Nicole van der Burgh, from the Erasmus Coolhunt ‘08: On a Dutch television show (called Het Beste Idee van Nederland), I saw a very good example of using the factor ‘experience’ to differentiate a product. To young entrepreneurs added an experience to the product bottled mineral water, by developing “Eau de pussy”. To be honest, the idea is as horrible as it sounds but I think it is a perfect example how the factor ‘experience’ is used to differentiate in the market of a mature product, filled with an overload of competitors. The idea of Eau de Pussy is as follows: People (I presume men in particular) order a bottle (0.5 liters) of Eau de Pussy in a bar, club or restaurant. On the backside of the bottle, a code is printed. The consumer fills in the code on the website http://www.eaudepussy.com (not available yet), which leads to the showing of a picture of a beautiful naked lady that bathed in the water you just drank. Also, the creators thought of a surprise variant; in this case you have the chance that it was not a beautiful lady who bathed in your water, it could also be an elephant or a really fat looking lady.

By Dick Priems, from Tio Coolhunt ‘08:
There is a new TV commercial of Bacardi in Holland, and probably also outside of Holland. In this commercial there is a guy who orders a new alcoholic drink, the girl next to him orders a water. He laughs at her because of the water, drinks his glass in no time empty and he goes to the dance floor. A other guy who is just dancing, touches him unintentionally and the guy of the alcoholic drink starts a fight and get kicked out of the club. He walks to a alley and have to throw over. Than the commercial is playing in reverse from that point. So the guy walk normally back into the club, greets the security man, back on the dance floor he says to the guy who touch him softly: No problem and smiles. And finally back to the beginning of the commercial he also order a water instead of the alcoholic drink. Than they say something like: Don’t let the drinks control your night. ‘

Robert Bakker, the Netherlands:
On a holiday visit in Amiens (France) there was a ‘beach’ made in the centre of the town, along a small canal. On this beach there were people eating pastas from cardboard boxes I only knew from Chinese take-away in American movies. After a little search we found the ”Mezzo di Pasta” store. It is a McDonalds-like store where they sell pastas.

Fabrizio Bolis, Italia:
Consortiums of farmers have decided to install automatic vending machines to sell their mild directly to the public; these automatic distributors can be found near busstops, inside foodstores (bakeries etc.) and throughout communities and residential areas.

Is not only a successful convenient store, but also the biggest fast food retailer in Japan (far beyond Mc Do, Bking or any other food and restaurant brand/chain).
This is possible because they have a highly integrated infosystem/stockkeeping/deliverancesystem in combination with a three to five times a day delivenarnce of fresh goods. Also the location where you would find something in the store is changed for convenience reasons for the customers up to five times a day. Eg. In the morning you would find the quarter liter milk bottel lying in the fridge on top (pik demand of the office workers buying their cold lunch), during the afternoon the semi liter or liter bottles are on top (because housewifes are buying for cooking).

Kim Wesseling:
The baker store, for breakfast, lunch, tea and celebrations
People are taking the time again for eating. We name this development ‘slow food.’ Before this, people were eating and drinking fast in restaurants and bars, but this time is over. They want to take the time for a good conversation, nice food and the most important: they like it the most in a pleasant living room area. This baker store satisfies totally at this ideal with the authentic, living room design. It is an unusual baker store. The design is modern but very pleasant and the products are traditional. They sell a lot of cakes, sandwiches and bread. This traditional delicacy brings you in another kind of world for a moment.
At these pictures you can see the outside and a part of the inside of the store. The designs and colours are a little bit old fashion but it gives a pleasant feeling, like home.
This bakery and these pictures fit to the trend name Experience Economy because this is about the feelings and the perceptions of the people. They get that from this unusual and special bakery.

Brit Boonekamp:
De taart van m’n tante,” my aunties cake in English, is a concept that was created by Siemon de Jong and Noam Offer. These men have grown to become the producers of the most beautiful cakes in Holland. Since a few years, the “Taart van m’n tante” are being sold in the Konditorei on the Ferdinand Bolstraat. Here the men own a café, which looks like the housmade of sweets from the fairytale of Hansel en Gretel. Everything is pink and red and the place is filled with cakes. In this café you can have a cup of coffee and taste, create, or take home one of their cakes from “De taart van m’n tante.”
The Konditorei is already well know for its unique cakes you can order but the café is not very popular yet. This is going to be a big hit because everybody is looking for something different in restaurants, bars or cafes. And this café is different. A few magazines have written articles about this place but the best way of advertisement here in Amsterdam must be, talk amongst people. And that is what’s happening, the people that go to this café have heard about It from friends. It’s a lovely, cosy and cute place to be and you can drink your coffee and eat your cake in peace even if it is busy.  So you can have the cake and eat it too!

Dirk Adriaenssen, Belgium:
Helixir is a chain of juicebars which sell only fresh and healthy products like smoothies and fresh fruits. The way they design their products, the shops and the total atmosphere makes is even look more healthier, fresh an delicious.

Jörg Bitzer, Austria:
This morning, when I drove to the office I saw no less then 5 posters on the way from home to the office. Even though, it`s not a retail concept in the “closest meaning of the word”, it closely has to do with foodretailing and adressing new customer basis. Both should fit into finding a “Retail concept”
IGLO is the largest producer of frozen foods in Austria. One of its major products is frozen fish. You may not think about it, but this is a FISH advertisement, saying: NOT ONLY ON FRIDAY`S: YOU WILL GET A GREAT BODY EVERY DAY, WHEN YOU EAT FISH. The guys shown on the picture are the Austrian National Team of skiing, so pretty well known to the Austrian public…

Ilker Aydin, Turkey: Being established as a coffee mail order firm, Tchibo now is an international corporation selling a wide variety of products besides coffee.
The company combines a small coffee shop with a retailer selling a wide variety of products. The product range includes travel, mobile calling plans, financial services, fashion and technology.
The power of attraction mainly comes from experience served and design of the product. In the words of Tchibo, anything that provides enjoyment with an element of surprise, that is irresistibly beautiful, that is comfortingly clear and uncluttered.

Simon Smith, UK:
In the UK over the last 5 years there has been a rebirth in interest in cookery and fine cuisine and the emergence of the cult of ‘celebrity’. These two social forces have blended to create a new restaurant near where I live called The Thatch. The Michelin starred chef, Raymond Blanc, hosted a TV series in the UK which featured a number of restaurant owners who were competing to open a new restaurant to be supported and funded by Raymond Blanc himself. The TV series was hugely successful and the winners of the competition, a young couple, now run The Thatch.

Christopher Sodl, Austria: “Babette’s” is located close to the famous „Naschmarkt“, an old market place in the city of Vienna. It’s a bookstore for cooks and people who love cooking, a meeting point for those who want to discuss recipes, a restaurant for people working in the area and in the evening it’s a classroom for different groups learning how to cook.
The nicely furnished store consists of a sizeable assortment of cookbooks from all over the world along with a show kitchen that boasts a large bar. All around the store you can find desks at which to read, drink, eat and of course chat. Every day between 12.30 and 15.00h they offer lunch and in the evening they arrange cookery courses, book presentations or use the store for other events.
As a nice bonus you can also buy any of the foreign spices you acquired earlier.