It's a rare entrepreneur who doesn't have challenges to overcome, but for most, incarceration isn't one of them. That's not stopping a group of inmates in Florida's Hillsborough County Jail, however, from making and selling their own line of hot sauce. JailHouseFire hot sauce comes in three varieties—Original, Smoke and No Escape—all made by inmates at the minimum-security jail from peppers grown right there onsite. What's especially compelling is that rather than glossing over the product's roots, the prisoners' marketing of the sauce makes the most of its origins, with slogans like "So Lethal" and "Murder on Taste Buds." Prices are USD 7 per 5-ounce bottle or USD 3 for a 1.5-ounce bottle of No Escape—which certainly sounds like it lends itself to smaller quantities. The sauces are currently available only online; all proceeds support inmate programs.

The lesson? Never shy away from flaunting all that's interesting and different about *your* product's origins, with all the product storytelling and still-made-here appeal you can muster. The result could set your brand... er... free? ;-)

Website: www.jailhousefire.org
Contact: lparker@hcso.tampa.fl.us

Spotted by: Jim Stewart

On the first of this month, gay and lesbian couples across the state of Vermont gained the legal right of marriage. By way of celebration, iconic Vermont ice cream maker Ben & Jerry's has renamed its well-known Chubby Hubby ice cream Hubby Hubby. The peanut butter cookie dough (with fudge and pretzels) ice cream will be served in Ben & Jerry's scoop shops throughout this month, a gesture that sees Ben & Jerry's partner with marriage equality group Freedom to Marry. The two partners are also publicly supporting the first gay and lesbian marriages to happen in the state, and aiming to encourage other US states to follow in the footsteps of Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, and Maine, down the aisle to marriage equality.

Although Hubby Hubby will only be served in Vermont, Freedom to Marry's website urges citizens to "bring Hubby Hubby to your state", indicating that Ben & Jerry's may have plans to do the same in other states with successful gay marriage campaigns. Meanwhile, Ben & Jerry's is buzzing up the message via its Facebook fan page, and the renamed flavour is a trending topic on Twitter. The branding exercise has even gone so far as to wallpaper Freedom to Marry's website with Ben & Jerry's trademark cartoon clouds.

The company is no stranger to big social gestures. Their employee-led Ben & Jerry's Foundation donated over USD 1.9 million in 2008 to "support the founding values of the company: economic and social justice, environmental restoration and peace through understanding, and to support Vermont communities." It's no surprise, therefore, given their penchant for left-leaning publicity, that they are making themselves part of this historic occasion in Vermont. It could help their bottom line, too. As our 'hubby' trendwatching.com noted in its briefing on Pink Profits, more and more companies are discovering the brand loyalty and profits to be gained by appealing to the relatively high-earning GLBT market. (Related: Spanish wine for gay men.)

Website: www.benjerry.com/hubbyhubby
Contact: www.benjerry.com/contact-us

School lunches are increasingly a focal point in the ongoing battle against childhood obesity, drawing even the attention of British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver. Following survey results suggesting that one of parents' top concerns is that they don't typically know what's on the menu on any given day, the UK's School Fund Trust has partnered with Somerset County Services to publish its school menu each day via Twitter.

Beginning this fall, parents who subscribe to the trial service by following @SCSSchoolmeals will receive a tweet each morning showing what’s on the school menu. Any parent, grandparent or care-giver can follow, whether their child currently eats school meals or not. The feed will also be used to update parents on special theme days, taster sessions and how to apply for free school meals. The trial is part of a raft of new initiatives the School Fund Trust is piloting to increase use of school meals; results will be made available online.

Chris Wainwright of the School Food Trust explains: “With this trial, parents will be able to ask what children thought about the food on offer, and which lunch option they chose. It gives parents the information they need to start discussions about healthy food.”

Given that some 6 million people visit Twitter each month, it's not too surprising that more than 100 local councils in the UK are currently on Twitter—nor that the UK government recently published a 20-page guide urging MPs and civil servants to embrace the microblogging platform. Consumers can use Twitter to track their packages, file civic complaints and apply for jobs; where could the ability to tweet benefit your brand...? (Related: In Jakarta, healthy meals at sponsored food carts for kids.)

Website: www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk — www.myschoollunch.co.uk
Contact: info@sft.gsi.gov.uk

Spotted by: Judy McRae

Two years ago, we wrote about Tokyo's Sample Lab, which connected brands with consumers by letting them test and take away new products. The concept was quickly picked up in other parts of the world. Now, the original Sample Lab has reopened as one-of-a-kind marketing cafe targeting Japanese women in their 20s and 30s with free samples in exchange for their visits and views, in a relaxed and informal setting.

Located in Shibuya, LCAFE is well-placed to attract trendsetting shoppers. To take part, women register by mobile phone, supplying basic details about themselves such as their age, marital status and where they live. With every order of food or drinks, they receive an L Coin, which can be redeemed for free samples at the cafe's sample bar. In a true Tokyo touch, a bar-code on members' mobile phones allows Sample Lab to track who got which sample. After the visit, members are asked to share their views via an electronic survey, in exchange for more tokens.

Samples on offer range from food and drinks to skincare products. Besides letting brands test the waters by getting consumers to try new products, LCAFE also functions as a platform for experience-based marketing. Last month, as part of a promotion for Toshiba's new Biblio e-reader handset, the cafe printed promotional images on tables, napkins and staff uniforms. A Biblio was placed on every table, alongside a menu created specially for Toshiba.

The enterprise is proving popular. Since it opened its doors two months ago, LCAFE has already registered 2,000 customers (or, as our sister-site would say, trysumers). Operating a hybrid between a regular cafe and a sampling venue makes sense from a business point of view, since it creates two streams of income. The indirect approach is also likely to attract women who wouldn't want to be seen waiting in line for freebies. LCAFE has plans to expand into other Japanese cities and to eventually operate worldwide as a market research firm focused on young women. One to launch locally, or to reproduce for men? (Related: Tryvertising lab expands globally — Vending machine dispenses free samples — Sampling salons for cosmetics.)

Website: www.lcafe.jp
Contact: contactlcafe@lcafe.jp

Spotted by: WSJ via Raymond Kollau

According to 2008 figures quoted by Mercy Corps, 11 million Indonesian children suffer from malnutrition. In the slums of Jakarta, many parents give their children a few rupiah for dinner, which they spend filling up on sweets and junk food from street vendors, leading to anaemia rates of over 50 percent in some areas of the city.

A new social enterprise by Mercy Corps is taking a pragmatic approach to improving children's food intake. The Healthy Street Foods Project has funded a fleet of food stalls and is providing them to selected street-vendors around the city. Worth USD 600 each, these are no ordinary food stalls. Known as Kedai Balitaku ('My Child's Cafe‘), they serve nutritional food at low prices. Each cart comes equipped with a hand-washing station, and they have been designed by Saatchi & Saatchi to be both appealing and accessible to young children, displaying food at child's-eye-level and featuring colourful pictures of 'superkids'. Dishes served include bubur ayam, a rice, chicken and coconut milk porridge served with vegetables for IDR 2,000 (USD 0.20). One bowl satisfies one third of a child's daily calorific needs.

The scheme has already proved popular with children, some of whom are starting to text orders for delivery. But they're not the only ones to benefit. The hand-picked local vendors now own thriving micro-businesses which, according to Mercy Corps, started turning a profit in their second month. It shows the sustainable progress that can be made by empowering local entrepreneurs to combat problems in their own communities. (Related: Food store for kids — Happy healthy meals.)

Website: www.mercycorps.org/countries/indonesia/15689
Contact: www.mercycorps.org/contact

Spotted by: Susanna Haynie