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Another week, another selection of interesting new business ideas from around the world: indie music for children, custom-blended tea for friends, shopping online from local shops, solar-powered trash compactors, and more. Our next edition is due on 30 May 2007. In the meantime, check out our daily postings on www.springwise.com, send us your tips, and please don't forget to tell your friends and colleagues about us. Much appreciated! |
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Get ready for fully personalized breakfasts: following customized cereal from Mymuesli, which we covered last week, comes Blends For Friends, a British company that sells custom-blended tea. As the name indicates, Blends For Friends are mainly ordered for others. Gift-givers are requested to tell the company all about their friend in question, from date of birth and job description, to the recipient's physical appearance and hobbies. And of course the type of tea they usually drink. The more information master blender Alex Probyn is given, the better suited the blend will be. Probyn had worked as a 'master tea taster' for a large tea brand for years, when he started blending individual teas for friends and family based on their personalities. The idea caught on, and now Blends For Friends offers customers across the globe the same service. Every original new blend costs GBP 27 plus postage for 100 grams of loose leaf tea, packaged in a gift-wrapped tin caddy with a bespoke label referring to the recipient and the different teas used in the blend. Reorders are priced at GBP 7 plus postage ("less than 20p for every personalized cup of tea"). Besides individual gifts, Blends For Friends also creates bespoke blends for corporate clients and teas for weddings. Springwise doesn't see an end to the possibilities for smart entrepreneurs to create customized versions of familiar goods, selling them (online) as highly personal gifts or gravanity goods. From wrapping paper to baby blankets, and from bank cards to lingerie. Pick your niche! Website: www.blendsforfriends.com
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When parents hear the strains of their wee one’s favourite ditty for the hundredth time, their toes curl up. Most hadn't realized that listening to a cartoon character singing the same song over and over would be one of the sacrifices they’d have to make as parents. Bryan Townsend, founder of Atlanta-based The Pokey Pup feels their pain: “Let's face it, parents end up listening to this music and watching the DVDs as much as their kids do, and after a while, that can be downright excruciating on everyone's ears.“ The Pokey Pup is an online e-tailer that sells CDs, DVDs and books as an alternative to pre-packaged saccharine and TV-inspired music. "The best children's music can be music that parents enjoy as much as their children,” says Townsend. A long time music industry veteran, Townsend was inspired to launch The Pokey Pup in 2005 as he and his wife awaited the birth of their first child. Since then, sales have doubled each month and he’s amassed a catalogue of over 1,000 selections, combining classics like Sesame Street with selections from well-known and relatively unknown artists. Gen X and Y parents who want to participate equally in family entertainment are The Pokey Pup’s primary audience. These parents actively seek out and participate in cross-generational experiences and expect to enjoy the activity as much as their child. Another example of this trend is previously featured Baby Loves Disco, which holds Saturday afternoon parent/child dance fêtes at local night clubs. One to expand to different countries and languages. Note that curation is key with a concept like The Pokey Pup, and harnessing the long tail of independent music requires dogged research, original taste in music and the ability to communicate your preferences. If literature is your forte, why not start up a niche online bookstore offering the best alternative children’s books? Website: www.pokeypup.com Spotted by: Beth Blenz-Clucas
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Last year, we featured a virtual travel agency that offers tours through the virtual world of Second Life. That agency, Synthravels, now has 5,000 volunteers offering themed tours focusing on everything from architecture to virtual love for sale. Three recent spottings reveal that other long-time residents are providing similar services. Since volunteers make wonderful guides, but can't always be relied on to show up at the agreed time and place, SL Tourguides is offering newcomers professional tours for a fee. The company focuses on business travellers: "You will learn the lingo, learn the protocols, ask questions as you go and find the places/experiences you need to know about. Once you’ve done a tour you will be better placed to decide whether you want to do business in SL." SL Tourguides offers a 30-minute training session to get to grips with handling an avatar, learning to move, take pictures and store locations. Once they've covered the basics, customers can take shopping tours to see what's happening in virtual retail (90 minutes), or visit examples of what other companies are getting up to in SL (90 minutes). All tours are priced at USD 10 per 30 minutes. SL Tourguides works with freelance guides, who pay the agency a 20% commission fee. Dutch speaking travellers are catered to by AmaZingg Travels, which offers corporate clients personalized tours lasting an hour, pointing out potential business opportunities while teleporting from one SL location to the next. AmaZingg Travels has been guiding clients around SL since July 2006, and charges corporate clients EUR 115 per hour, allowing up to 8 avatars to join in on a tour. The company's founder, Danielle Jansen, also gives in-house presentations for larger audiences in RL (real life), using her alter ego Gwendolyn Kronsage to give corporate groups an insider's view of Second Life. Jansen has noticed a shift in what clients are asking for: at first, they were still trying to figure out what SL was, and were mostly interested in general tours. Now, companies and non-profit organisations are more tuned in and requesting specific tours that are relevant to their brand or industry, or in-depth forays into the virtual world's technical possibilities. AmaZingg's most requested tours by corporate clients are Education, Politics & Government, Collaboration & Meeting, Architecture & Urban Planning and Art. Last but not least, an actual, physical guidebook has been published by St Martin’s Press: The Unofficial Tourists' Guide to Second Life. It's a light-hearted guide that introduces first-time visitors to "an online tourist destination where you can shop for virtual designer clothes in a shopping mall atop a live volcano, teleport to an underwater gig by U2, before taking a new friend back to your personal spaceship for virtual coffee." The book was written both for business travellers and casual tourists, and contains basic but important travel information like what to wear, where to go shopping, and how to find the hottest clubs. In short: while the huge burst of media hype surrounding Second Life might be behind us, there are still plenty of opportunities for minipreneurs who can help businesses find their way around virtual environments like Second Life or World of Warcraft. Same goes for social networks like Facebook or Bebo: corporate clients need to discover whether these are platforms they can work with(in) and require knowledgeable guides to show them the ropes. Websites: www.sltourguides.com — www.amazingg.nl — www.unofficialsecondlife.com
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Pretending to be all grown up may never have been as much fun as it is at Kidzania—an amusement park that gives children ages 2 through 15 the chance to try on up to 70 different career options and get a taste for real-world commerce in a pint-sized replica city. Kidzania offers all the hustle and bustle of big city life, with buildings and shops and pedestrian-filled streets. Under the supervision of adult instructors, kids can try their hand at police work, firefighting, medicine, banking, pizza and fast-food joints, utilities and public services, fashion and retail, TV and radio, newspaper journalism. The role-playing list goes on and on. To reward them for their hard work, children earn salaries in Kidzos—the official currency of Kidzania—which they can spend on goods and services throughout the park. And since a penny saved is a penny earned, they're encouraged to put their Kidzos into bank accounts which they can access through special ATMs. With parks already open in Mexico and Japan and new locations slated to open in Jakarta and Dubai, Kidzania's blend of edutainment is quickly becoming a worldwide success. It's a hit among sponsors, too, who get the opportunity to introduce their brands—and their trades—to the younger set through a unique interactive experience. Entrepreneurs looking to invest big in a hot franchise may want to take a look! Same goes for any food or toy brands looking for alternative marketing avenues. (Related: Dutch bank facilitates kidpreneurs.) Website: www.kidzania.com Spotted by: Giulia Cuccolini
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The BigBelly is a solar-powered waste container that aims to eliminate those all-too-familiar overflowing trash cans, keeping public spaces cleaner and greener. The flagship product of US-based Seahorse Power Company, BigBelly units compact trash on the spot, optimizing refuse capacity — a BigBelly holds up to five times as much garbage as a regular, non-compacting bin. This reduces the number of times bins need to be emptied, and fewer collections means saved time, fuel and truck costs. Since they don't need to be plugged in, BigBelly units can be placed just about anywhere. The units also are fully enclosed and weather-resistant, are available with optional bear-proofing, and cost USD 3,600–3,900. The BigBelly system aligns with municipal ‘green’ goals and anti-litter campaigns for cities, parks, beaches, colleges, stadiums. BigBelly units have space for advertising, which can be a nice PR opportunity for companies that want to showcase their commitment both to the community and to the environment. With the environment on the minds of many, this is just one example of how an innovative, eco-friendly concept can take off! One to bring to your own country or region? An obvious enhancement would be to incorporate a solution for recyclables. Might we suggest pairing BigBellies with an industrial version of the Ecopod? Website: www.seahorsepower.com Spotted by: Bertjan van Dijk
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In a nutshell, uShip is an online marketplace for shipping and moving. Customers with something to ship post a request on the website, and service providers bid for their business. uShip certainly caters to customers who have a truckload of furniture to move, but the concept comes into its own when a customer isn't shipping enough to fill a truck. Shipping companies tend to think in terms of full loads, making it difficult for consumers to get a quick quote for shipping an inherited pinball machine or the Eames chair they're selling on eBay. On uShip, customers list their needs and a target price, and the bidding process keeps pricing competitive. Shipping companies benefit, too. Besides having access to an additional sales channel, they can find shipments for what would have otherwise been empty backhaul trips. Because carriers can efficiently fill extra cargo space, many offer discounts of up to 80% off their traditional prices. Listings include all relevant information: dimensions, weight, packaging, origin and destination. uShip displays a map and route information for each freight that carriers are bidding on, along with pickup and delivery timeframes. To find shipments along their route, freight companies fill in their departure and arrival zipcodes, and how many miles they're willing to go out of their way. Listing is free for customers, and they're under no obligation to accept a bid. uShip generates revenue by charging service providers 7.9% of each completed transaction. Over 30 thousand transportation service providers have already registered with uShip. To keep the market as transparent as possible, users are encouraged to post feedback and reviews about companies they've worked with. Questions between carriers and customers are published with each listing, providing additional information and saving both parties from dealing with questions that have already been answered. Tapping into a huge potential market, uShip plays nice with eBay: buyers and sellers can import information about a shipment straight from the eBay auction listing, before or after closing the transaction. uShip launched in 2004, so we're admittedly late to the party on this one. However, we haven't seen anything like this on other continents. Time to start up something similar, or partner with uShip to set up international versions? If you're not into shipping, the concept can provide inspiration in a wider context. uShip capitalizes on the intention economy — buyers notify the market of their intention to buy, and sellers compete for their purchase, creating an open and more efficient marketplace. More on the intention economy in trendwatching.com's crowd clout briefing, which focuses on the power of aggregated intentions. Website: www.uship.com Spotted by: Nikki Baird
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Bake sales are popping up all over the place in the Silver Lake neighbourhood of Los Angeles—and pinpointing exactly where and when is part of the fun. Billed as a “secret bakery,” Treat Street is a roving guerilla venture that operates out of a homemade stand that temporarily alights in a baker-friendly driveway. Similar to previously highlighted guerilla concepts, such as pop-up restaurants and drive-in movie theaters, Treat Street keeps its patrons enthused by keeping them guessing. Customers can log onto the Treat Street blog for clues about where the next sale will be, or to view pictures of past events. While there’s much to be said for homemade cookies and cakes, it's the novelty that keeps this idea fresh and appealing. Many customers get a sense of adventure when it comes to surprises that linger but briefly. Although you’re unlikely to make millions by running local bake sales, guerilla concepts are good inspiration for entrepreneurs or marketeers who want to create buzz without breaking the bank. And for big (food and beverage) brands who want to delight and surprise consumers. For in-depth information on what drives consumers to seek out new experiences instead of new possessions, check out trendwatching.com’s briefing on transumers. Last but not least, the pop-up method is also a low-cost way to try out a business and find out whether it’s something you want to invest more time and money in. Website: www.treatst.blogspot.com Spotted by: Peter Abraham
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“Bought locally, ordered online and delivered to your door.” That sums up what Poptotheshops offers South Wales residents. Poptotheshops, which was launched late last year, currently serves four high street areas, who each sell between 3300 and 4500 products using the internet shopping service. 292 shoppers have registered so far, and 36 shops have signed up. One shop actually left the system, because its owner didn’t want the ‘aggravation’ of extra work caused by extra sales. More stores will be joining soon, and Poptotheshops’ founder, Will Seward, hopes to expand beyond Wales as soon as possible. Seward came up with the idea after being dismayed about being too busy to shop at local stores. Most local shops have shorter opening hours than the big chains like Tesco and Walmart, which can make it hard to support local retailers. On Poptotheshops, customers can shop day or night, selecting products from the local butcher, baker, fishmonger, greengrocer and off-license, before checking out in one go. Similar to online shopping at supermarkets, customers can save favourite products and specify when they’d like delivery to take place. Delivery is free for customers. Poptotheshops covers its costs (and will hopefully generate a profit) by charging retailers 10-15% commission. Besides supporting the local economy and keeping the high street alive, PTTS also sees other benefits: independent stores often offer great local products and produce that aren’t available in nationwide stores, consumers save time otherwise spent in supermarkets and helping small retailers thrive decreases the control that supermarkets have over pricing, produce and suppliers. We like the ‘still sold here’ aspect, and believe consumers will be more likely to support neighbourhood retailers if it’s convenient to do so. One to set up with your local high street! If you're based in the UK, you might want to contact Poptotheshops: their system was designed to enable territories to be created, and for those to be coordinated by a single person. Territories can be as small as a postcode area, or as large as a county. Website: www.poptotheshops.net
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