Immortality guaranteed

As chatter about delaying or even eliminating the aging process is on the rise, expect anything to do with DNA storage to enjoy lots of interest from consumers afraid to miss out on eternal life.

TRENDWATCHING.COM’s GRAVANITY trend is not exactly fading yet: every month, we receive spottings of new goods, services and experiences designed to make consumers feel like VIPs, if not guaranteeing them immortality. From MyTwinn dolls to the Reality Village (see this edition). The most personal service spotted so far? CATGee, part of DNA Products, which lets ordinary folks capture and store their own DNA, for self discovery or for future generations. At a cost of GBP 19.95 (USD 36.80/EUR 30), customers preserve can their DNA on a CATGee storage card. Each DNA snapshot consists of a unique series of numbers (a DNA code) drawn from analysis of certain key locations on personal strands of DNA. From this code, the company will also generate a unique DNA image. It comes embedded in a plastic ID card, as well as in full digital format so it can be used to personalize clothing, possessions, email messages and so on. Needless to say, CATGee is more than willing to do the customizing for you: on the website, t-shirts and mugs now await GRAVANITY stricken individuals. And as new business ideas are rarely isolated occurrences, Springwise wasn’t surprised to spot spanking new, Canadian DNA 11, who create high-end abstract art from DNA strands. The company utilizes an artistically-valid method to capture a customer’s genetic fingerprint (read: depositing one’s saliva into a tube) and transform it into an artistic representation of his or her life code. How does it work? The DNA is stained with a fluorescent dye and illuminated by UV light, which then glows, giving off a fluorescent signal. A special camera captures the image, which is then digitally enhanced, cropped, and color adjusted. Introductory prices range from USD 390-790 (EUR 311-630/GBP 212-429) depending on the size of the artwork. Cheesy but true: the customer IS the artist here!

Opportunities

No reason these businesses wouldn’t work well around the world: as all of this is still pretty new, plenty of opportunities exist to partner or to start up something yourself. Consumers will continue to be obsessed with standing out, whether it’s art or fashion related (and this is without the hundreds of millions who have yet to join the post-materialism world). Even bigger, of course, is the prospect of delaying or even eliminating the ageing process; chatter about this will certainly increase in the next few years, so expect anything to do with DNA storage to enjoy lots of interest from consumers afraid to miss out on eternal life. Spit and tubes are the Next Big Thing, if not the ultimate conversation piece!