Innocent 15th Birthday

Innocent has commissioned a series of artists to design their very own smoothie bottles in celebration of the 15th anniversary of the brand. In 1999 three friends from uni decided they wanted to create something that would make it a little bit easier for people to do themselves some good. In this time they have managed to serve over a billion portions of fruit and veg to people all over Europe. They also give away 10% of their profits to charity which has lead to support of 53 charitable projects, in 24 countries across 4 continents - and helped benefit 530,000 people directly. 

Innocent 15th

E-Paper Watch

Sony has developed a watch made from e-paper as part of an initiative to experiment with the use of the material for fashion products. One of the predictions for next year is that fashion is going to play a huge part in shaping the tech industry. The watch face and straps have an e-paper display - comparable to the technology used in e-book readers such as Amazon's Kindle.It means the watch can alternate between several different styles of watch face and strap design & has a battery life of 60 days. Other e-paper experiments being worked on by Fashion Entertainments include shoes, bow-ties and glasses.

E-Paper Watch

Lobster Wars

Lobsters, caviar and venison have long been described as a premium luxury food but due to a glut of Canadian lobster, discount supermarkets are competing to offer the best value on the crustacean. Both Asda and Iceland are selling whole cooked frozen lobster for £5 with Lidl stocking it for £5.99. Britain currently imports 2,600 tonnes of lobster last year compared to 1,900 tonnes in 2009.

Lobster War

Business Birth Boom

UK businesses were created at the fastest rate in almost a decade last year as confidence increased against a backdrop of economic recovery. The business “birth rate”, which measures new companies as a proportion of all enterprises, was 14.1% in 2013, the highest since records began in 2004. The proportion of business “deaths” fell to 9.7%, the lowest level since the financial crisis took hold in 2008. All great news for entrepreneurs and UK business!

Business Birth Boom

Tuck Shop Teen Tycoon

A 15-year-old budding entrepreneur has received the support of the stars of TV's Dragons Den after he made £14,000 selling sweets, crisps and fizzy drinks to school pals in the playground. Tommie Rose, a student at Buile Hill High School in Salford, Manchester, was saving up the money to pay for his tuition fees. His business was so successful he even employed two friends to help run it, paying them £5.50 a day.

Tuck Shop

Black of the Que

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are set to get retailers back into the black after a mild autumn which has lead to poor sales. The queues online have already started to form for some of the online stores with Currys closing their website last night and placing customers in a queue. With limited stock and huge demand it will be a fight to get the best deals!

Get Ready for Black Friday

Experts are predicting this week ‘Black Friday’ will hit the record books as customers flock to the internet to buy Christmas gifts.British shoppers are expected to spend £363 million shopping online. The American concept was introduced to Britain by sites like Amazon in 2010. Black Friday is named after the day of frenzied shopping in the US after Thanksgiving when retailers traditionally started making a profit.

Black Friday

Underground Argos

Argos has opened its first Underground store 'Argos Collect' which has been designed to give customers convenient access to 20,000 products as they travel around the transport network. Around 4.2 million journeys are made on London Underground every day and it is the digital customer that they are aiming these stores at who want the convenience of click and collect.The new Cannon Street store covers only  roughly the size of a large kitchen in a typical family home. It will be open from 07:30 to 19:00 Monday to Friday, and 09:00 to 18:00 Saturday.

The Un-Magical Journey

Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen has vowed to act after the Christmas attraction he helped to create was forced to close because of complaints. Hundreds of messages were posted on the Magical Journey's Facebook page after it opened. A number of users complained about the price of admission - the top price for a child is £22.50 - and accused the management of misleading the public.

The Un-Magical Journey

How The Other Half Live

Here is a list of 16 ridiculous everyday products that are targeted at a very niche but wealthy customer. Would any of these actually sell? Which one would you want to buy if you had the money?

Golden Roll

McLocalised

The kind of customers McDonald's attracts in India is very different from other countries. Research shows that in 2003, of 100 meals that people ate in a month, only three were eaten out. McDonald's introduced a 20 rupees (20p) burger called Aloo Tikki Burger, it was essentially the McDonald's version of street food. The price and the taste together, the value introduced, was a hit. It revolutionised the industry in India. Now eating out has gone up to 9-10 times per 100 meals and McDonald's in India has more than 320 million customers a year. There are still families with young children who frequent it. But diners also include many young people, aged between 19 and 30, with no kids.Adapting McDonald's for the uniquely Indian market was a big expense when he started but it has paid off in the long term.

McLocalised

Big Apple, Even Bigger Billboard

Google has become the first company to rent to the world's largest and most expensive digital billboard in Times Square, New York. The billboard is eight storeys high and is estimated to cost $2.5m (£1.6m) to hire for four weeks. The screen, which is the size of a football field, is mounted on the side of the Marriot Marquis hotel. Around 300,000 pedestrians are estimated to pass by the billboard every day. Times Square's brightly-lit billboards are some of the most iconic and well-known outdoor advertising spaces. The billboard was turned on on Tuesday and will host Google ads till January 2015.

Big Billboard 

Silverlink Expansion

Almost 50 new jobs will be created if expansion plans at Silverlink Shopping Park are given the go ahead. Property firm The Crown Estate has unveiled intentions to extend the North Tyneside retail park in a £29m redevelopment scheme that will see a host of high street names join the existing line-up of shops and restaurants. The proposal will see the Travelodge hotel replaced with extra retail space for four extra units.

Silverlink Expanding

Top of the Chocs

Sainsbury's are selling "in the region of 5,000 per hour" of the chocolate bars they have created to support the Royal British Legion. The bar that features in the advert is retailing for £1 with 50p going to the charity, which includes all the supermarkets profits plus a donation from Sainsbury's. The advert however has received 240 complaints with many feeling the exploitation of emotions to promote the firm is wrong and it is disrespectful to those involved in WW1. On the other hand John Lewis' Monty advert has only had one complaint from a viewer worried it would encourage people to buy penguins for pets.

Top of the Chocs

No Nectar Left

Sainsbury’s has announced they will be halving the number of nectar reward points it offers. On the 11^th of April 2015, Nectar users will only receive one point for every pound they spend in-store or online. They will also stop rewarding customers with a point for every bag that that they reuse, but will get a point for every litre of fuel they purchase. With 19 million users of the nectar rewards system, it was sure to cause some anger with their customers, but what is surprising is that they introduced this at a time where sales are falling, and their share price has dropped by 7%.

By Ollie Spencer Year 13

Fawlty Towers

A couple were fined £100 by a Blackpool hotel after they wrote an review on TripAdvisor describing it as a "rotten stinking hovel run by muppets". The couple later found their credit card had been charged £100, with the hotel stating its policy was to charge people for "bad" reviews. The policy has since been scrapped and the couple have been refunded their money. The Broadway Hotel is a budget hotel and charge as little as £15 a room a night, they are currently ranked 858 out of 894 hotels in Blackpool.

Customer Service Nightmare

Argos Going Tinder

Argos has borrowed the "swiping" concept pioneer by the dating app tinder to help launch and modernise its new gift finding app - Argos Gift Finder. The app allows the user to narrow down the gift choices for you and or friends by seeing what you do like and what you don't. The swipe to like function uses an intelligent filtering system which the more that it is used the smarter it becomes. With almost a quarter of sales coming from mobile devices it is clear this a clever move from Argos.

Argos Gift Finder

A Terrible Place To Work

Sports Direct have yet again been in the news this time it was The Labour leader who has attacked chain Sports Direct for being "a terrible place to work" because of its high use of zero-hours contracts. Ed Miliband said: "Zero-hours contracts are the way Sports Direct employs the vast majority of its workforce - 17,000 out of its 20,000 workers."Zero-hours contracts allow employers to hire staff with no guarantee of work and on flexible and unpredictable hours. They do not include maternity or sick pay, nor give employees the right to claim unfair dismissal.

Zero Hour Contracts

Wonga Cut

Payday loans company Wonga has agreed with Newcastle United football club to remove its logo from children's kit and training wear. But Wonga said that due to kit production schedules this would not be until the 2016/17 football season. The firm's new chairman, Andy Haste, said on his appointment in July that he would review the company's marketing.

Wonga Cut

Shrinking Christmas

Does the size of your favourite Christmas treats seem to have shrunk this year? Well, the good news is that they won’t make you any bigger, because those goodies really are getting smaller. The bad news, however, is that you’re paying as much as 25% more for less. A basket of 10 seasonal goods was tested and all had shrunk in size yet only two cost less. Why are businesses doing this?

Shrinking Christmas

Hellmans Not Happy

When does mayonnaise stop being mayonnaise? The multinational firm, which manufactures Hellmann's and Best Foods mayonnaise, is suing a Californian business for selling a plant-based alternative called 'Just Mayo'. Unilever claims the name is misleading, and that Just Mayo, which is sold in major supermarkets, is eating into its mayonnaise sales. When the condiment contains no eggs then Uniliver claim they cannot call it mayonnaise feel they are falsely advertising and creating unfair competition. 

Hell On For Hellmens

No Ice Cream, No Cry

Ben & Jerry's are marking the 30th anniversary of Bob Marleys legendary album with a limited edition Satisfy My Bowl edition. Rolling out into stores soon it is a banana flavored ice-cream with caramel and cookie swirls and chocolate peace signs. The price will be £4.99 but a percentage of profits will be going to the I Love Project charity.

Ben & Jerrys

Golden Apple

Rumours have been swirling that Apple's gold smartwatch could cost as much as $5,000 (£3,150), according to senior company sources quoted by a French website. However the regular models will be more competitively priced. What type of pricing strategy have Apple used here?

Gold Smartwatch

Sports Direct Gyms

Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley is to open a chain of cut-price gyms charging £5 a month with a £10 joining fee. It is the latest expansion of his Sports Direct business after it acquired up to 30 sites from LA Fitness. The retailer claimed it would "revolutionise the market" with plans to open 200 sites charging a fraction of its rivals' prices. A flagship gym is to open at Aintree on Merseyside next month alongside a new Sports Direct store, with another to follow at Keighley, West Yorkshire. What type of integration is this?

Sports Direct Gyms

Waste Free Packaging

From edible water bottles to yoghurt encased in fruit flavoured skins, the packaging industry is getting creative, but psychological barriers persist. According to the government’s waste advisor Wrap, households in the UK threw out 4.2m tonnes of food and drink waste in 2012. Above is the WikiPearl which is a  soft, durable and water-resistant edible membrane, made from natural food particles, designed to protect a bite-size portion of food that it’s encasing. 

Packaging Of The Future

Bush Tucker Trial

Iceland is marking the return of the ever popular 'I'm a Celebrity...' TV show with roll out of its exotic frozen meat feast pack. They are looking to attract new and alternative customers with the lean and easy to prepare products. The launch comes as other retails such as Aldi & Lidl show interest in exotic meats which are proving a success due to their high protein and low fat contents.

Exotic Meats

Under My Air Umbrella

This is a real“invisible umbrella”, which takes advantage of the air flow as shelter from the rain. The innovative product is still in the development phase of production after raising over $100,000 start-up finance through Kikstarter. 

Air Umbrella

Inspirational Innovation

An affordable inflatable baby incubator, intended for use in the developing world, has won the prestigious James Dyson Award for design and innovation. The product - known as MOM - is capable of providing the same performance as a £30,000 incubation system but only costs £250 to make, test and transport. According to the World Health Organisation, 75% of deaths resulting from premature birth could be avoided if inexpensive treatments were more readily available.

Life Saving Innovator

All I Want For Christmas...

The annual Dream Toys Chart , from the Toy Retailers Association, features toys ranging in price from £7.99 mini-figures to a £99.99 dinosaur. Toys that have featured on the industry group's list in previous decades have included drawing set Spirograph in 1967 and the Nintendo Game Boy games console in 1991.

Top Toys 2014

Monty The Penguin

John Lewis have released their advert for their Christmas campaign for 2015. With several tough acts to follow which have not only led to boots in the company sales but have also delivered number one singles it isn't an easy job. Monty’s Penguin is part of a £7m festive store campaign and has Hollywood pretensions. Monty and Mabel have been created using complex CGI technology “to look and behave exactly like real life Adélie penguins.” Take a look at the ad but also the merchandise the company is selling alongside.

Montys Christmas

Cereally Good Idea

That’s when the Cereal Killer Cafe opens its doors on London’s Brick Lane – the UK’s first cafe completely dedicated to boxes of the breakfast staple. Open from 7am - 8pm, customers will be able to choose from a menu of 100 cereals from around the world for either breakfast, lunch or dinner. Cereal aficionados will also be able to customise their bowl with 12 different varieties of milk  along with 20 different toppings. Small bowls will cost you £2.50, medium bowls come in at £3.00 where a large bowl will set you back £3.50.

Cereal Killers

Call of Monster

Monster Energy, distributed by Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd in the UK, is again joining forces with Activision to support the latest release in the Call of Duty franchise, Call of Duty: Ghosts, with an on-pack promotion giving away exclusive ‘money can’t buy prizes’ with every can of Monster Energy. Monster runs a range of marketing activities targeting its core young male audience. 

Monster Call of Duty

Virgin Galactic Crash

Sir Richard Branson has vowed to continue his space tourism venture despite the fatal crash of a Virgin Galactic rocket ship in the US. One pilot died and the other was badly injured when SpaceShipTwo exploded in California's Mojave Desert on Friday. Virgin had hoped to launch commercially in 2015. It has already taken more than 700 flight bookings at $250,000 (£156,000) each, with Mr Branson pledging to travel on the first flight. Will this crash set back space tourism?

Space Mission on Hold

This Is What A Feminist Looks Like

A women’s rights charity behind a T-shirt campaign is investigating claims that the products were made in sweatshop conditions. The fashion retailer Whistles, which sells the garments for £45 each has been suspected of getting the items produced by female workers in Mauritius for 62p per hour and in conditions where workers sleep 16 to a room. The women's rights charity the Fawcett Society who are behind the t-shirt which has been supported by Elle Magazine have begun looking into auditing the suppliers.

Feminist Tshirt

Primark Profit Peak

The discount clothing chain which is currently in 9 different countries is taking aim at the US market as its annual results show strong demand across Europe. The chairman of Primark's owner has hailed a "magnificent" year for the discount clothing retailer, with profits rising 30% to £662m. They have also confirmed they are continuing to look into health & safety standards after the collapse of the Bangladesh factory last year which led to them to compensating families and victims and total of £7.5m.

Primark Profit