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Geschmackslabor, German for Flavour Lab, is a new restaurant located in a former school in Bremerhaven. The 'lab' part of the name doesn't refer to molecular gastronomy or food served in test tubes. Experimentation at the restaurant is all about letting customers add flavour to their meals. Dishes are served ready-to-eat, but diners are encouraged to enhance them by adding one or more of twenty custom-made seasoning oils that Geschmackslabor has on offer. The seasonings are all based on very pure olive oil, which is infused with flavours ranging from Arabica coffee and rosemary to papaya and coconut. Geschmackslabor's menu suggests which seasonings go well with which dishes, but the whole point is for customers to experiment and find their own delicious combinations. The restaurant supplies plenty of bread for trying out different oils before adding them to food, allowing customers to sample a full range of spicy, sour, salty, sweet and bitter. The oils are also sold separately at EUR 4.90-5.50 for 100 ml. Adding olive oil to prepared food may not appeal to every consumer, but Geschmackslabor's DIY approach to 'finishing' a dish definitely adds a new level of experience to eating out. It's an adventurous, taste-focused alternative to the usual ketchups and hot sauces, and should appeal to those daring consumers that our sister-site trendwatching.com calls trysumers. If you're in the restaurant biz, this is one to experiment with! Website: www.geschmackslabor.com Spotted by: Susanna Haynie
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Realizing that many of its wealthy clients lack the time or patience to deal with their personal finances, Amsterdam-based private bank Insinger de Beaufort launched a new service that takes finances back to the basics: a shoebox. After sitting down with their private banker to discuss financial planning, Insinger's clients are sent a big shoebox by courier every month. They drop anything admin-related into the box: bills to be paid, bank statements, receipts, tax returns, speeding tickets, insurance documents, etc. At the end of the month, Insinger sends a courier to pick up the box, and then processes its contents. Clients are sent a complete overview of actions and transactions within three business days, after which the bank takes care of the entire follow-up process, including paying bills, filing tax returns and processing business expenses. Every quarter, clients are sent a financial report, detailing spending categories, asset growth, etc, and once a year, they meet with their private banker to evaluate new developments and adjust their financial planning as needed. Sensing a gap in the market, Insinger de Beaufort offers its shoebox service to clients at other banks, too. The concept is of course entirely focused on convenience, saving (valuable) clients the time and hassle of dealing with the minutiae of their personal finances. While other banks provide their high-end clients with similar add-on services, the shoebox approach is undeniably elegant in its no-tech simplicity. Website: www.insinger.com/shoebox Spotted by: Roderick Cremers
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A few years ago we wrote about technology-enhanced wine tastings offered by Vinotek and VinoVenue. Now a new Massachusetts-based retailer of off-price wines is taking the technology aspect a step further with wine tastings by Twitter. Bin Ends, which was started up earlier this year, is now gearing up for its second Twitter Taste Live, which will be held this Thursday—the first one was in July. The project aims to give wine enthusiasts around the globe a chance to join the world's top wine personalities online for tastings via the popular social networking tool Twitter. Users need only set up a free Twitter account and then follow binendswine on the service. In the U.S., they can also order the wines being tasted from Bin Ends three weeks prior to the event, with free shipping across the country (Bin Ends does not ship internationally). Then, equipped with the wines and their Twitter account, users can join the event as it takes place, commenting, asking questions and enjoying back-and-forth interaction with the winemakers in real time. Tastings generally take place the third Thursday of every month at 7 p.m. Eastern U.S. time, and are announced on Twitter, Facebook and Bin Ends' own website. Besides encouraging sales and trial of newer and lesser-known wines (one might even consider this a mostly paid version of tryvertising!), Bin Ends' tasting program also offers consumers a generous splash of status skills through their interaction with wine experts. It remains to be seen if Bin Ends will track which tastings consumers participate in and use that to help guide future purchase choices, the way Vinotek and VinoVenue do. Either way, though, this is one to watch—and emulate. Vintners, take note! Website: www.binendswine.com/tastings — www.twittertastelive.com Spotted by: RK
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Offline and online, consumers are ever more adept at presenting their public image or, as Tom Peters put it, crafting The Brand Called You. While they can carefully control the clothes they wear, the brands they use, the photos they upload to Flickr and the witty repartees they Twitter, it's more difficult to judge whether the image they're trying to project is really what others see. Friends, family and online pals aren't objective enough, so who can they turn to for an honest image appraisal? German consumers can now upload a few pictures to checkyourimage.com, and have impartial strangers evaluate their appearance, solving dilemmas like: "My wife says I look boring, I think I look professional and modern." "My boss says I come across as cool and distant. I think I look reliable and friendly." "Does my long, red hair look good on me, or would I look better with a short, blond cut?" The website points out that just as brands routinely use focus groups to test a product's image and appeal, anyone can benefit from an honest appraisal by a crowd of strangers. checkyourimage.com offers a variety of test options. Every month, it offers one free trial question. Users can upload their photo and have 30 people answer a question. This month, it's "Do I look naive?", and next month they can enlist strangers to answer the all-important "Do I look intelligent?" Those willing to pay for the service can choose from a Basic Check (EUR 25 for 50 image testers answering 10 standard questions), an Optimal Check (EUR 49 for 50 testers answering 20 questions that the customer selects from a database), and a Business Check (EUR 490 for 1,000 testers answering questions defined by the customer). Once the pre-selected number of testers have responded, clients can log on to checkyourimage.com for a full report. To ensure a good mix of ages and well-balanced male/female ratio, the company asks its (German) testers for personal details when they sign up. And since the results are only visible to clients, the appraisals are private and don't turn into "hot or not" contests, which would likely be the case in a more open and transparent set-up. checkyourimage.com is currently German-only, but the concept is ripe for international expansion! Website: www.checkyourimage.com Spotted by: Susanna Haynie
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A French company has developed a new line of food products for pregnant women. Dubbed Luna, the range consists of eight products made with organic ingredients, all aimed at ensuring women get the nutrients they need for a healthy pregnancy. Included are honey & sesame biscuits that are rich in iron, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and fibre; and a herbal infusion that promotes healthy circulation. While the benefits of dietary supplements continue to be contested by those who insist that a well-balanced and varied diet contain all the nutrients people need, nutraceuticals (also known as functional food) are big business. Surprisingly, we haven't seen other brands target pregnant women with similar product lines, except for nutrition bars. Seems like a smart move by Luna. One to bring to a market near you? You might want to read female fever first, trendwatching.com's briefing on creating products and services for women. Website: www.lunabio.com Spotted by: Eva Hasson
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We've featured several companies that appeal to a growing appreciation of the benefits of napping, from a New York sleep salon to napping cocoons at airports. So we were intrigued by news that a hotel in Barcelona—the Hilton Diagonal Mar—has set aside 40 of its 433 rooms this summer for anyone who'd like to take a siesta. For EUR 75, customers get a barbecue lunch and a guest room from 1–5 PM, plus access to the hotel's gym and rooftop pool. According to an article in Het Parool, luxury hotels in Catalonia are battling low occupancy rates, mainly due to a record construction boom that created more rooms than visitors can fill. Moreover, the Diagonal Mar is located in Barcelona's financial district and relies on a steady stream of business travellers, which slows down in summer. The hotel's napping angle should help recoup some of its fixed costs. And it's definitely a more creative approach to boosting occupancy than simply slashing room rates. One to sleep on ;-) Website: diagonalmarbarcelona.hilton.com Spotted by: Het Parool, via RK
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We've featured 'feeder businesses' for IKEA before—companies that feed off the behemoth's business by offering its customers add-on products or services. While Bemz and Parts of Sweden let customers add options to products they've already bought from IKEA, ModerNash found a different customer need to fulfil. Nashville residents looking for Swedish design at low prices don't have access to a local IKEA; the nearest blue-and-green big box is in Atlanta. So two friends decided to bring IKEA to Tennessee by taking orders from customers and driving down to Atlanta to pick up the goods. Customers submit their orders on modernash.com, listing item numbers, colours, etc. Modernash brings the goods to its Nashville storage facility, where customers can pick up their orders (the company also offers home delivery for an additional USD 50). ModerNash's shipping rates are significantly lower than those charged by IKEA, ranging from 20–29% of a customer's total purchase amount. The company also assembles furniture for USD 25/hour, handles returns (even for customers who didn't order through ModerNash), and partners with other local companies that design and install IKEA kitchens. Last but not least, it keeps a small number of popular items in stock for immediate pick-up or delivery. IKEA's shipping fees in the US tend to be very high—its business model just isn't geared to catalogue and delivery sales. In many countries, customers can't order online from IKEA at all. Which opens up opportunities for local delivery companies who'd like to target a niche audience and are willing to offer the extra service, expertise (and patience) required for shopping at IKEA. (Related: eBay feeder business for 'pickup only' items.) Website: www.modernash.com Spotted by: Mark Sharp
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Electronics retailer Best Buy has installed vending machines at 8 major US airports. It's a pilot program for the company's new Best Buy Express kiosks, which are large vending machines that carry cell phone and computer accessories, digital cameras, flash drives, MP3 players, headphones, gaming devices, travel adapters, and other items that are likely to appeal to customers on the go. Prices are similar to those in Best Buy stores. Best Buy is targeting travellers in search of last-minute gifts, as well as those who need a replacement for a gadget or accessory they forgot to pack or lost along the way. The kiosks can currently be found at airports in Atlanta (ATL), Boston (BOS), Dallas (DFW), Houston (IAH), Las Vegas (LAS), Los Angeles (LAX), Minneapolis (MSP) and San Francisco (SFO). Four more will follow over the next few weeks. It's an interesting move by Best Buy. The convenience factor is an obvious draw for travellers in a hurry, especially at airports with limited shopping options. But the branding on a vending machine by a well-known retailer is also a clear visual signal, instantly recognizable by consumers, which is a real advantage at busy and cluttered airports. One for other retailers to experiment with, too? How about a vending machine by Target, carrying their top 20 small items? Or one by Whole Foods, offering organic snacks? Website: www.bestbuy.com Spotted by: Bjarke Svendsen
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