Welcome to the holiday edition of Springwise Trends...Enjoy!
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Our latest issue is now online. Here's a quick run-down of the new products and services
that caught our attention this week:
Indian tour operator offers pre-paid holidays in a box
Tourism & travel / Retail
Box Holidays are prepackaged travel offerings that can be purchased
online or off the shelf in participating retail stores. The key details are
displayed on the outside of the box. Users just call to schedule dates.
Reflector strips make strollers more visible at night
Transportation / Style & design
Wagalum is a German maker of high-visibility, self-adhesive strips
designed to keep young children safe while they're being
transported in strollers. A set of eight strips costs EUR 9.90.
A second chance for promising but unprofitable drugs
Non-profit, social cause
Promising new drugs are sometimes abandoned because they're not
likely to be profitable. Cinderella Therapeutics is a Dutch not-for-profit
enterprise that selects from such therapies and continues testing them.
Secret cocktail events in Paris, blue attire required
Food & beverage / Marketing & advertising
There's no explicit mention so far of any corporate sponsors behind
Les Terrasses Bleues, but we've heard it suggested that French
beer brand Kronenbourg 1664 is involved.
Digital 'passport' for online transactions
Financial services / Life hacks
Many types of online transaction require separate brick-and-mortar
visits to verify one's identity. UK-based miiCard aims to simplify
things with a pre-verified sign-on for use at participating sites.
Web-based email client targets senior citizens
Life hacks
Red Stamp Mail is a web-based email client that works with
existing email accounts. Using large, readable fonts and high-
contrast colours, it was designed to be simple and accessible.
Crowdsourced programmers guaranteed $35 per hour
Media & publishing
CanYouCode aims to match skilled coders with companies in need
of programming help. Both programmers and clients are vetted;
once accepted, coders are guaranteed at least USD 35 per hour.
Online book ambassadors create pre-release buzz
Media & publishing / Marketing & advertising
The Underground Book Club generates pre-release buzz for
new books by engaging marketing firm Attack's network of online
brand ambassadors. Selected ambassadors get advance copies.
Wine-maker uses grape extracts in new cosmetics line
Fashion & beauty / Eco & sustainability
Spanish wine-maker Group Matarromera has launched a cosmetics
line that makes use of the antioxidant-rich grape skins that are left
over by the wine-making process, plus other natural ingredients.
Outsourcing beta invitations for software testing
Media & publishing
Clients of Prefinery can launch a beta invite programme in seconds.
The software will be promoted on social media sites, and applicant
details collected. Approved testers are sent a unique invitation code.
Ten brands dishing up details on food origins
Food & beverage / Marketing & advertising
Increased transparency about the sources of ingredients from Iglo,
Stone-Buhr, Coca-Cola, Dole Organic, Askinosie, Chippindale
Foods, Frito-Lay, Fresh Express, Crop to Cup and Domino's Pizza.
In Paris, public fountain serves up sparkling water
Eco & sustainability / Food & beverage / Government
Part of efforts to improve the image of the city's tap water, Eau de
Paris injects city tap water with carbon dioxide and then chills
it to a pleasing temperature. Still water is also available.
Music site offers 'cure' for songs stuck in your head
Life hacks / Entertainment
Ostensibly to help people rid themselves of tunes stuck in their
heads, the Unhearit site offers 'equally catchy songs' ... plus
music streaming, download and purchase capabilities.
Glass of water app to help drivers reduce emissions
Automotive / Eco & sustainability / Telecom & mobile
Toyota's free iOS app A Glass of Water is based on the idea that if
everyone drove with a glass of water on their dashboard -- and
tried not to spill it -- driving would be gentler and more economical.
I'm a husband and father of three, who like many others, is looking at the road ahead and wondering where it will lead.
