Yes, we know these pictures are cheesy.
We've
finally succumbed to the pressure. Many of you have repeatedly asked us
about big, demographic trends (kids! boomers! gays! women!), to which
our answer has always been that there are so many trend firms doing
interesting stuff in this arena, that we don't have anything to add.
Except for one insight: that these FOREVER TRENDS have been so
thoroughly researched, the only thing left to do with them is to turn
them into new products, new services and new experiences for your
customers. Which may not be what some of you want to hear from us (what
about the numbers, the stats, the predictions?), but again we'll gladly
refer you to other firms' excellent in-depth reports.
To make a long story short: for this edition of our monthly trend briefing, we asked our spotters to keep an eye out for interesting new business concepts and products that are specifically aimed at women, the gay community and boomers.
We collected and analysed their findings and created a hands-on
snapshot of what brands around the world are ALREADY doing to serve
these demographics in innovative ways, making good money in the
process. We've also added a few business ideas we'd spotted in the
past, tracking their progress and in some cases, their demise.
So, without further ado, let's get started with:
Women.
The Mega Niche. The under-served market of all markets. And so on. Just
consider the fact that women, who comprise just over 50% of the US
population, make over 80% of the consumer purchasing decisions (and in
case you're wondering, consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of US
GNP). Consulting firm A.T. Kearney estimates that women determine 80
percent of consumption, purchase 60 percent of all cars and own 40
percent of all stocks. No wonder some companies have FEMALE FEVER these
days. Oh, and there are more numbers and insights galore on Trendsight, Rethink Pink, Marketing To Women Online and BlogHer. But hey, we were going to focus on examples, so here goes:
DIY | Barbara Kavovit (a.k.a. Barbara K)
is a former head of a major New York City construction firm. Her
business in her own words: "do-it-yourself home repair and home
improvement tool kits take away the 'fear factor' and empower women
with clear and simple day to day household solutions." Having made
quite a splash over the last few years, Barbara is expanding: there's
now a roadside safety kit for women, plus 24/7 road assistance.
The competition is alive and kicking too: Tomboy Tools
sells "fashionable matching construction apparel." Tomboy Tools are for
sale individually, in tool combos and in specialty kits for projects
such as tiling, drywalling, plumbing and woodworking. At home tool
parties, guests see products and basic home improvement repairs in
action and learn simple and cost-efficient techniques. Selling online
and Tupperware-style, tool parties in the US are held by over 900
consultants, while Tomboy Tools parties also take place in Canada and
the UK. The company is planning to expand to Australia and NZ.
For women on the go, there's Miss A Kit,
also known as the Miss Army Knife. The knife—available in a wide
variety of colours—sells for USD 19.95 and comes with a flashlight,
keychain, needle and thread, tweezers, perfume bottle, mirror and pill
box. Not only is this market still growing fast in the US, it is also
wide-open in the rest of the world. Even better, this IS the kind of
company that will get snapped up by an established DIY giant. Time to
get hands-on.
And where there are tools, there are courses: German hardware store Hornbach is offering Women at Work tiling courses, while in the US, Home Depot's Clinics Do-It-Herself program is still going strong.
Last but not least, Design Basics
offers woman-centric home plans for builders. As they point out on
their site: “There are four primary filters through which women
evaluate designs: how the home entertains; how the home helps her
de-stress; the flexibility of the home's design; and the home's ability
to address her storage needs."
Cars, motorcycles & scooters
| Cars designed to appeal to women are nothing new. Cars designed by
women however, are still a novelty. Which is why it's such a pity that Volvo's YCC
(Your Concept Car—“the first car designed and developed almost
exclusively by women”) remains just that: a concept car. Leaving a nice
market opportunity to the likes of Toyota or some up and coming Chinese
automotive brand.
Meanwhile, Street Diamond Motorcycles
are taking to the streets. Their bikes are designed to address the most
common complaints that have been expressed by women riders for years:
motorcycles are too heavy, too high, too wide and women can't reach the
ground comfortably. Wicked Women Choppers goes after the same target audience, while New Zealand based Towanda is more of an intermediary: a motorcycle tours provider for women by women.
The industry's icon, Harley Davidson, runs a website dedicated to female bikers, but no word yet on an actual women-only Harley.
For women and girls looking for a lighter two-wheel ride, Hero Honda India introduced a Pleasure scooter and Just4her sales points last fall, opening 22 dedicated Just4her stores across 20 cities (source: Rediff).
Apart from having an all-women sales staff—the company is working on
creating all-women teams of mechanics as well—the stores' ambience and
scooter's design adheres to one strict rule: appeal to women. There's
even a mirror in front of the scooter, pandering to the feminine habit
of checking how a potential purchase looks—whether it's a scarf, a
shopping bag, or in this case, a scooter. The company also introduced
the Lady Rider Club, offering special benefits that include milestone
rewards, personal accident insurance and special events for members. So
far, the Pleasure has notched up sales of over 100,000 units.
Oh, and let's not forget about automotive insurance: UK-based Sheilas' Wheels, a division of esure,
launched in October 2005 to provide competitive quotes for women.
Sheilas' Wheels designed a policy for women, with features such as
additional coverage for handbags and their contents up to GBP 300 if
stolen or damaged while in the car, a 24-hour confidential counselling
line for policyholders and the option to add other important services
such as legal protection. Sheilas' Wheels is currently taking on new
customers at a rate of over 2,000 a week, beating its own growth
targets for this stage by 60%. Like most of the other ideas in this
briefing, the global market for services like this remains wide-open.
Last
male bastion in the automotive world: the repair shop. Expect
female-friendly versions to multiply. To get started, check out
Detroit-based Motor City Sales and Service and FrauenAUTOwerkstatt in Salzburg.
Taxis
| Being chauffeured around town should be as much fun as owning a car.
Unfortunately, that isn't always the case. In London alone, 10 women
are attacked each month after getting into an unlicensed mini-cab. No
wonder that many women feel safer taking a taxi driven by a woman. Pink Ladies
spotted a business opportunity, and created the UK's first women-only
private car hire franchise. The Pink Ladies drive Renault Kangoos that
are pink inside and out, making them highly visible. Passengers sign up
as members, and fares are either pre-paid, paid by credit card or with
a 'pink account', which is convenient for members and safe for drivers.
Booking is done over the phone, and a text message is sent to the
customer to let her know the vehicle is approaching, which means she
doesn't have to wait outside. Drivers are trained in self-defense and
will wait outside a customer's home after a drop-off to ensure she gets
in safely.
The phenomenon is spreading globally: there's recently launched Forsche
in Bombay, whose taxis include conveniences like wet wipes and perfumed
talcum powder to freshen up on the way to a work meeting, nail polish
remover and nail clippers and women's magazines. Nice detail: Forsche's
female founder is former amateur rally driver Revathi Roy. Expansion to
Pune, and starting a driving school for women is next on her agenda (no
website yet, unfortunately). In Moscow, Pink Taxi and Ladies Red Taxi are vying for female business. Still leaves a lot of cities to bring this service to!
Beer and wine
| Liqueur-style beverages aimed at women have been around for ages, but
beer and wine makers are now actively pursuing the female palate, too.
There's Karmi,
a regional brand produced by the Polish division of Carlsberg. Karmi is
a dark beer that has been around for a while, characterized by its
sweet caramel flavour that wasn't aimed at a specific gender.
Categorized as a near-beer for its low alcohol content (0.1%), the
drink has been revamped and is now being targeted to women. Besides
pretty new packaging, Karmi has also introduced three new flavours:
Poema di Caffé (coffee), Selua (pineapple/piña colada) and Lamai
(guava, dragonfruit and mint).
In Holland and Belgium, three major players have recently introduced rosé beers aimed at women. Heineken's Wieckse Rosé, Hoegaarden Rosée and Gulpener Rosé are sweet, low-alcohol beers with fruit flavours and colours. This vets them against Dutch Sophie & Sophie,
who peddle their wine refresher for women as "a low-calories and
low-alcohol drink made of rosé wines from Mediterranean Spain."
German brewer Karlsberg is also convinced that it can get more women to drink beer, though its Karla
beer comes with a different twist: health benefits. Which has to do
with the fact that in Germany, many women view beer as unhealthy,
fattening or unsophisticated. So Karla, a beer for women, is marketed
as improving health and well-being. The mixed drink comes in three
varieties: Balance, Well Be and Acti-Fit. All are low in alcohol
content (1%) and are blends of beer and fruit juices. Emphasis on
health prompted an unusual distribution channel: Karla is sold through
pharmacists.
Sports | We know, there are plenty of dedicated stores for athletic wear for women these days. However, as Nike Women
is showing with its constant expansion and initiatives, there's also a
healthy appetite for ever-more-sophisticated brands and retail outlets.
Besides Nike Women, check out Sporteve, Paiva, South African Femme Sportif, Outdoor Divas (tagline: "Women are not small men"), and Patagonia Women's Clothing and Gear. Feels like a distribution or franchise deal waiting to happen for eager female entrepreneurs?
Buzz | Women in the United States can now sign up to test-drive new products in exchange for their honest opinions and reviews at SheSpeaks.
Here's how it works: when users sign up, they complete a questionnaire
about their interests, hobbies, likes and dislikes. SheSpeaks selects
an appropriate product match, which the members receive in two to three
weeks. Products are theirs to keep, and to try out in their own homes
and as part of their everyday lives. In exchange, members provide their
candid feedback online on the SheSpeaks website. Discussion boards
allow testers to exchange views and opinions with other women who have
tested the same products. After the review process, users can get the
scoop on how their reviews may have impacted a product before it goes
to market, which creates a nice feedback loop. Over 30,000 women from
across the country have already signed up.
Procter & Gamble's Vocalpoint
has a similar set up, but obviously focuses on P&G products ("for
moms") only. According to BusinessWeek, Vocalpoint had more than
600,000 members in 2006. Time to partner with these folks?
Food and non-alcoholic beverages
| Every innovation manager worth her/his salt knows that if you're
really stuck for good ideas, you can always introduce a new food item,
snack or beverage aimed at kids, boomers, students, office workers or,
yes, women. As USA Today recently pointed out, the number of food
innovations targeted at women is in the hundreds per year, and that's
just in the US.
If you need more inspiration from this field, then sample Republic of Tea's Nutritional Iced Tea for Women, French Meadow Bakery Woman's Bread and Woman's Tortillas and recently resurrected Tab Energy.
And let's not forget functional foods and cosmeceuticals. Four "functional beverages" to get you going:
Danone Essensis,
recently launched in a number of European countries, is a drink made
from fermented milk and fruit, with Omega 6, green tea extract and
vitamin E. According to the French company, 'the natural ingredients in
Essensis reach the deepest skin layers through the circulation system.
Essensis makes sure that the cells in the skin that arrive to the top
layers during the skin renewal process are of the best quality.
Moreover, apart from improving the quality of the skin, Essensis also
reinforces the skin barrier, thus limiting external aggressions whilst
ensuring that the skin is adequately hydrated." View one of their
commercials here.
In the US, keep an eye on BORBA Drinkable Skin Care. While experts by no means agree on proven benefits of functional foods, consumers are more than willing to give them a try.
Last but not least, Coca-Cola and L'Oreal are to introduce a "nutraceutical drink" called Lumaé
next year (no website yet). The drink will include skin-care
ingredients, and will be marketed as a beauty brand, not a soft drink.
For friskier functionality, check out Swedish Nexcite,
a soft drink containing five "love herbs": damiana, ginseng, guarana,
mate and schizandra, plus a little caffeine. The mixture allegedly
jump-starts the female libido and increases stamina and endurance. In
addition to a 200 ml bottle, Nexcite is also available in a 750 ml
champagne-style bottle for special occasions.
Where to buy these functional foods and other convenience items? Why, in Tokyo convenience store Happily,
of course. In Happily's own words, the stores is "of, for and by
women." The first outlet, located in Tokyo's Toranomon business
district, offers cosmetics and nutritional supplements. Only 20 percent
of the products are the same as those at conventional convenience
stores owned by the same chain. Clerks are all women, except at night.
To enable women—especially so-called office ladies—to have fun and
relax while shopping, the store not only offers a wide range of
skin-care products and dietary supplements, but also boasts a lavish
powder room with a dressing table, full-length mirror and a stool for
changing stockings. Aromatic oils are used to scent the air. The
Happily store is owned by AM/PM, which last year also launched a chain
of outlets that offer DVD rentals and book sales in addition to
traditional convenience store fare. One to ponder for the 7/11s and
Fresh & Easy's of this world?
Oh, and last AND probably least: South Korean MrPizza
sells a low-fat Pizza for Women. Spotted in Seoul, and the jury is
still out on whether this is an advertising play or a serious attempt
at diversification ;-)
Travel
| We're going to be brief on this one, just like we're going to be
brief on boomers and travel, and the gay community and travel: there
are too many established travel examples here to really surprise
anyone. But if you're in travel and leisure, do check out Wyndham Hotels
one more time, as they were the first hotel brand to dedicate an entire
program and department to the emerging female business travel market
when they launched their Women On Their Way
back in 1995. Women, by the way, now account for 50% of all Wyndham
travellers. Which makes it worthwhile to focus on things like
women-only floors with improved security, female-orientated reading
materials and menus, improved beauty and clothing facilities (standing
mirrors, powerful hair-dryers, skirt hangers), improved room service
menus and discreet check-in procedures.
For further inspiration, there's networking site LadiesAway, or take some cues from Lufthansa's Woman's World, a magazine for Lufthansa's female frequent flyers.
Exclusive access | If access is the new luxury must-have (more on the ACCE$$ trend in our upcoming 2008 Trend Report), then the following initiatives may well succeed:
Italian La Spiaggia in Rosa,
a women-only beach with all female staff and on-site services like a
hairdresser, make-up artist, fitness classes and a low-calorie menu at
the beach restaurant. Or how about an entire women-only town in China? A women-only island in Iran? Women-only metros and trains
in Japan, Taiwan, Russia and Egypt? Which of the services that you're
currently providing could be made accessible to women only?
Banking, investing and insurance |
Financial institutions around the world are finally recognizing that
women often have their own needs and goals when it comes to banking,
investing and insurance. Women & Co (more on them below) list some
useful US-based numbers on their website, arguing why women need
different kinds of financial advice:
 Average life expectancy for women is 81 years versus 73 years for men (Social Security Administration, 2006).
The average age of widowhood for women is 55 years old (US Census, 2006).
By 2010, women are expected to own half of wealth in the United States (Women in Higher Education, 2007).
Women 65 years or older today have a 44% chance of entering a nursing
home at some point in their lives (Genworth Financial, 2006).
The typical woman spends 10 years out of the workforce for care giving,
while the typical man spends just two years (Joint Economic Committee,
March 2006).
A quick list for the financially inclined:
Banks
Mujer Banorte,
the first bank to go after the female market in Mexico. Services
include insurance for illnesses common to women, including cervical
cancer.
Standard Chartered Bank
in Kolkata, India, boasts an all-woman bank branch. All staffers at
Standard Chartered Bank's Jodhpur Park branch in Kolkata, which opened
this May, are women—down to the security guards. And though men won't
be driven away, the purpose behind opening the branch is to attract
more women customers. The launch of the branch was based on customer
feedback which indicated that female customers would prefer a
'non-inhibiting' environment. On the cards are workshops for women on
financial planning and investments. Particular efforts are being made
to provide information related to investments, and the concept will
also be taken to other Indian cities. (Tip of the hat to Times of India
and Hindu Business Line.)
Pakistani First Women Bank was founded in 1989 and strives for the economic empowerment of women.
And in Kenya, Equity Bank
is about to open women-only bank branches. The initiative will receive
a USD 75 million cash injection from the United Nations Development
Programme.
Investing
Available nationwide in the US, Citigroup's Women & Co
is aimed at women under 55 with at least USD 100,000 in investable
assets. An annual USD 125 membership fee gives members access to an
advisor from Salomon Smith Barney or Citicorp Investment Services,
newsletters and seminars, and special rates for mortgages, child care
facilities and saving funds.
United Arab Emirates investment firm Forsa
is hoping to tap into the largely overlooked market of wealthy GCC
women with the launch of investment funds worth AED 250 million (USD 68
million) open to female investors only. Forsa, set up by Dubai World
this January, controls an AED 200 million dirham general fund and an
AED 50 million real estate fund. Forsa is open to Emirati and
expatriate women with a minimum investment of AED 50,000 to one
million.
Also, British fund manager Bramdean is also considering introducing its women-only service, Bramdiva,
in Dubai. The service is already available in Britain. The fund is lead
by Nicola Horlick—dubbed the superwoman of the UK's fund management
world—who, after Dubai, hopes to expand Bramdiva to Saudi Arabia,
targeting super wealthy women.
Dutch ABN Amro just launched Lady Delight,
an investment fund for and by, you guessed it, women. Lady Delight
invests in three major funds managed by women: Odin Europa, JPMorgan UK
Smaller Companies and Morgan Stanley Latin America.
Insurance
South African 1st for Women
offers motor vehicle and household insurance for women only. Based on
the belief that women are a safer bet because they don't put one
another in senseless danger, the company is expanding quickly: there's
now a 1st for Women in Australia, too. German women have access to LadyCarOnline (car insurance) and Aspecta's Frauen.invest (life insurance).
The
list goes on, proving our point: just get going, if you're not already
adding to FEMALE FEVER yourself ;-) Similar opportunities for catering
to the gay community and baby boomers can been found on the next pages.
Source: Trendwatching: www.trendwatching.com
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