New Business Ideas/Opportunities Featured In This Issue:
CONSUMER GOODS
Solar Bag
Soon to be released in August 2007, the Picard Solar Bag picks up where Eskom left off by charging your gadget essentials like laptops and iPods. The solar panels on the flap are set to give you enough juice to make it through the day.
HEALTH & BEAUTY
VIOlight
VIOlight has already come up with a solution. Their little gizmo is proven to kill 99.9% of germs found on your toothbrush using UV light. With the adaptors that come with, you can even fit your electric toothbrush head in the unit.
FOOD & BEVERAGE
Wedding Cake Trend
The first trend on the list is personalized cakes. Edith Meyer said that “Cakes for 2007 seem to be much more personal and less I-saw-this-in-a-magazine.” Susan Morgan stated that although she has been doing colored cakes for years, now “everyone wants coordination throughout the wedding.”
Strange Eatery
And now – this place, WDuck…where you sit on a toilet during your meal. It’s perhaps a little extreme for South African steakhouse tastes, but the point is that the hospitality industry is getting a personality.
MOBILE
SMS Shopping
A company called ShopText has introduced a system that lets people buy products instantly using text messages, a process that eliminates the need to go to a store or even visit a Web site.
Mobio Mobile
Mobio, which we’ve covered previously, is launching the public beta of its mobile application platform today. They’re pitching themselves as a “lifestyle platform” to consumers, where you can access all kinds of data on the go, such as restaurants, weather, and flight schedules.
ONLINE & SOCIAL NETWORKS
Local Cakes
CakeAmerica is a website that is dedicated to help web users find cakes and other baked products in their localities and empower the local cake businesses to promote and advertise their cakes on the web.
SERVICES
SMS Happy Hour
BuyYourFriendADrink.com was launched today and announced on the New York edition of e-mail events service Thrillist. BuyYourFriendADrink, or BYFAD, is a way to purchase libations for your friends online, which they can then redeem at participating establishments with the help of a text message.
LIFESTYLE & LUXURY
Shiny and Sparkling
Philips and Swarovski have teamed-up to bling the tech goodies with their ‘Active Crystals’ collection that features I GB flashy USB memory keys studded with swarovski. The collection includes four different designs: Heart Ware, Heart Beat, Lock In and Lock Out.
Box Wine
There is a growing group of wine drinkers who are turning to the box rather than the bottle. With better wine varieties now available in boxes, wineries are attempting to give the category a new identity far from the rowdy boating trips and drunken fraternity parties that gave box vino its cheap, low-quality image.
MARKETING
Scent Selling
Clear Channel, meanwhile, is experimenting with scented billboards. USA Today and the Wall Street Journal are set to offer “rub and sniff” newspaper ads. And some retailers are also preparing products with added smell.
HOMES & LIVING
Book Lovers’ Chair
For those who love to read, and show off their personal library, Italian company nobody&co has a fabulous looking seat for you. The Bibliochaise makes storage look incredibly cool, and cuts down on space taken up by a typical bookshelf.
TOURISM
Audio Tours“AudioSnack is a place to find, purchase, download, listen to and appreciate audio tours that people just like you have created to share, and a place where you can do the same for others.” Tours are modestly priced — some are even free.
GADGETS
Freeing Up Your Hand
If you’re in the market for a new pair of headphones and don’t mind looking foolish or being stared at by strangers, you may be interested to know that the iWalk will be available in a week or two.
MOBILE
Mobile Network
Sonopia works with Verizon to handle calls and data transfer, and lets anyone from a rock band to a church group set up their own mobile network brand. In return, the mini carrier will receive 3-8% of revenues generated by the customers they sign up.
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