In the UK, carbon neutral chocolate bar is shipped by wooden sailboat
The cocoa industry is one that has been especially affected by social movements to improve its practice, from fair trade to ideas concerning sustainability, such as Original Beans‘ scheme to plant a tree for each chocolate bar sold in the location it was sourced. Aiming to be the world’s most ethical chocolate bar, the Gru Grococo is now adding carbon-neurality into the mix, with a price to match. READ MORE…
Laser-cut nori rolls enable sushi with a designer touch
It’s been an ongoing theme here at Springwise over the years that there are very few product categories that can’t benefit from a style-infused upgrade. Case in point? Japanese Umino Seaweed Shop’s rolls of nori that are laser-cut in designer patterns. READ MORE…
Sensory alarm broadcasts late-night fridge raids on users’ social networks
Hot on the heels of our recent story about Aherk!, the app that encourages users to complete tasks by threatening to publish embarrassing photos to their Facebook wall, we got word of yet another online tool involving a form of self-blackmail. Rather than focusing on productivity, however, the Virtual Fridge Lock aims to help users stick to their diets. Its method? Send an alert to their social networks when the fridge is opened late at night. READ MORE…
Doughnut shop closes its doors each day as soon as it sells out
There’s nothing like a little planned scarcity to increase a product’s appeal, and we’ve seen several strategic uses of it over the years. Now joining that list is The Doughnut Vault, a Chicago venue that closes up shop each day as soon as its doughnuts sell out. READ MORE…
App connects consumers with discounts to reduce food waste
We have already seen startups such as ThinkNear offer discounts to potential customers via their smartphones at times when traders experience a slow period. Now France-based Zéro Gâchis is planning to do something similar to reduce the amount of food which is thrown away by businesses. READ MORE…
Free food and drinks at Moscow café, where patrons pay by the minute
We’ve already seen free food and drinks served up at brand-sponsored cafés — Toronto’s Optimism Café, for example, and Japanese Free Café Harimaya Station — but Russian Babochki Anticafé is taking a different approach. At this Moscow establishment, consumers pay nothing for their refreshments, but they are charged by the minute for the time they spend there. READ MORE…
Subscription service offers organic baby food direct from local farms
There’s no shortage of efforts bringing more sustainable and transparent food alternatives to consumers. Now, New York-based Farm to Baby NYC is specifically targeting parents with a subscription-based service offering organic baby food. READ MORE…
Games developer launches themed restaurant
Regular Springwise readers may remember our article from 2010 about Snakes and Lattes, a themed café in Canada stocked with 1,500 board games. Now taking the idea of a game themed eatery to the next level, Capcom, the Japanese video games developer, recently launched the Capcom Bar in Tokyo, complete with in-house game kiosks and game-inspired dishes. READ MORE…
In Spain, vending machine sells fresh seafood
A few months ago we spotted an entrepreneurial baker in France who had installed an automated baguette dispenser outside his shop, enabling him to continue trading after shop opening hours. Now near Bilbao, Spain, a pair of fishmongers with a similar idea have installed a vending machine that sells fresh fish 24 hours a day, every day of the week. READ MORE…
With every half-sized restaurant meal, a donation to fight hunger
Pay-what-you-can pricing is one way for a restaurant to help fight hunger during tough economic times, but recently we came across a different approach that aims to combat obesity and waste as well. It’s called Halfsies, and it’s essentially a program that’s designed to help consumers eat less at restaurants while helping to feed the hungry and minimize the amount of food that gets thrown out. READ MORE…
