After submitting my first article in this 6-part series, it became clear that business owner or not, the unique to strange ways people are attracting people to purchase products can be fascinating to check out. Instead of rehashing every article in the series, links are provided should you want to find out what's going on worldwide when it comes to tracking trends in attracting you and I to open our purse strings.
I hope you find some of these as interesting and shocking as I did. Enjoy.
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As we complete our series on trends to track for business success in 2011, we find out about innovations that use pink taxis for women, a clothing line called, 'man candy,' and a hand-creafted, sustainable materials AM/FM radio and cattle dung use to make bricks. Trendwatching.com reports more than 50 must-see consumer innovators and innovations in this series.
We start in Columbia and then we visit Russia, Rwanda, Indonesia, Guatemala, Phillippines and provide a wrap up on this series. Let's get started.
Columbia
Colombian Juan Valdez Cafe is a multinational coffeehouse chain with 120 outlets domestically. International expansion is driven by the Colombian Federation, who sees the chain’s success as a reason coffee contributes over 8% to GDP. These plans have seen the chain open shops in Latin America, the US, and Europe, as well as distribution in US Wal-Mart Stores and 650 supermarkets in South Korea.
Rwanda
Meanwhile, Rwandan coffee franchise Bourbon Coffee operates a coffee shop in Washington DC, and is planning to open two more cafes in the US (New York and Boston).
Indonesia
The Magno AM/FM radio is hand crafted using sustainable materials in an Indonesian village. Profits from sales go back to initiatives supporting the producers such as the education in handicraft and work skills and the growth of plantations for wood used to make the products.
EcoFaeBrick turns cattle waste into bricks that are greener, stronger and 20% lighter than regular clay bricks. The Indonesian organization was set up in early 2009 to tackle the problem of excessive waste in local farming areas. In a move to reduce carbon emissions, the EcoFaeBricks are fired using biogas, with this being the only variation from the traditional brick making process.
Russia
Designed by Moscow-based creative agency Firma, a concept created for Chupa Chups targets an 18+ audience. "BDSM", "Fetish" and "Toys" are lollipops with a decidedly adult feel but with a classic candy taste. Each recall whips, collars, and other sexual toys.
In August 2010, Russian mobile provider MTS launched a digital campaign promoting their Data-Plan products that lets consumers take part in a weekly treasure hunt and adventure race. Each week, MTS unveil a billboard with a QR code which (when players scan it into their mobile) details a task and direction to the next location. The winner is picked from the players who scored the most points and prizes include products such as the Nintendo Wii.
Russian Preorder.It (launched in Q1 2010) allows customers to pre-order the latest devices in advance, before official sale starts. Consumers can browse through company press releases or search products by brand or category to locate a soon-to-be-released device. These range from mobile phones to laptops, tablet computers and digital cameras. They can then register their interest with the merchant, who will send them offers when the product becomes available.
Guatemala
Guatemala-based mapmaking company Where To Go Maps is working towards creating a globalised mapping system that would see their free artistic city maps available to travelers for all major tourist destinations worldwide. The maps present tourists with the best hotels, restaurants, bars, shops, attractions and sightseeing highlights that each city has to offer, as well as illustrating the specific locations of local businesses who advertise on the maps.
Phillippines
In June 2010, socio-ecological bamboo bicycle making enterprise Bambike launched a new set of bike designs with headlights. Bambike employs people in rural Filipino villages to create the frames of the bikes from local bamboo plants. The fair-trade labor is part of the Gawad Kalinga development program to educate and improve community living.
the consumer arena is not only rapidly expanding to include billions of consumers in China, India, Brazil, Turkey, South Africa and so on, but it's attracting countless smart brands and individuals from those markets, too. They're joining a crowded space that is already densely populated with the smartest and the most ambitious, from Sweden to South Korea.
Meaning true creative destruction is upon us, especially because these new players and innovations are being reported on 24/7 by numerous sources dedicated to trends and new business ideas.
Meaning wherever you live, whatever it is you do, you have absolutely no excuse to be unaware of innovations originating in Australia, in the Netherlands, in the US, in Argentina, in Turkey, in Singapore, in South Africa... Oh, and consumers devour these types of articles, too. This means the consumers you are chasing are even more expecting and demanding.
So, welcome to 2011 and time to get to work right out of the gate of the new year!


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More news to get your noggin thinkin':
Previous articles in this series:
50+ must see consumer innovators and innovations
Consumer innovations and innovators to note for 2011 business success
Top consumer innovations to boost business in 2011
Trends to watch to better your 2011 business strategy
Trends to track for business success in 2011