OK, so pedal-powered coffee retailers aren't entirely new—we saw one back in 2008 in the UK, after all—but we can't resist sharing one more, spotted this time on the streets of New York City. Brooklyn-based Kickstand Coffee uses two bicycles, a fold-up stand and a hand-cranked grinder to serve up sustainable hot and cold coffee at events around the city.

The brainchild of three baristas, Kickstand Coffee relies on two 160-pound rolling carts that are each towed to location by a custom-built bicycle, according to a report on NYDailyNews.com. Once there, the carts unfold and attach to create a 9-foot-long bar that includes everything the trio need to make coffee. Beans are hand-ground on a cup-by-cup basis, and the iced coffee is cold-brewed; only Kickstand's hot coffee—brewed on location using specially adapted Chemex glass beakers—uses any propane or electricity. The company is working on a mini folding bicycle that customers will be able to use to grind their own beans. Pricing for Kickstand's coffee is USD 2.50 per cup, hot or cold.

With bicycle culture on the rise and coffee going strong, it seems perfectly natural to combine the two for a more sustainable cup of joe. The variations on this theme are virtually limitless—as are the opportunities. Time to get pedaling yourself...? (Related: Solar-roasted coffee.)

Website: www.kickstandbrooklyn.com
Contact: contact@kickstandbrooklyn.com

Spotted by: Verge Manuel / Images by: Big Waste of Time

Much the way New York's Park Avenue seasonal restaurant is reborn every three months, so New Jersey-based Canal House's cookbook is published three times a year.

Canal House Cooking aims to present “home cooking by home cooks for home cooks,” as it says on its site. Recipes included use ingredients found seasonally in most markets, and all are easy to prepare. Canal House Cooking Volume No. 4, Farm Markets & Gardens, is the fourth book of Canal House's series of recipes and the latest one available. “Grilled leeks with romesco sauce,” “Grilled quail & fresh figs,” and “Patty Curtan’s famous apricot jam” are all among the seasonal offerings served up on this latest edition's pages; up next will be editions for fall & holiday, winter and spring. Individual cookbooks are USD 19.95, while a yearlong subscription—including all three cookbooks in a year—costs USD 49.95.

At a time when appreciation is increasing for all that is homegrown, seasonal and (still) made here, it makes good sense to adapt virtually all food-related offerings to nature's rhythms. Such notions should already be standard for individual menu items, but most restaurants, cookbooks and gourmet stores could all stand to reflect more closely what each new season brings. (Related: 52 recipe contests to spawn crowdsourced cookbook — Members club for artisanal ice cream in Manhattan.)

Website: www.thecanalhouse.com
Contact: mail@thecanalhouse.com

Spotted by: Bethany Bailly

It's not often we see crowdsourcing applied to food products, and when we do—Yellow's chocolate bar and Vitaminwater's flavour contest both come to mind—it's typically a matter of soliciting input on product development. Bringing the concept into the realm of the supply chain, New Zealand's Giapo Gelato is now inviting consumers who grow organic fruit to sign up as suppliers for the store's new “Giapo Certified Organic” line.

Located in Auckland, Giapo Gelato serves up an all-natural line of healthful gelato and sorbets, with inventive flavours including Spirulina, Feijoa and Chili Chocolate. Earlier this week, it kicked off its new crowdsourcing effort to incorporate organic fruits supplied by the crowds. To be eligible for consideration, consumers must guarantee that no herbicides or pesticides have been used within the growing area of their fruit; samples will be randomly tested to ensure compliance. The price of the fruit supplied will then be calculated in current market prices, and Giapo will give suppliers free Giapo Gelato in return.

Given the garden produce that tends to overflow each growing season, it's a safe bet there are gardeners aplenty willing to exchange some of that abundance for free ice cream—not to mention a good status story and some (still) made here appeal. Next, who will find a way to help consumers unload all that excess zucchini...? ;-)

Website: www.giapo.com
Contact: giapo@giapo.com

There seems to be no end in sight to the urban gardening innovations. No sooner did we publish our story about the rooftop garden at London's Thornton's Budgens than we got word of Triscuit's Home Farming effort, which aims to create 50 community-based home farms across the United States in 2010.

Nearly two-thirds of Americans are interested in growing food in a backyard garden, according to a recent Triscuit survey, and three out of four of those surveyed prefer to eat foods with a few, simple ingredients. Toward that end, Kraft's Triscuit brand recently teamed up with nonprofit group Urban Farming to launch what it calls a Home Farming movement, with a site that aims to provide a place where both beginners and seasoned gardeners can connect and get advice about growing food at home. Four million packages of Original and Reduced-Fat Triscuit crackers have been packed with cards including basil or dill seeds that are ready for planting; with the help of crop guides, a community forum and tips from master gardener Paul James, visitors to Triscuit's new site can use those seeds to reap the rewards of home gardening. Triscuit and Urban Farming are also collaborating to create 50 community-based home farms across the U.S., starting with one in Los Angeles that launched in March; others are slated to appear in such cities as Dallas, Detroit, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Tampa, to name just a few. A full list of cities participating in the community-based program is available on the new Triscuit site, along with details about where people can volunteer or get started with their own community-based home farms. Both individual and community farms can be plotted on the site's Google-based Live Map.

There's certainly no shortage of gardening advice sites out there; what's interesting here is the big-brand involvement and the “seeding” of all those boxes of Triscuits. Not that it's surprising, mind you, given the USD 167.5 billion-plus globally that's at stake here. (Source: Husqvarna's 2010 Global Garden Report.) Other food brands: time to find—and flaunt—your own green thumb...?

Website: www.triscuit.com/homefarming
Contact: www.nabiscoworld.com/misccontent/contactus/contact.aspx?m=cu_form1

Spotted by: Jim Stewart

Businesses can give back to the world in many ways, from making one-off donations to innovating new, socially minded solutions of their own. Opting more toward the latter end of the scale, Vai Vai is a drink brand that dedicates one side of each Tetrapak container to featuring worthy social organizations.

Founded last year, French Vaiva is a registered collaborative whose principal product is Vai Vai, a coconut water beverage made from coconuts that are hand-picked on socially minded farms in the southern Philippines. Nothing is added to the healthful coconut water, and the project helps to support 8,000 local families with development programs, microcredit and training. Product transportation is chosen as sustainably as possible, and Vaiva uses its profits to hold concerts, sports matches and other events. Most interesting of all, however, is that one side of each Vai Vai package is set aside for the promotion of various socially minded artists, entrepreneurs and associations, at no cost to them. Currently, the project of the month is Durable.com.

Packaging space, of course, is something any brand with a physical good could donate in a similar way. One more chance to please the generosity-minded masses of Generation G!

Website: www.vai-vai.com
Contact: www.vai-vai.com/noustrouver/contacts

Spotted by: Florent Lesauvage

The locavore movement may be focusing new interest on locally produced food, but regional farmers, ranchers and fishermen continue to struggle to find a market for their products. That's as true in the Pacific Northwest as everywhere else, which is why Portland, Ore., nonprofit Ecotrust created FoodHub.

Launched late last year, FoodHub aims to increase food trade in the Pacific Northwest by connecting food buyers of all types and sizes with local farmers, ranchers, fishermen and food manufacturers. For food sellers, FoodHub offers an easy way to let buyers know what products are available and how to make contact to complete a sale. For food buyers—including local restaurants, public schools, grocery stores, caterers, universities and hospitals—FoodHub provides a robust database of food products that are available. Customizable search features allow a buyer to hone in on the exact product specifications they're seeking -- “pallet quantities of Northwest-grown certified organic black eyed peas,” for example. After paying an annual membership fee of USD 100, both buyers and sellers can create detailed online profiles; FoodHub's message center, meanwhile, streamlines communications.

Deborah Kane, vice president of Ecotrust’s Food & Farms program, explains:“FoodHub is designed to be a one-stop-shop for the chef who needs six dozen artichokes for a menu special, the baker looking for a local source for flour, or the large institutional food buyer whose purchasing power could significantly stabilize a family farm.”

Currently, FoodHub is open to food buyers and sellers of all types in Alaska, California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. However, Ecotrust intends to make the FoodHub platform available to qualified partners in other parts of the country as well. One to emulate in other parts of the world?

Website: www.food-hub.org
Contact: connect@food-hub.org

Spotted by: Anna Brones

We don't have exact numbers for you, but for a large percentage of soccer fans, beer is an essential part of the game experience. Preferably cold beer. Which is why Dutch brewer Grolsch is stepping in to lend a hand to anyone whose fridge breaks down during this year's World Cup.

Customers can call the Koelkast Hulplijn (fridge hotline) and Grolsch will deliver a loaner fridge to tide them over. It's a fun example of the trend our sister site dubbed brand butlers—brands finding new ways to serve customers, usually free of charge and not directly related to sales. We're just slightly disappointed by the campaign's fine print: loaners were only made available to the first 40 people to call before June 19th (the World Cup runs from June 11th through July 11th). Something to keep in mind if you're planning a brand butler campaign of your own: unnecessarily strict limitations won't do your generosity justice ;-)

Website: www.grolsch.nl/koel/

While instantly gratifying, buying ice cream from a vending machine isn't as fun as it could be. Which is why SapientNitro and Unilever created the world's first smile-activated ice cream vending machine. The underlying technology is sophisticated, but the concept is simple: consumers walk up to the machine, smile and are rewarded with a frozen treat.

When its motion detectors sense someone is near, the machine beckons them to come closer and interact. Using facial recognition technology, it can then recognize a person's age, gender and emotion, and measure their smile using a "smile-o-meter". If their grin is wide enough, they get free ice cream. Users can also opt to have a picture of their happy self uploaded to Facebook, which ties in perfectly with Unilever's brand message: "share happy". Currently being showcased at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival, the smile-activated ice cream vending machine will be rolled out at high-traffic locations across the globe over the next 18 months.

From security checkpoints that recognize eyes, to cameras that spot friends and family, machines are increasingly capable of smart interaction with humans. Throw in emotion and delight, and you'll create a memorable experience that knocks the socks off traditional advertising. One to have fun with! (Related: Ice cream factory in a vending machine.)

Website: www.sapient.com/en-us/SapientNitro/Work.html#/?project=157
Contact: www.sapient.com/en-us/contact-us.html

Spotted by: every-ware via notcot

For many consumers, part of the enjoyment of a hotel experience is having everything done for them—especially the cooking and cleaning. As in virtually every other aspect of life, however, there's plenty of variation to be found, and San Francisco's Hotel Vitale has begun catering to those of a different stripe with a personal chef service that includes shared ingredients shopping and preparation.

The Hotel Vitale lies across the street from a farmers' market, which operates on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Aiming, no doubt, to appeal to guests with a foodie or locovore bent, the hotel's new offering lets them request the service of Kory Stewart, resident chef at the hotel's Americano Restaurant, in a food shopping and preparation experience. Specifically, Stewart will join them on a Saturday trip to the farmers' market to help them shop for produce, cheeses, meats and any other ingredients that might be required for the two-course meal of their choice, according to the San Jose Mercury News. Then, back at the hotel, he will either help the guests prepare the meal or prepare it for them, whichever they choose. Pricing including wine starts at USD 250 per couple, depending on the meal selected. Intriguingly, the service is not mentioned on the hotel's website, yet guests must request it when booking their room at least two weeks in advance.

All of which goes to show, once again, that there are virtually limitless niches to be found in any product or service category, thanks to the infinite variation in consumer preference. Other hotels and restaurants around the globe: How could you cater to the increasingly hands-on masses of food lovers out there with some fresh experiences, status skills and still-made-here appeal? (Related: More meal prep and cooking instruction, this time by Jamie Oliver — Upscale takeaway meets onsite cooking school — Loews Hotels adopt local farmers.)

Website: www.hotelvitale.com
Contact: vitaleconcierge@jdvhotels.com

Spotted by: Iconoculture via R. Steinberg