Reach the next level: embark on a PhD
My journey to the PhD level is slowly coming to an end. My private PhD defense is scheduled on June 30th. I thought it would be a good idea to use my blog to reflect on the last 6 years of work. I was inspired by Laurence Dessart’s blog, another PhD candidate I met at the Edinburgh University. Laurence holds also a blog where she uses to post advices and thoughts about her own PhD work....
International retailing of « Made in Italy » products
The results of a market research carried out in the UK and France revealed some interesting pieces of information about how brands leverage the “country of origin” dimension in the stores. This market study was presented at the International Marketing Trends Conference that took place in January 2014 in Venice and is the result of the work of 8 researchers. It starts by showing that the previously acknowledged COO (Country of Origin) dimension has been slowly...
3D printed photo figurines: a winner-takes-all market ?
3d printing is hot. New applications pop up every day and we even saw last week a 3D printer that was 3D printed. One thing is sure. With each day that passes, the appearance of 3D printed objects will come closer to the original model. You may remember the post we published in 2014 on this stunning startup we discovered in Berlin: Twinkind. This startup stunned us. Their technology allowed to get a 3D photo figure...
Food & drinks : just remix to innovate
You may remember this old post we published on innovation : innovation is a remix. Well, it seems that in the food & drink business (we are just back from SIAL) some innovations are just about that : applying old recipes to a new sector. If you are European chances are high that you consume pistachios in one of those two ways : roasted (in the shell) or nature. For Setton farmers, a California-based company, this...
Gumelo lets you grow your own food
We met the entrepreneurial guys of Gumelo, a Portuguese startup in the food sector, at the SIAL 2014 fair in Paris. We just loved what they do and thought it would be good for them to get some exposure beyond the borders of Portugal. Grow mushrooms in your apartment As we explained in a previous article, the concept behind Gumelo is simple : wherever you live, you should be able to grow your own food. Gumelo’s...
SIAL 2014 : and the winner of the innovation award is …
You don’t need to present a new drink or a new food product to win the first prize of innovation at SIAL. The innovation is also about everything what revolves about consumers and new ways to consumer food. We already dealt with the nomadic market trend in an earlier article and this year’s innovation prize fits perfectly into this trend. This award rewards an individual who has understood what marketers call the “customers’ pains” and that...
Produce your own food : the new trend
There is one weak signal that emerged this year at SIAL that we think may be interesting to follow : “grow your own food”. We detected at least 3 products that fall into this category and we’d like to present them to you. Don’t buy : make it on your own The concept behind the “grown your food” trend is simple. You can produce what your eat and it’s not limited to vegetables or fruits. Any...
Back from SIAL 2014 : pictures and impressions
Before publishing some detailed reports on the new concepts, innovative products we saw at this year’s SIAL in Paris, we thought it may be a good idea to give you a general overview. The SIAL 2014 was just amazing, as usual : outstanding organization, the broadest range of suppliers you can find on Earth (some 6000 exhibitors), the most innovative products … just everything was there to make this show one of the most successful ever....
SIAL : the best place to conduct market research on food & drink trends
The worldwide largest food & drink fair will open next month (from Oct 19 until Oct 23rd). Some 6300 exhibitors from 103 countries (!) will attend the show and present what is thought to be the largest products range available on earth. The fair is held every 2 years and we have the pleasure to have be press-accredited for 4 years. Why is it important for us to visit the SIAL We visit the SIAL for...
Pop-up stores: what do they reveal about the future of retail
I’ve received several interview requests during the summer to discuss the future of retail. In today’s article I want to share with you my thoughts about pop-up stores, a (relatively) new forms of retail that reflects changes in our world and changes in the way the consumers behave. 1999 : the start of the pop-up stores It seems that the first pop-up store opened in 1999 in Los Angeles. The word pop-up meant at that time...
Customer satisfaction: BMW enables tracking of your order
A few days ago we were dealing with digital innovation in Brussels’ BMW Flagship store. BMW inspired us once again with an IT innovation proposed to customers ordering a new car. Ordering a car can be an amazing and joyful experience; accepting the delivery time can be much more frustrating especially with German cars which have long waiting lists. If you are an oversea customer this frustration is even higher as you know that you long...
Western Union blue ocean strategy to increase loyalty
At the International Marketing Trends conference in Venice, Maureen Sigliano presented Western Union’s global loyalty strategy. Maureen is Vice President Global Loyalty Development & Customer Experience at Western Union and her speech, besides being highly inspiring, also shook up some established rules about customer satisfaction and loyalty. A Blue Ocean of untapped opportunities Maureen’s speech was preceded by a presentation by Michael Hänhlein on current state of customer relationship management (CRM). Michael insisted that firms’ efforts...
The innovation strategy of Edenred to conquer new markets
At the International Marketing Trends Conference in Venice, Damien Joannes of Edenred explained the strategy of his group to diversify its activities and conquer market shares. The key seemed to be in proposing services tailored to evolving needs of businesses. The story starts with the Ticket Restaurant The story started in 1962 with the invention of the ticket restaurant in France. From 1976 until a period of geographical expansion followed and from 2000 until 2010 the...
The secrets of market research: how to avoid pitfalls when creating a new venture. Part 2
In our first article of this series of 3 on market research, we dealt with the methodology of market research and with trends and competition analysis. Today we move to the analysis of demand and will go in depth on qualitative and quantitative research. Demand analysis This analysis aims at qualifying and quantifying the demand for your product or service. In other words your goal should be to “see” whether the market wants, needs your...
One Day One Idea : use offbeat humour to sell your stuffs
The marketing idea in brief Sometimes in worthwhile to be “offbeat”, i.e. not to follow the rules (especially the marketing ones). Look for instance at the example of this store I came across while in Barcelona on Passeig de Garcia. Pitty I can’t remember its name. It was just crowdy, full of people looking for the latest gadget to buy in this modern bric-a-brac. Even if you had already everything on earth you’d find something to...
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