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FuturistU > Innovation & Change > Opportunity Hunting > Module 3 / 4

The 4 Levels of Opportunity Hunting

Instructor: Jeremy Gutsche
Whether you’re an entrepreneur, artist, beureaucrat, or marketer, your goal probably involves creating something that “connects” with other human beings. However, your creativity and effectiveness are likely hindered by organizational structure, uncertainty, and unexploited opportunity.

To break free of these constraints, you need a trend-spotting toolkit. This module provides that toolkit; a sort of "plan of attack" that will help you filter through the noise and increase your likelihood of “connecting” new products and services with your customers.
Workshop Questions:
1. Looking back, what was one opportunity in your company's grasp that you wish you had taken advantage of?
2. Contrarily, what is one opportunity you feel you took full advantage of, and how could you replicate that opportunity-spotting process?
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Insights by Trend Hunter AI

Private Plant
Large retailers are investing in plant-based products for their private label brands
Trend - Grocery retailers are increasingly launching plant-based and vegan products under their private label brands. Marketed as more cost-effective, these products claim to offer the same flavors, tastes, and textures as branded products for a fraction of the price and with less ecological impact.
Workshop Question - How can your brand make a premium category more accessible to more kinds of consumers?
5.4
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Supplier Fair
Brands are attending supplier diversity fairs to identify businesses to invest in
Trend - Brands are increasingly attending conferences and fairs that promote businesses from diverse suppliers. These events, which typically feature minority-, women-, veteran-, and LGBTQ+-owned companies, foster relationships between large corporations in search of vendors that meet diversity criteria.
Workshop Question - How can your brand source certain aspects of its product/service from marginalized communities?
4.6
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Green Loyalty
F&B brands encourage sustainable consumption with eco-friendly rewards systems
Trend - In response to global sustainability concerns, brands are designing new loyalty programs to encourage and reward shoppers for making environmentally friendly choices. These programs typically offer discounts on eco-friendly products, rewards points, or donations to environmental causes.
Workshop Question - How can your brand align its reward systems with environmental and social issues?
6.1
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Refill Retail
Refill products now make up entire stores to promote sustainable consumption
Trend - Brands are launching retail stores that offer a variety of household and personal care products through bulk dispensers. These stores claim to reduce environmental impact by allowing customers to refill containers and pay by weight, reducing reliance on potentially harmful packaging methods.
Workshop Question - What steps can your brand take to minimize waste in product development and marketing?
6.2
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Medical Electrolyte
Electrolyte-based supplements and drinks come with additional medical benefits
Trend - As the demand for "clean" ingredients enters even OTC medicines, health and wellness brands are positioning new electrolyte-based products as medicine for mild ailments. These products are purported to treat everything from headaches and nausea to sleep regulation.
Workshop Question - How could your brand better prioritize "natural" sourcing and positioning?
4.9
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
AI Novice
Artificial intelligence becomes more prevalent alongside services teaching the basics
Trend - As AI becomes more prevalent due to well-known apps such as ChatGPT, consumers feel a growing push to both understand and utilize the technology more confidently. New technologies can be intimidating, especially when the technology is one with such magnitude as artificial intelligence. These services aim to lower the barrier to entry.
Workshop Question - How can your brand develop services that demystify artificial intelligence and help consumers feel more confident in utilizing the technology?
4.8
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Employee Toolkits
Employee upskilling toolkits address evolving workplace expectations
Trend - Employees now expect flexibility, inclusion and higher standards of ethics from their employers. In response to these evolving expectations, businesses are investing in less formal educational toolkits for employees that promote workplace wellbeing, transparency and sustainable practices.
Workshop Question - How can your brand offer employee resources that better reflect their areas of interest or need?
3.6
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Consumer Marketplace
Brands are launching first-party storefronts to connect consumers to others
Trend - Brands across multiple industries are launching consumer-to-business-to-consumer (C2B2C) storefronts. C2B2C offers consumers discounts on products and enables consumers to sell unwanted products while the business handles transactions and verifies the quality of listed items.
Workshop Question - How might your brand benefit from connecting its consumers via an online marketplace or forum?
5.9
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Senior Retail
Retailers are making shopping more convenient for elderly demographics
Trend - As accessibility becomes a priority for more brands, some are offering initiatives that assist elderly shoppers in-store. In-store assistance, accessible environments and senior-specific shopping zones are all prioritizing convenience for elderly consumers.
Workshop Question - How could your brand better adapt to the needs of consumers who require accessible solutions?
5.6
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Electrostatic Disinfection
Advanced home sanitation products provide long-term disinfection
Trend - While many consumers are familiar with traditional forms of sanitation, such as alcohol-based cleaning products, the pandemic caused more people to get familiar with contactless, electrostatic sprayers for disinfection. These are advanced tools that create barriers against harmful bacteria
Workshop Question - How can your brand address the increased importance of home sanitation in the post-pandemic world, while also keeping cost and time investment in mind?
6.1
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends