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Another week, another selection of new business ideas from around the world: wine sold in an air-raid shelter in Copenhagen, light therapy sessions at Paris airports, a school for citizen journalists in South Korea, and more. Our next edition is due on 30 January 2008. 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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Gerbola Vin was founded by two brothers, Emil and Magnus Gerbola. Their grandfather came to Denmark from Italy while touring Europe as a circus clown. Going back to their roots, Emil and Magnus have started importing wine from Northern Italy, selling to wine bars, restaurants and corporate clients. And directly to consumers, which is where it gets interesting. Instead of setting up shop in one of Copenhagen’s famed shopping streets, the brothers found a location that has the ideal temperature and humidity for storing wine: an underground air-raid shelter. Built in 1942 and located in a small park, the shelter has no electricity or other modern comforts, which suits the wine perfectly. It also makes for an interesting experience—customers don’t just buy a carefully chosen bottle of Italian wine, they also acquire the experience of descending into a candle-lit bunker, and the opportunity to share those details with their friends. Gerbola Vin is currently open on Fridays only, and by appointment. However, as can be expected with a good story, word is getting out and the Gerbola brothers are considering expanding their retail operations. Website: www.gerbolavin.dk Spotted by: Trine Plambech
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Grand funerals and eloquent eulogies are all very well when it comes to marking the demise of the wealthy and well-respected, but as the royalty and nobility of days gone by can attest, there's nothing quite like a requiem to cement one's name in the annals of time. Fortunately for today's moneyed elite, there's Requiem for You, an Austrian firm that can compose a personal requiem on demand. Just launched last year, Requiem for You offers services on three levels, the most basic of which is the composition of an individually tailored requiem. The firm represents a network of composers, librettists and musicians who will write an individual requiem in advance, capturing the client's unique personality and accommodating preferences for balance among vocal, instrumental and textual components. Styles available include baroque, classical, romantic, jazz or Broadway musical, with text in German, Latin or English. A personal laudatio is also available. In addition to composing the piece, Requiem for You can also produce an audio recording of it using a team of freelance artists, orchestras and recording studios, once again honouring the client's personal tastes in the CD's cover art. Finally, upon request the company can arrange a performance of the requiem, using anything from an audio presentation of the recorded version to a live performance with orchestra and choir. Prices reportedly range from EUR 20,000 for the requiem's composition to EUR 400,000 for the all-out live performance. Requiem for You obviously targets the highest of high-end consumers, offering a premium shot at immortality that only the wealthiest can afford. This is where gravanity and premiumization meet—and given that there are some 9.5 million millionaires in the world, according to the 2007 World Wealth Report from Cap Gemini and Merrill Lynch, that's not a bad place to be! (Related: Art after life.) Website: www.requiemforyou.com Spotted by: Martina Meng
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Over the past few years, swapping clothing, books, music and movies has taken off around the world, with groups meeting for swaps offline and online. Now, flat-pack behemoth IKEA is organizing a furniture swap at its Amsterdam store: a husselmarkt. The swap, which will take place on February 9th, will let up to 250 people bring in furniture—which doesn't have to be made by IKEA—and swap it for items brought in by others. IKEA will also add 12.000 euros worth of furniture to the mix. The event is part of a marketing campaign that encourages customers to think like designers, which includes experimenting by rearranging furniture they already have (roughly translated, husselen means to shuffle, or move around). To help people redesign their living spaces, IKEA offers a tool on husselen.nl that lets users draw a room as it's currently arranged, and then move around pieces on-screen. Any furniture that no longer fits their rearranged room can be brought to the husselmarkt. It might seem contradictory from a business point of view: if people swap, they'll buy less. But IKEA knows that once a consumer rearranges a room, or gets a new couch (even if it isn't strictly new), they're likely to want a new rug, lamp or table to complete the makeover. What's next? How about H&M organizing a clothing swap? (Related: Swapping marketplace.) Website: www.husselen.nl Spotted by: Aylsa van den Broek
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It's no secret that many public schools are underfunded and lack supplies, but the enormity of the problem can easily overwhelm those interested in helping. DonorsChoose.org aims to divide and conquer that challenge with a crowdfunding approach that matches potential donors with specific classroom needs. Created by a group of Bronx, N.Y., teachers in 2000, DonorsChoose.org is designed to engage everyday citizens in an online marketplace where teachers describe and individuals can fund specific student projects. It begins when teachers submit project proposals for materials or experiences their students need in order to learn. Volunteers at the not-for-profit site screen each project proposal and verify that the teacher and project meet set eligibility requirements. Citizen philanthropists can then fund the student projects of their choice—in whole or in part—and are emailed immediate acknowledgements for tax deduction purposes. DonorsChoose.org purchases the student materials and ships them directly to the school along with a disposable camera; the teacher then photographs the students participating in the project and writes an impact letter to the donor, while students write their own thank-you notes. DonorsChoose.org sends all that feedback to donors who completely funded or contributed at least USD 100 toward the project. DonorsChoose.org is sustained by an optional fulfilment fee of between 15 percent and 25 percent of the cost of each student project, depending on school need. Ninety percent of donors choose to include the fee, the site says, and the rest is made up by grants and contributions. The site's impact, meanwhile, has been to facilitate the contribution of almost USD 19 million to fund more than 43,000 projects for more than 986,000 students, tapping more than 57,000 donors across all 50 states. We've already covered crowdfunding models for recording artists, software development and athletic teams, but between DonorsChoose.org and community-focused CrowdFunder, among others, it's becoming clear that the collective spending power of the Internet masses may also be the key to filling in the gaps for chronically cash-poor social services. One to bring to other parts of the world? (Related: Peer-to-peer micro lending.) Website: www.donorschoose.org Spotted by: HL Tay
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In December and earlier this month we wrote about four US companies selling what we called eco starter kits. Like gift baskets filled with cheese and fruit, the kits contain an assortment of items, all with a ‘green’ twist: reusable water bottles and grocery bags, energy-saving light bulbs and eco-friendly cleaning products. All of the kits carry an implied message, namely that a few changes in our individual buying habits can make a significant difference in our impact on the earth. Ideally, the kits’ users will continue to buy the eco-friendly products they contain, nicely multiplying the planet-saving impact. We spotted one in the United Kingdom, too, and by a brand we’ve covered before. Back in March 2006, we wrote about greentomatocars, an earth-friendly car service that exclusively uses fuel-miserly Toyota Prius hybrids, brightly decorated with green tomato designs. The firm’s greentomato eco kits sell for GBP 9.99, in keeping with the founders’ philosophy that green products should be competitive in price and quality with similar products on the market. Is greentomato building a multi-product, Virgin Group-like brand around its catchy name and eco-friendly philosophy? Perhaps! But there’s still plenty of time (and room) for others to enter the space. Website: www.greentomato.org Spotted by: Chris Hodges
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Anyone who's ever travelled knows that it can be hell, particularly when long layovers and multiple time zones are involved. Thanks to the Aéroports de Paris, however, those travelling through the City of Lights can now experience light therapy to recharge their stamina during a trip. Light therapy, or exposure to full-spectrum light mimicking sunlight, has been found to be beneficial for both jet lag and the "winter blues," or seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Making the most of both purposes, the Paris-Orly and Paris-Charles de Gaulle airports offered travellers complimentary light therapy sessions during the 2007 holiday travel season. Large, igloo-shaped stations in select airport terminals were equipped with specialized therapeutic lamps from Philips Energy Light along with relaxation chairs and calming music; massages were also available. "Express" sessions, meanwhile, were available from roving light therapists elsewhere in the airports. In addition to offering consumers a brief respite during a busy season, the service was also a promotion for Be Relax, a new airport boutique opening this month that offers light therapy and more year-round. Instead of bombarding consumers with multi-million dollar, one-way advertising campaigns, some smart brands are aiming to help potential and existing customers in relevant ways. Without pushing them to buy. Our sister-site trendwatching.com has dubbed these initiatives brand butlers, and offering travellers a little comfort while also promoting a new service is a classic example. With its benefits for travellers, meanwhile, light therapy is a natural fit for many travel contexts. British Airways was reportedly experimenting with light-therapy visors for passengers back in 2005. Other airlines, airports, hotels—what about you? (Related: Baby brand space at Schiphol Airport.) Website: www.aeroportsdeparis.fr Spotted by: RK
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Springwise’s daily servings of new business ideas wouldn’t be possible without our network of 8,000 Springspotters who send us news of new business ideas whenever they spot them. Little wonder then, that we’re especially attuned to developments in the area of citizen journalism. We first reported on back in June 2003. The South Korean online newspaper has—by recent count—60,000 reporters who receive about USD 20 per published story, plus the glory of having their story appear on a website that’s read by millions. Now comes word that OhmyNews is opening a school to help citizen journalists better hone their craft. Located in a remodelled elementary school 90 minutes outside Seoul, the facility will teach skills such as camcorder and digital photo use. Additional classes are designed to re-educate mainstream journalists on best practices in citizen journalism, and others are aimed at businesses and NGOs. The OhmyNews Citizen Journalism School is significant for a number of reasons. First off, it further legitimizes citizen reports. And it does so on its own terms: the practitioners—and not old-school academics—are behind the effort. And the school will undoubtedly create a strong face-to-face community alongside the online newspaper’s massive online community. Equally important from an entrepreneurial standpoint is the school’s location. Korea is perhaps the most internet-focused nation on the planet, where broadband connections are nearly as common as electrical wires. Bottom line: what happens in Korea isn’t likely to stay in Korea, which means there’s a ripe opportunity to start similar ventures elsewhere. As more and more citizen journalists emerge, readers and viewers will inevitably seek out the most prescient and finest reports. Which means that those who want to stand out as citizen journalists will seek training. Website: english.ohmynews.com Spotted by: Bjarke Svendsen
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Classes cost around GBP 35, including materials. When possible, The Make Lounge’s craft projects use environmentally friendly materials. And crafting in the 21st century wouldn’t be complete without sharing the results online: to build interest and pride, projects are displayed on photo-sharing website Flickr. We’ve featured related businesses: a sewing café in Berlin, Etsy Labs in Brooklyn and make-your-own wedding rings in Manhattan. One reason why the craft revival continues to grow? Since more people work in offices and behind computer screens than ever before, it’s no wonder that many of them long for the chance to make something with their hands in their spare time. For a more in-depth look at the status shift from passive consumption to mastering skills, check out our sister site trendwatching.com’s briefing on status skills. Pick a skill, find a way to help others master it, and you’ve got yourself a new business! Website: www.themakelounge.com Spotted by: Ozgur Alaz
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January 17, 2008 |
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Now that consumers have gotten used to finding cheap flights and hotel rooms one the web, it’s time for more verticals in the online travel market. Catering to slope-bound travellers, Liftopia lets ski resorts sell discounted lift tickets online. Visitors simply choose dates and regions (such as Lake Tahoe or New Hampshire) where they want to ski, and then scroll through a list of budget-priced lift tickets. Basically, Liftopia encourages price differentiation for lift tickets. Resorts are able to charge lower prices for tickets sold in advance—which can’t be cancelled—and keep prices for on-mountain sales at a higher level. Avid skiers and boarders have several good reasons to like the San Francisco-based start-up. For starters, ski resorts at popular mountain destinations are normally clustered within a few miles of each other. So enthusiasts looking for day or weekend trips can use the site to choose which resort among the group to visit. To make that quest easier, Liftopia’s search engine lets visitors select resorts that are easy drives from several heavily populated US regions. The site also incorporates up-to-the-minute weather data and trail maps to help skiers make their choice. Besides customers who are willing to commit to a trip in advance, Liftopia’s discount pricing should also attract budget-minded young skiers whose service jobs or college schedules make spur-of-the-moment travel relatively easy. Liftopia’s ski-travel niche could be replicated in other markets. Country inns, local restaurants and golf courses might all lend themselves to the same approach. All it takes to build a business around any of these niches is the legwork to band together a group of related leisure businesses, plus a healthy dose of web-savvy. Imagine an avid golfer, for instance, surveying the list of prices at nearby links, then checking out each course’s webcam to see how long the wait time would be at the first hole. (On a side note: Eye Spy Golf is mapping golf courses in the United States using Google Maps so that golfers can get a close look at links in any state.) Website: www.liftopia.com Spotted by: Bill McMahon
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There are lots of cosmetics companies out there that donate to charities of one sort or another, or that eschew testing on animals. But Peacekeeper Cause-Metics appears to be unique in the industry in that it donates all its distributable profits to charity. Taking a page from Paul Newman's business book for his Newman's Own line—not to mention that of Belgian mobile operator Ello Mobile, which we covered in 2006—PeaceKeeper was launched in 2002 with the sole purpose of helping women in need around the world. The New York-based company offers a line of natural lipsticks, nail polishes, lip glosses and lip balms that are free of toluene, formaldehyde, acetone phthalates, parabens and FD&C colouring, and that are made without animal testing. All after-tax distributable profits from the company's sales go to help women's health advocacy and urgent human rights issues, including domestic violence and battery, the sex slave trade, gender inequality, rape and infanticide. PeaceKeeper also gives one half of one percent of its gross revenues each year to charity, and it makes micro-credit loans to women in need. To date, the company has given more than USD 55,000 in cash donations and USD 30,000 in products to women-focused non-profits for their silent auctions or VIP events. Organizations that have benefited include Womenslaw.org, Project Hope International, the Small Planet Fund and Women for Afghan Women, among many others. Whole Foods, Henri Bendel and Nordstrom are among the upscale retailers that have embraced PeaceKeeper Cause-Metics, along with celebrities Daryl Hannah, Bonnie Raitt and Julia Ormond. In this era of increasing social consciousness, it's hard to imagine a more worthwhile way to put business skills to work. Social entrepreneurs: replicate this model! Website: www.iamapeacekeeper.com Spotted by: Ozgur Alaz
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