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For small brewers around the world, bottling a beer is something that must typically be done manually on a very small scale or—with commercial help—on a very large one. Enter Tom Wood's, a British brewer that recently launched a mobile bottling operation in the form of a well-equipped truck that can drive to virtually any UK location. Tom Wood's has been brewing beer since 1995 under the Highwood Brewery name. More recently, the company's versatile operation-in-a-truck has begun offering full bottling service for other brewers as well, including everything from pre-production bottle washing through a range of bottle capping options, labelling and finally shrink-wrapping. With trained staff on-board, the bottling truck was recently showcased on British celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay's “The F-Word,” where it was used in London to bottle Ramsay's own home brew. Whether for local craft brewers, individual enthusiasts or sellsumers with a side brewing business, a mobile bottling alternative that requires no capital investment or travel will be a compelling option indeed. Other large or medium-sized brewers around the world: time to equip a truck of your own for some new mobile services...? (Related: Local wines, professionally made from amateurs' grapes — Wine commerce for amateur vintners.) Website: www.tom-wood.com/brewery/bottle.php Spotted by: Dana Montenegro |
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Hard on the heels of our recent story about Greenaid's guerrilla gardening project comes word of yet another seed-planting effort: the Life Box, a replacement for the traditional cardboard box that is impregnated with seeds. The Life Box can be made to virtually any dimension and used by consumers and companies alike to package or ship goods. What sets the Life Box apart, however, is that within its corrugations are hundreds of tree seeds and thousands of spores of beneficial mycorrhizal fungi. How it works: Once a consumer removes whatever was shipped inside their box, they can tear it up, plant the pieces and water them. In about two months, tree seedlings will emerge, nurtured by the mycorrhizal fungi. In about two years, the young trees can be planted in the ground where they'll ultimately reside. Birches, alders, pines, hemlocks and cedars are among the tree species represented, a quarter of which will survive in 90 percent of the continental United States. The Life Box company, which is based in Olympia, Wash., estimates that one tree from the hundreds of seeds in each box will survive for 30 years, allowing one ton of carbon to be sequestered. Those who planted them, meanwhile, can visit the Life Box site and enter their GPS coordinates, making it possible to see the emerging trees and track carbon credits or offsets for generations to come. The Life Box is manufactured in the United States using recycled cardboard and soy-based inks. Stock sizes are 12 by 9 by 9, 12 by 12 by 3.75 and 10.5 by 7.5 by 2.25 inches, but custom orders are also available; pricing ranges from USD 3.45 to USD 6.99 for orders of between 10 and 99 of those standard sizes. No increased shipping charges are associated with using the Life Box, and the tree mix has been approved by the Departments of Agriculture for planting in every state in the continental United States and Canada. Ultimately, the Life Box company aims to expand the concept into a suite of products carrying seeds of garden vegetables, meadow flowers and native grasses as well, with customization capabilities by zip code; it's also evaluating the international possibilities. One to partner with in your neck of the verdant woods—or to use for your own packaging, shipping or delivery purposes? (Related: Greeting card folds out into mini living garden — Eco-friendly gift cards & hotel key cards.) Website: www.lifeboxcompany.com Spotted by: Eunice Miller |
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Last summer we covered the Australian KeepCup, a reusable alternative to paper coffee cups that even replicates standard barista sizes. Now aiming to give coffee lovers on the go even more green-minded options, the Mug Hug is a reusable silicone lid that seals securely on ceramic mugs and paper cups alike. Developed by Toronto-based Vizun, the flexible Mug Hug fits on medium-sized mugs as well as larger paper cups used by major North American coffee chains—Starbucks' Grande and Venti sizes, for instance—along with various sizes at McDonald's. Using the Mug Hug gives consumers a way to take their mug full of hot coffee or tea with them when they leave home, for example, since it helps to keep drinks hot and prevent spills. The device can also be used to reduce the use of disposable plastic lids commonly placed atop vendors' offerings. Available at select U.S. and Canadian retailers both online and in physical stores, the Mug Hug is priced at about USD 6.95. Americans alone will use an estimated 23 billion paper coffee cups in 2010, according to at least one estimate, suggesting an equal number of plastic lids will soon find their way into landfills. Eco-minded retailers around the globe: this one's for you! (Related: Personal, reusable hand towels — Reusable lunch box napkins — Reusable water bottle flattens & folds when empty — Reusable dry-cleaning bags.) Website: www.mug-hug.com Spotted by: Murray Orange |
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Just as URLs serve as (generally) intuitive shortcuts to IP addresses, so Mapcut aims to give people digital shortcuts to their location in the physical world. Now in beta, Oregon-based Mapcuts bills itself as “a registrar for the world map.” How it works: Users simply enter their home or business address on the site's home page. (For locations without an address, Mapcut can also work with latitude and longitude coordinates.) Mapcut, in exchange, provides an easily remembered word or phrase that can be used to represent that location. The Google Map displaying the location can then be accessed by entering that phrase on Mapcut's site, or by following the URL mapcut.com/phrase. Basic Mapcut phrases are free, and they display only the location. However, for USD 3 per year, users can also choose their own Mapcut phrase. Premium Mapcut links can also display phone numbers, email addresses, website URLs, names and social media links; in addition, they stay with their owners, even if they move. Nevertheless, Mapcut also makes it easy to sell and transfer Mapcut phrases to new owners, it says. Mapcut is now working on an iPhone app for its service. Given today's growing mapmania and OFF=ON integration, it's also anticipating a rush for the most popular phrases and company names, much as was seen in the 90s for domain registrations. One to get in on early...? Website: www.mapcut.com |
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Helping consumers find a certain level of gratification in paying ATM fees, New York-based Choose Change ATM empowers ATM users to contribute a portion of their fees to support their favourite charitable causes. Launched in February, Choose Change ATM has developed a brand of ATMs that lets users donate USD 1 of each USD 2 transaction fee to a non-profit organization of their choice. Users select from a display of eight non-profits, supporting causes such as disaster aid, poverty relief and human rights. The ATMs are installed at no cost to retailers and Choose Change handles all of the maintenance and refills. Choose Change ATM provides a convenient way for consumers to support causes they are passionate about. It's a shining example of the kind of embedded corporate generosity increasingly sought after by disillusioned consumers seeking brands that are more in tune with a spirit of giving. Choose Change ATM welcomes partnership enquiries from retailers and non-profit organizations. One worth emulating for socially conscious ATM users around the globe. (Related: Credit union gives people ten-dollar bills to give away — Grocer lets customers direct its community giving.) Website: www.choosechangeatm.com Spotted by: Victor Ma |
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Last year we wrote about Creative Caravan, which helps people in the creative industries find properties to sublet or swap. Taking the concept a step further, Austin-based startup SwapYourShop facilitates connections between creative professionals looking to temporarily swap homes and workplaces, while working remotely for their current employer. The premise of SwapYourShop is that employees will be creatively influenced by being immersed in a different company for a few weeks or months, and employers will benefit from having creatively rejuvenated employees return with new-found ideas, knowledge and perspectives. Registered users create a profile with photos of their living and workspaces, then browse through the community to find other people who are keen to live in another city or country without quitting their current job. Launched into public beta in March, SwapYourShop is free to use and already has over 1,000 ‘swappers’ registered on the site. One to emulate for other job sectors? Website: www.swapyourshop.com Spotted by: Cecilia Biemann |
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Americans exchange some 7 billion greeting cards each year, according to the Greeting Card Association, so one has only to extrapolate to begin to imagine how much paper and ink are involved worldwide. Enter the reusable greeting card, which we've now spotted on two different continents. Minnesota-based Regreet, for example, uses labels and mailing supplies that make it easy and chic for consumers to reuse greeting cards. Recipients of a Regreet card simply apply a signature label over the sender's message and write their own text instead. If they want, they can also enclose a “Hop Along” kit that includes a greeting label, a sheet of note paper and an envelope for the next user. Those sending the card for the first time apply a journey label to the back of the card; journey codes enable users to track their card's travels over time. A basic Regreet kit, including four cards—with journey labels, signature labels, sheets of notepaper and envelopes—and four Hop Along kits (with signature labels, notepaper and envelopes) is priced online at USD 11.99. A portion of Regreet's profits gets donated to selected nonprofit partners. Australian Merry-go-round greeting cards, on the other hand, have slits cut inside that allow them to hold a message on a separate slip of paper. Recipients of a sustainably produced Merry-go-round card can replace the slip of paper with their own and send the card on with a new message. Featuring the artwork of well-known Australian children's book illustrators, Merry-go-round cards each include a refill and instructions. Each collection of Merry-go-round cards is printed in a limited number, making cards more rare as they get older. To track each card's history, users can each fill in a little blank tree on the back of their card, making it easy to see how many sets of hands it's passed through. Available both online and through select Australian and New Zealand retailers, Merry-go-round cards are priced at AUD 23.95 per set of six cards. Where ecoEnvelopes aim to minimize the paper needed for reply mail, Regreet and Merry-go-round promise to achieve something similar for greeting cards. Retailers the world over: time to add some eco-iconic options to your greeting-card lines...? Website: www.regreet.com — www.merrygoround.com.au Spotted by: Tad Schmitz and Jayne Richards |
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Back in 2008 we covered Myfab, the French company that lets consumers collectively tell furniture manufacturers what they want and then purchase those items direct at near-factory prices. Myfab is still going strong, it appears, and now a new contender is throwing its own weight behind the concept with a like-minded service in the UK. London-based Made.com aims to bring original design to the masses by removing middlemen from the process and connecting consumers with furniture makers directly. Along the way, it strives to cut prices by 50 to 80 percent, it says. Consumers begin by browsing through the many items on Made.com's site; represented there are the works of a variety of young and seasoned designers, many of whom design for big-name brands as well. Consumer votes determine which items from the site's “Labs” section are put up for sale; when that happens, a timer indicates when orders should be placed for the lowest prices associated with batch production. All furniture is made to order in about four weeks and then shipped back to the UK over a like amount of time. Consumers can track their orders in real time along the way, however, so they always know not just who designed the furniture but also who's making it, what stage it's currently at and when it's due to ship. Delivery—available only in the UK—is confirmed via SMS, and customers have 14 days to evaluate the furniture; if they don't like it, they can return it free, no questions asked. We here at Springwise always love to see good ideas spread, and this one is clearly doing just that. Who will be first to bring some fresh crowd clout and transparency to manufacturing and sales in *your* part of the world...? Website: www.made.com Spotted by: Cecilia Biemann |
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Music bands can tap an increasing number of technology tools these days, from services like Mobile Roadie for help creating a customised iPhone application to internet-enabled crowdfunding options like Sellaband and Kisskissbankbank. For generalized band management, there have been software packages like Indie Band Manager and online services like ReverbNation, but newly launched Bandize aims to offer the best of both words with a one-stop web application that gives bands, band managers and record labels a wide array of tools to help operate a band successfully. California-based Bandize helps bands take control of their careers by giving them an intuitive, simple way to get organized. The application offers a broad suite of band-specific DIY tools, including accounting, tour booking, contact management, merchandising, task assignments, social-network syncing, calendar, messaging and more. For managing shows and tours, for example, Bandize lets bands keep track of every date along the way, including earnings and accommodation. Printable day sheets and tour books, meanwhile, make sure everyone is on schedule. Its product management tool, on the other hand, helps bands track the merchandise they have and how much they've sold so far; it even alerts them when inventory in a particular product begins to run low. Every band member gets their own Bandize login, making it easy for bands to collaborate and access the tools with maximum flexibility. Pricing for Bandize is USD 15 per month per band, with discounts available for managers of multiple bands. Similar in many ways to the UK's Band Central, Bandize recently announced a mobile version for the iPhone. Next, who will be first to integrate such tools with the crowdfunding capabilities, the iPhone app creators, the fan-recruitment tools and all the many other tech enablers that bands can use to set themselves apart...? (Related: Web developer focuses on farms — A custom, branded iPhone app for every restaurant.) Website: www.bandize.com Spotted by: John Greene |
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Ever since transportation authorities placed rigorous limits on the amount of liquids allowed on flights, travellers have had to figure out how to both pack their favourite toiletries and comply with those regulations. Helping consumers avoid bag-check charges or confiscation of their non-compliant toiletries and cosmetics, New York-based 3floz is an online boutique that sells beauty and grooming products in TSA-approved sizes only. Launched in February, 3floz offers a range of luxury skin and hair care products for men and women, all in travel-friendly sizes of 3 fluid ounces (100 ml) or less. 3floz is also marketing itself as a sample site, catering to consumers who want to try out high-end beauty products without committing to pricey full-sized versions. (As they put it, “for those who travel, those who are curious and those who can't commit”). Items can be purchased individually or in kits. Individual product prices start from USD 3 and kits start from USD 30. International shipping is available, including delivery direct to hotels, as well as a same-day courier delivery service within Manhattan. 3floz offers customers an upgrade to overnight shipping for the price of ground if they provide a flight itinerary showing travel within three days. The company has plans for travel-sized baby products and travel-friendly beauty and grooming tools. While 3floz fills a gap in the beauty market, there’s still plenty of room in this space for additional contenders to bring miniature versions of other brand favourites to travellers and product samplers around the globe. (Related: More cosmetics tryvertising by mail — Wine by the trial-sized tube — Remote wardrobe service for travelling luggage-free — Shop-ahead service for hotel guests.) Website: www.3floz.com Spotted by: Cecilia Biemann |
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Emergency rooms and health clinics are notorious for the long waits visits typically entail. That's why InQuickER—which we covered last year—emerged to let patients reserve a spot ahead of time, and it's also apparently why Singapore's Ministry of Health has developed a service to give citizens a real-time view from home of how crowded clinics are likely to be. Part of the Ministry of Health's eCitizen effort, Queue Watch is designed to provide health patients with timely information to plan their visit to any of Singapore's many health clinics. A map on the site marks each of those clinics with two symbols—a red circle and a yellow triangle. Clicking on the red circle for any given clinic reveals not just the number of patients waiting for registration and consultation, but also live webcam images showing the waiting areas for registration, consultation and pharmacy/payment. Webcam images are intentionally out of focus to protect patients' confidentiality, the site notes. Clicking on the yellow triangle for a clinic, meanwhile, brings up information about its peak and non-peak periods. By giving patients the information they need to plan which clinic to visit and when, Queue Watch promises to help them minimize the time they'll have to wait—and, at least as important—the frustration they'll experience. Time to bring that type of transparency to clinics and government offices all over the world! Website: he.ecitizen.gov.sg/hecorp/qwatch.aspx?id=646 Spotted by: Sharon Sng |
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“Googling” oneself may be a common pastime for active participants of the wired world, but search is also used with increasing frequency by recruiters and others with more than just idle curiosity. Aiming to give individuals more control over the results that come up when someone Googles their name, Vizibility has created a new tool that lets users shape the optimal Google search for themselves based on their name, employment history and relevant keywords. Vizibility gives each user a unique, personalized “PreSearch” URL and an accompanying “SearchMe” button. Users begin by answering three questions about themselves: their name, where they've worked and what information they'd like included in their search results. Vizibility then provides them with a personal, tiny URL that links to the custom search result they requested; irrelevant keywords and inaccurate search results can also be excluded. That URL and its linked “SearchMe” button can be placed on any online profile, web page, email, resume, business card, stationery or other place where personal information is shared. Whereas the URL and SearchMe button are free from Vizibility, a monthly fee of USD 2.95 per month causes Vizibility to let users know when their approved search results have changed; an annual fee of USD 29.95 ensures that Vizibility will send the user an email and/or text message when someone clicks their SearchMe button or PreSearch URL. Analytics of those searches are also available. James Alexander, founder of New York-based Vizibility, explains: "Today's resume is an online profile in conjunction with the first few pages of a Google search. Having a personalized search result ensures that a career professional can present the results they want others to see first while saving executive recruiters, business partners and others valuable time sifting through pages and pages of irrelevant and erroneous results." Now in beta, the service has already been integrated into RealMatch.com, giving job-seekers a new way to differentiate themselves. For the 86 or so percent of executive recruiters who use search engines to validate candidates, meanwhile, it can help pinpoint the most important results. Then, too, there are the possibilities for companies and brands to shape the results of searches on their names. Corporate accounts and the ability to purchase packs of PreSearch URLs are coming soon, Vizibility says. Website: www.vizibility.com Spotted by: Dagmar Gaede |
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It's not uncommon for spas and salons to offer their clients beverages and even snacks during the course of a treatment or service. London's Percy and Reed, however, is taking that a step further by letting clients preorder the breakfast items of their choice for enjoyment during a morning appointment. Croissants, bagels, granola and even porridge and hot sandwiches are all on the menu for Percy and Reed's Breakfast Club clients, as are coffee, tea, orange juice and the newspaper of their choosing. Clients simply select the options they like when they make their appointment online ahead of time; the cost is added to their bill. Pricing ranges from GBP 1.25 for a plain butter croissant to GBP 3.25 for Villandry Granola, yoghurt and honey. When your business is all about pampering, pushing the concept further with an offering like this is a relatively easy way to stand out from the crowd. What little extras—paid or otherwise—can *your* service offer to keep clients coming back for more? (Related: Hair salon offers Skype consultations.) Website: www.percyandreed.com/breakfast/ Spotted by: Cecilia Biemann |
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When consumers band together, their collective 'crowd clout' makes for hefty purchasing power. An example that recently came to our attention is San Francisco-based One Block Off the Grid, or 1BOG, which facilitates the group purchase of residential solar installations. How it works? 1BOG launches campaigns in various cities, each lasting a few months, during which they negotiate group discounts with carefully selected solar installers and offer local consumers access to the discounted rates via the 1BOG website. Homeowners can enter their address on the site, select their roof from an aerial view of Google maps and outline where they want the panels located. They can also view detailed information on costs, leasing options, local rebates and how long the panels will take to pay for themselves. On average, 1BOG saves customers around 15 percent, and receives referral fees from installers. To date, 1BOG has signed up over 600 homeowners across 11 US cities. In February, the company secured a USD 5 million venture capital investment which will accelerate its nationwide expansion. Studies from the International Energy Agency indicate that market penetration for solar today is less than one percent in the US. As electricity becomes more expensive and solar becomes more affordable, the demand for solar is sure to rise worldwide. One to tap into! (Related: Farmers barter produce for solar panel funding — Neighbourhood approach to renewable energy — Group buying for new parents.) Website: www.1bog.org Spotted by: Cecilia Biemann |
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Hotels are not uncommonly among the early adopters of new technologies, as we've already seen in Sheraton's use of interactive tables, Mama Shelter's installation of iMacs in every room, the Algonquin's use of Kindles and the Townhouse Hotel's emphasis on Twitter. Now continuing along that well-trodden technological path comes InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, which recently announced that it is equipping its concierges with Apple's new iPad. As part of a global pilot at InterContinental New York Barclay, InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta, InterContinental London Park Lane and InterContinental Hong Kong, travellers can now look forward to receiving enhanced local destination advice from hotel concierge teams using the mobile, multi-touch, content-rich iPad. Rather than jot directions on a foldable paper map, for example, concierge teams can now provide exact directions through interactive maps on the device with high-resolution satellite imagery, close-up street views and detailed walking routes. Local recommendations can come to life in InterContinental's unique destination-specific videos, while bookings can be made and confirmed instantly by e-mail. Simon Scoot, the company's vice president of global brand management, explains: "We have an amazing team of concierges worldwide, and our concierges are already engaging with our guests with useful information such as pre-stay e-mails, destination-specific concierge websites, interactive maps and concierge videos. We are also preparing to pilot state-of-the-art Google Maps technology as well as other enhancements, and the Apple iPad will be a revolutionary way of showcasing some of these features." The hospitality arena is nothing if not competitive, so putting new technologies to work makes good sense as a means for differentiation. Other hotels, airports and restaurants around the globe: what about you...? Website: www.ichotelsgroup.com Spotted by: Cecilia Biemann |
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