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Companies To Watch in 2008 - Vita Coco

If you've been working out with at the gym lately then you're likely to have noticed that Gatorade type sport drinks are no longer the beverage of choice amongst trainers and coaches. 

What's replaced it?

Coconut water.

While it's been around for a few years, this is the year that flavored coconut water drinks are poised to break through into the mainstream.

And the company that poised to reap the most benefits is Vita Coco, a small beverage firm launched in 2005 in New York by two high-school friends Ira Liran and Michael Kirban.

Made from 100% pure water from young green coconuts from Brazil, Vita Coco is a natural rehydrant that has 15 times the potassium of Gatorade and tons of Vitamin C, calcium and magnesium.   

Gatorade, watch your back.

Le Méridien Launches LM100 Art and Culture Program

This week at Art Basil in Miami, Le Méridien Hotels will officially launch the LM100, an innovative program in which 100 art, architecture, cuisine, design and fashion innovators will assist the brand as consultants through 2012.

The first 12 members of the LM100 are Jérôme Sans (Le Méridien’s Cultural Curator), chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, wine consultant Linda Grabe, artist Michael Lin, photographer Ralph Gibson, filmmaker Kiki Allgeier, composer Henri Scars Struck, designer Nick Dine, artist Sam Samore, artist Hisham Bharoocha, perfumers Eddie Roschi and Fabrice Penot, and coffee god Andrea Illy. To kick off the LM100 program, Kiki Allgeier has created a wonderful series of short video documentaries specifically for the web.  I've included a few below. You can see the whole series on YouTube by clicking here or on Facebook by clicking here:

 

Some of the first LM100 design initiatives in the hotels are art-themed key cards, a new signature scent, coffee and wine tastings, and a book of fairytales, written for Le Méridien by Sam Samore. Also, be sure to check out Le Méridien's new website. There are some extremely innovative features on the site that are firsts for the hotel industry (more on that next week)

Niches Rule!

For years,  common wisdom for any successful business was to get big as fast as you could. 

"Mass" was the only game to play.

But now, in an age where there internet makes everything accessible from your couch via a mouse click, niches matter. 

Today's rallying cry is - "DECOMMODITIZE!"

Mass is no longer fashionable. 

A great example of this is Blue Moon Beer.   

Brandweek has an interesting little article on the back page which recounts how the marketing team for Blue Moon declined to be interviewed by Brandweek for a profile on the company. The reason being was that Blue Moon, which positions itself in the marketplace as a craft brewed Belgian-style ale, is actually owned by Coors Brewing Company.  When it comes to beer, it can't get any more "mass" then Coors.

There's a line in the Brandweek article that speaks to the heart of just how important niche (or at least the perception of niche) is in today's marketplace:

"(There is) the fear that people might stop drinking the word-of-mouth brand if they knew it was borne by a big brewer."

Coors is so protective that Blue Moon be perceived as "indie" that last year it stopped handing out samples of the beer at the Coors booth during convenience store expos. Now, when you see Blue Moon at a trade show, it's positioned as being from the "Blue Moon Brewing Co. of Golden, Colo", not from Coors.

Speaking about the importance of niche, there's a line (that I think came from Steve Heyer) that gives great advice to those who strive for mass:

"Nothing can stay mainstream forever"

Talk About Brand Adoration!

(via)

Getting The Smile

One thing is for certain - Apple understands retail. 

Masters of experience engineering, Apple has perfected the art of creating emotional connections with guests in the retail environment. 

Today's New York Times has a terrific article which compares Apple's approach to retail with that of Sony. 

Here's my favorite quote from the article:

"Mr. Jobs understood, however, that his stores would sell not merely products but also gratification.  He told the trade magazine Chain Store Age Executive in 2001: "When I bring something home to the kids, I want to get the smile. I don't want the U.P.S guy to get the smile."

Trend Alert: "Skimmers"

Proving once again that with a bit of creativity and inspiration, every brand has the ability to re-invent itself.

The Eleanor Grosch designed line of "skimmers" for Keds is quickly becoming the "hot" shoe line for Spring. 

So, what's a "skimmer"?

From my wife, I've learned that a skimmer is a half tennis shoe, half ballet flat.

And that they've suddenly become all the rage.