their way to its unmarked door are shown to a table if one is free. If not, the doorman takes their phone number and alerts them by text message as soon as they can be seated.

Half of the 48 seats are booked in advance (reservations are encouraged), and the other half are reserved for walk-ins. The no-standing policy leads to a relaxed atmosphere where customers are made to feel like members, while a two-hour limit on tables keeps business moving and cocktails flowing.

Though unmarked doors and pseudo-speakeasies are hardly new on the nightlife circuit, the focus is usually on exclusivity for exclusivity’s sake, rather than on creating a comfortable experience for an establishment’s patrons. If you’re in the hospitality business, this is one to experiment with! (Related: Restaurants page waiting guests on their cellphones.)

Website: n/a
Address: 2009 14th St NW, Washington, DC 20009
Phone: 202-232-2156

Spotted by: Emily Wall