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Though the first food co-op opened in the UK back in 1844, according to Google, such cooperatives have not been a familiar sight in Europe in recent years, despite a certain popularity in the United States. Until now, that is. In fact, with the recent launch of the People's Supermarket, Londoners recently gained a new place to find affordable food. Only members can shop at the People's Supermarket, but they all get a 10 percent discount on prices as well as a say in how the store is run. In exchange, members pay an annual membership fee of GBP 25, and they also pledge to volunteer four hours of their time per month working as store staff. Because the supermarket's workforce is nearly all volunteers, staff costs are kept low this way — an advantage that can be passed on in lower prices. Any profits that are earned, meanwhile, get put back into the store to bring down prices even further. Food co-ops are not uncommon in the US, but it's interesting to see their reemergence in the UK following a bout of unusually tough times. Could this be the beginning of a widespread comeback...? (Related: Sustainable urban campground to be crowd-funded & managed — Crowdfunded breweries.) Website: www.thepeoplessupermarket.org Spotted by: R.E. |
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New York's Department of Transportation has been busy this year! Hard on the heels of our story about the city's partnership with Zipcar comes word that it's also now seeking applications from restaurants for a new series of pop-up cafés citywide. This past summer, New York City's DOT partnered with two Lower Manhattan restaurants to pilot the city’s first pop-up café, with outdoor public seating in the curb lane to promote local businesses. Targeting areas where city-licensed sidewalk cafés aren't permitted (usually because the sidewalks are too narrow), the program was — not surprisingly — a resounding success. Now, the DOT is planning an extended two-year pilot covering the warm months of 2011 and 2012. Specifically, the city aims to partner with restaurants or cafés in up to 12 locations throughout the city's five boroughs. Interested restaurants can now apply online; the deadline is Dec. 3. Those accepted will be responsible for the design, construction and maintenance of a pop-up café directly in front of their main establishment; they must also select a design and hire their own state-licensed architect/engineer and construction team. DOT can provide technical assistance and make necessary safety improvements to the roadway, such as by applying traffic markings to the street or adding flexible bollards. Pop-up cafés built in New York and California have cost approximately USD 10,000 per restaurant, DOT says. Is there any doubt that heat-weary New Yorkers will welcome additional opportunities to refresh themselves during the summer months? We don't think so either. Gotham restaurateurs: this one's for you! And local governments in other cities — time to start planning something similar? Website: www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/sidewalks/popupcafe.shtml Spotted by: Gothamist |
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While many of the pop-up retail stores we've covered have been the work of major brands — Gap with Crunch, for example – the Detox Market is an eco-focused pop-up store that features the curated product selections of two green entrepreneurs. With a shop that just launched temporarily in Venice, Calif., the Detox Market offers an assortment of natural beauty, fashion and food products hand-picked by green entrepreneurs Valérie Grandury and Romain Gaillard, cofounders of the all-natural cosmetics line Odacité, which we featured last year. Focusing on the hard-to-find and best-in-breed, the store features primarily products made by small companies with only the finest all-natural ingredients; for some brands, availability through the Detox Market is the first time they've been sold in the United States. Now open through Dec. 31, the Detox Market uses furniture in its temporary store that's made from reclaimed wooden lettuce crates. Events hosted at the space include complimentary demos, tastings, facials, parties and even opportunities to chat with brand owners. Every brand may now be online, but that doesn't mean anyone will necessarily find them. By offering exposure to lesser-known purveyors, discovery to consumers and some brisk business for its own bottom line, the Detox Market may just exemplify a new retail model for the future. Will retail increasingly involve pop-up collaborations among smaller brands? Time will tell. Meanwhile, one to emulate near you in this — or another — niche? (Related: Online portal connects all those involved in pop-up retail — Nationwide network of pop-up marketing spaces — Brands take turns running airport store — Free pop-up space for small creative businesses.) Website: www.facebook.com/thedetoxmarket |
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We've seen proof on numerous occasions already that open source principles are not applicable only to software. There's the open source restaurant we covered earlier this year, for example — and the open source fashion label from a few years back. Now extending the concept into yet another category is HIP2B², a South African magazine for teens whose most recent issue is not just chocolate-scented, it also features entirely open source content. The brain child of Canonical founder and South African space tourist Mark Shuttleworth, HIP2B² aims to spur curiosity in science and maths among learners in grades 10, 11 and 12. Toward that end, the quarterly magazine is distributed for free to high schools across South Africa. With an approach focused on edutainment, HIP2B² is complemented in multiple media by a TV show, a brand ambassador program and more. What caught our eye about the magazine, however, was primarily that its past two issues — appearing in July and November — have featured entirely open source content licensed under a Creative Commons license, meaning that said content can be freely copied, shared or reused as long as the magazine is credited. "Open source is something that we've always envisioned emulating in the magazine,” Janna Joseph, the magazine's editor, told Bizcommunity.com. “Now, we've achieved this by using images from Flickr, the internet, or creating them ourselves. This affords more authenticity as a brand as content is borne out of creativity and originality, not stock libraries." Then, too, there's this month's chocolate-scented cover, which speaks for itself as an experiential tool. The growing trend toward open source software in recent years has dovetailed beautifully with consumers' increasing focus on participation, collaboration and content creation of every kind. Is this the future of magazine publishing? Only time will tell. In the meantime, one to watch! (Related: Open video project aims to spur independent TV — Open source phone service for off-grid areas — An open-source 3D printer for the masses — Open source eco-car, designed by wiki — Open source approach to textbook publishing.) Website: www.hip2b2.com/magazine.php Spotted by: Bizcommunity via Katherine Noyes |
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However much a consumer may want to help the homeless, the process of gathering and delivering a donation — not to mention making sure it's something that's actually needed — can sometimes feel prohibitive. Aiming to make that process easier than ever before, aptly named Easiest Give is a site that lets consumers shop online for any participating shelter and have much-needed goods delivered directly to the shelter's door. Consumers begin by searching for shelters in their area. For each shelter that's participating — for now, they're mostly in Texas, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Oregon — they can then see what goods are currently needed there. Using Easiest Give, they can order the products of their choice off of that list, and Easiest Give will ship them directly to the shelter. Neither consumers nor shelters pay a fee for using Easiest Give. Rather, the for-profit company supports itself by buying products wholesale and then marking up its prices to the level of Target or Wal-Mart, it says. Easiest Give is currently focused on homeless shelters in the US, and it invites those not already participating to get involved. For other parts of the world, meanwhile, how about setting up something similar...? (Related: Method's mobile laundry truck will facilitate clothing donations — Recycled parking meters collect donations for Montréal's homeless — Newspaper jacket keeps homeless people warm.) Website: www.easiestgive.com |
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Romantic compatibility is notoriously difficult to predict, making it fertile ground for dating approaches based on everything from “Attraction Tickets” to DNA analysis. One that recently showed up on our radar, however, is New York-based Alikewise, a site that helps potential couples connect based on the similarity of their literary preferences. Users begin on Alikewise by creating a free profile including not just the type of romantic partner they're seeking but also some of their favourite books, including for each a sentence or two describing why they like it so much. A link gets included for each book to help interested viewers buy it on Amazon. Users can also include a physical description of themselves along with a photo and a summary of their personal story. Other members of the site can then view each other's profiles; when they see a similarity worth pursuing, they can send the person in question a message or — appropriately — suggest a book to them. Either way, they can pursue the potential match further, if both sides are interested. Since its launch in July, Alikewise has already attracted more than 4,000 users, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. It currently serves consumers in the US, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, the Netherlands and Israel, but it aims to keep expanding. Pricing, meanwhile, is currently free, though the company may ultimately begin charging for some features. One to partner with toward either — or both — ends? Website: www.alikewise.com Spotted by: Globe & Mail via Parul Rohatgi |
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Group camping trips can be difficult to arrange, thanks in large part to noise restrictions and other prohibitive rules often employed by public (and typically crowded) campgrounds. That's where the UK-based Private Camping Company comes in. With a network of farmers and landowners, the company negotiates access to private land and uses those sites to host short-term camping vacations. Based in England's Lake District, the Private Camping Company works with local farmers and landowners willing to rent small, secluded areas of their land for short-term private camping pitches. UK planning regulations allow such landowners 28 days of "permitted development" per year in which they can use their land for nearly any temporary purpose without needing to apply for planning permission. Using land rented out in that way, then, the company provides and sets up temporary campsite facilities — equipped with water, toilets, hot showers, waste disposal, etc. — and then completely removes them afterwards, leaving the land just as they found it. Prices vary depending on the location and the required facilities, but for a group of 10 it would be roughly GBP 50 per person for a two-night weekend stay. Regular Springwise readers already know that sellsumers are increasingly interested in monetizing the assets they have, and it seems likely landowners are no exception. By facilitating that process — and solving a real problem for the camping-minded masses — the Private Camping Company has found what could be a lovely niche with benefits for everyone involved. One to partner with or emulate in the verdant hills and dales near you? (Related: Peer-to-peer camping grounds: renting out the back yard — Farm camping in cottage-style tents (private chicken coops optional) — Campsite directory with a fresh pitch — Sustainable urban campground to be crowd-funded & managed — 'Try before you buy' service for first-time campers.) Website: www.privatecamping.co.uk
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UK consumers can already turn to mySupermarket for grocery store price comparisons as they shop online. Now, Fooducate brings similar capabilities to the world of nutrition through an iPhone app that helps US shoppers find the healthiest foods. Supermarket shoppers must typically make countless product comparisons and decisions as they navigate the aisles of their favourite grocery store, and nutrition information labels only help so much; still lurking unaccounted for in many products are trans fats, sugars, artificial flavours and other offenders of good health. With the Fooducate iPhone app, shoppers can simply scan a barcode for product highlights — both good and bad — as well as to compare products and find better alternatives. Scan a box of Apple Jacks cereal, for instance, and Fooducate will point out the 3 teaspoons of added sugar and controversial colourings. Try Cranberry Almond Crunch instead and you'll discover a whopping 3.5 teaspoons of added sugar plus the fact that it's not actually whole grain. Created by a team of dieticians and concerned parents, Fooducate currently covers more than 160,000 products, and that number is growing daily. The free Fooducate app is now available in Apple's App Store for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. It is not affiliated with any food manufacturer, supplement company or diet plan. Just as transparency tyranny has increasingly opened up pricing to greater scrutiny and accountability, so does it promise to do the same for nutrition information, which is another area that's traditionally been fairly opaque. Opportunities for this one? It's the smart grocer who will partner with or emulate Fooducate for a branded app that can be offered as a perk to shoppers and then used to keep them hooked with additional special offers and other enticements. And how about you, restaurateurs? After all, it's only by making transparency tyranny your friend that you can turn it into transparency triumph. Start planning now! (Related: Contest chooses apps to help fight childhood obesity — Caffeine test strips reveal the truth about that cup of joe — The nutritional low-down on fast-food restaurants — Bringing transparency to restaurant kitchens.) Spotted by: Jay Parkinson Website: www.fooducate.com Correction: We initially reported that Fooducate was developed by an Israel-based team of dieticians. It was in fact created by American dietitians (and parents), and part of the software development was done in Israel. |
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Sustainable farms may be able to enjoy the help of Crop Mobs in getting serious work done, but now nonprofits and community groups in Perth, Australia, have helping hands all their own to call upon. Big Help Mob is a 100-strong group of able young volunteers who team up on occasion to lend their numerous helping hands to local good causes. A project of volunteering-focused Youth Tree, Big Help Mob might spend one day planting 10,000 trees in a few hours, and then the next renovating a community centre or cleaning up a place that's long been forgotten, for example. Once the task at hand has been accomplished, Big Help Mob celebrates with “enormous, ridiculous flash mobs in public, using our superpowers to draw attention to good causes that need it,” in the site's own words. Last month, a morning mission included performing general maintenance and repairs at People Who Care, a local nonprofit; after lunch, the group set out to cheer commuters who use Perth's public transport system. Big Help Mob is open to participants aged 15 to 30. Hear that rumbling in the distance? It's the sound of a new volunteer-mob trend emerging, fueled in large part by the generosity-minded masses of Generation G. How much could your brand or social organization accomplish by sponsoring or operating a local mob of your very own...? (Related: Boosting suburban farms.) Website: www.bighelpmob.org Spotted by Holly Hyder |
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The march of the subscription models continues! We've already seen a wide variety of products offered by subscription over the past year or so, from luxury women's panties to limited-edition art. One we came across recently, however, adds a slightly different twist by replacing curation with hand-picked customization. Just the Right Book is a yearly gift subscription service from Connecticut indie bookstore R.J. Julia that sends a new book to the recipient every month, every other month or quarterly. Gift-givers begin by indicating the age group of the person to whom they're giving the subscription — child, teen or adult — as well as the frequency with which they'd like the books to be sent and whether they prefer hardbacks, paperbacks or a mixed selection. They then answer a few basic questions about the reader's interests, favourite books and preferred genres, as well as a reading level for kids. Just the Right Book will then hand-pick, gift-wrap and deliver the first book in the subscription based on that information. Along with that first delivery, however, will come information about the service's Recipient Center, which enables those on the receiving end to provide more information about their reading preferences, make specific requests and offer feedback. In that way, the subscription gets refined over time to better reflect the reader's tastes. Yearly subscription pricing begins at USD 49 for quarterly delivery of kids' books in the paperback format. International delivery is available, and satisfaction is guaranteed. In fact, if recipients ever receive a book that they don't like or have already read, they can exchange it for another selection. Such is the quality of the service's selections, however, that Just the Right Book's return rate is reportedly less than 4 percent. It's one thing to offer a functional product by curated subscription—or to use a recommendation engine for personalization, the way Netflix does. But when you can deliver a manually personalized selection on a recurring basis, dead-on quirks and all, that's when you begin to amaze and delight. Offer that in movies, and Netflix will have to watch out. Offer it anywhere, and ramping up will be your challenge. One to be inspired by! (Related: A curated marketplace for self-published books — Online community promotes indie bookstores.) Website: www.justtherightbook.com |
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There are plenty of sites out there dedicated to helping professionals find their next professional job — The Ladders, for instance, which focuses on matching high-paying jobs with qualified earners. What's less common is to see a site that helps those professionals leave their current career track and find something more fulfilling. Such, however, is precisely the premise behind London-based Escape the City, whose mission is to “liberate talented people from corporate jobs that don’t excite them,” in the site's own words. Toward that end, the company — which was started by two such former management consultants — has built an online platform that aims to connect ambitious and talented but unsatisfied people with “exciting career changes, innovative business start-ups and epic adventures.” Employers with approved life-changing opportunities can list them on the site, while Escape the City's more than 17,000 members can use it to connect, reflect and find their new path. A coaching program, meanwhile, provides support and guidance during the transition. Escape the City's success stories so far include Jennifer, an ex-KPMG staffer who has since gone on to found a social enterprise in Tanzania. Ultimately, Escape the City plans to introduce revenue streams focused on helping to connect organisations with exciting open positions and members interested in filling them. Some 70 percent of young professionals don't find their current job interesting, Escape the City says, and 30 percent are actively looking for alternatives. Fifty-seven percent intend to leave their current position within a year. Who will help the disillusioned Generation G masses find fulfillment in your neck of the woods...? Website: www.escapethecity.org Spotted by Charlotte Symington |
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We've seen a variety of perks bestowed upon drivers of electric and hybrid vehicles, but the Charles Hotel in Cambridge, Mass., may just go further than we've ever observed. Not content to offer just free charging for such vehicles — as the Sea-Tac Airport and at least one McDonald's have both been known to do — the hotel has developed an array of integrated benefits for consumers who make smart transportation choices of many kinds. To be sure, there is a free charging station in the hotel's Charles Square Garage for drivers of electric and hybrid vehicles, as well as free bicycle parking for those who travel on two wheels. But the benefits are far more numerous than that. Working with Propark America, the garage now uses NanoMAX, for example, a new, patented detection system that measures the size of vehicles entering a parking facility and adjusts the parking rate accordingly. Smaller, environmentally friendly vehicles are assessed a smaller rate as a reward to the driver for operating a vehicle that has a lesser impact on the environment. The garage also has a special area reserved for guests who drive smaller vehicles such as Mini Coopers and Smart Cars; in addition to specially marked parking spots, the section is adorned with high-resolution wall graphics, colourful floor coatings and energy efficient lighting. A tire inflation station lets visitors fill their tires for maximum fuel efficiency, while a free bicycle lending program for guests of the hotel provides Electra Amsterdam Classic bicycles with handlebar-mounted basket, helmet, lock and a map to local bike trails. All of which is a lovely illustration of an old expression: If something is worth doing, it's worth doing right. Scattered efforts targeting one type of vehicle or another are certainly better than nothing, but there are multiple ways to help the environment. It's this kind of integrated and full-service approach that's likely to make an impression — and a difference. (Related: Portland airport installs bike assembly station for travellers — Austrian phone booths repurposed to charge electric vehicles — Helping parking operators create a charging infrastructure for electric vehicles — Eco-iconic license plates for green vehicles — Tuned-in garage for hybrid vehicles.) Website: www.harvardsquareparking.com/green/ Spotted by: Raymond Kollau |
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It's been more than four years since we covered MooBella's made-to-order ice cream vending machines, but it seems safe to say that consumers' love for custom frozen confections hasn't diminished in the meantime. Enter F'real, a California-based innovator of self-serve blending machines that make custom milkshakes, smoothies and frozen cappuccinos to order on the spot. Targeting food and convenience retailers throughout North America, the F'real Blender machine features a full-size LCD touch screen that lets consumers tailor their frozen drink to suit their tastes exactly. They begin by selecting a cup that's prepackaged and frozen with most of the ingredients their drink will need. Ingredients are assembled and frozen at the dairy, with no syrups or canisters needed; cups are then labeled by flavour and stored in an accompanying freezer nearby. After peeling off the cup's lid, consumers then place the cup in the machine's holder and select whether they'd like their drink extra thick, regular or less thick. From there, the blender mixes and shakes up a drink to the consumer's exact specifications. Perhaps best of all from the retailer's perspective is that the F'real Blender power-cleans itself after each use. Frozen confections are appealing enough in their own right, but the addition of a self-serve, interactive element and a splash of customization make F'real's concept a very appealing one. Retailers around the globe: better get in line now! ;-) (Related: Unilever launches world's first smile-activated ice cream vending machine — Butcher shop installs vending machine for service 24/7 — Samsung and Coke launch touch-screen machine for interactive vending.) Website: www.freal.com Spotted by: Sandy Avvari |
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Cooking for one or two has always been a challenge, since most recipes are designed to generate four or more servings. Aiming to help minimize waste while earning home cooks a little extra cash, Super Marmite is a social network that enables cooks with too much food to sell their extra servings. Now in beta, French Super Marmite — referring to the French word for cooking pot, not the ubiquitous yeast spread — is similar in many ways to BookofCooks, the US-based online marketplace for home-cooked meals. Both provide an alternative to restaurants and fast food and give sellsumers a way to be rewarded for their cooking efforts. Specifically, cooks with a meal planned or in the works simply list them on the Super Marmite site, specifying their location, when the meal will be ready and any per-serving fee they'd like to be paid. The location-based service then makes it easy for hungry consumers to find meals of interest not far from where they live. If interested, they can order some of those meals by signing in through Facebook or a Super Marmite account. Once they've sampled a cook's efforts, buyers can review them on the site. Super Marmite is now free for both cooks and consumers. Apps for iPhone and BlackBerry are reportedly coming soon. Super Marmite currently focuses on meal preparation in France, but it seems safe to assume the concept could work well in any urban area. One to partner with or emulate near you...? Website: www.super-marmite.com Spotted by: Irene Festa |
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