The Roller Shaper is a new generation health and fitness system that trains, tones and shapes the body.
The Easy Mile Log built-in GPS unit tracks the mileage automatically- Hottest business trends
Entrepreneurs are always looking for the next big thing. Mobile Flower Truck- The latest business on wheels
Hybrid bikes- Hottest Business Trends
M55 aims to build hybrid bikes. Its flagship model, the Beast, has the greatest performance among e-bikes. 1,500 Watts of power can accelerate this machine to a stunning 40 miles per hour and it can go as far as 75 miles with a single charge, even off-road.
Organics For Infants
Organics For InfantsMaddy's Organic Meals
Dori and Carson Boneck
When Dori Boneck began making organic food for her newborn, Madeleine, in 2006, she decided other mothers might want to feed their little ones the same thing'without the hassle of cooking up meals themselves. So last May the former elementary school teacher launched Maddy's Organic Meals, the first USDA Certified Organic product for children in the Midwest. Boneck and her husband, Carson, produce and package the meals in a professional cooking space they rent in Chicago. Each 8 oz. package costs about $6. There's Perfect Pears for four-month-olds, for instance, or Scrumptious Succotash for eight-month-olds. Maddy's is sold at the Goddess & Grocer and other markets in town and, since February, can be ordered through the company's Web site, maddysorganicmeals.com.Better Whey - All Natural Non Fat Yogurt
Leaving Kraft Singles Behind, She's Doing It Her Whey
Tula Foods
Daphne D. Mazarakis
Daphne D. Mazarakis can make whey protein sound pretty appealing. A former brand manager at Kraft Foods (Velveeta and Kraft Singles), Mazarakis, 35, says she sprinkled whey powder on her regular meals, and without doing anything else differently, she lost a skirt size in six weeks. Now she's preparing to roll out her own line of yogurt with whey protein. Her startup, Tula Foods, plans to begin supplying its Better Whey products to Whole Foods Market in July.Body builders have been consuming whey protein since the 1970s. But extracting it from milk isn't easy. Plus, the substance often tastes chalky. "It requires delicate treatment and high technology," she says. Though whey protein could be added to other products, Mazarakis chose to start with all-natural yogurt because its sales are growing 35% a year in organic markets. The alum of the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business invested $800,000 in Tula after leaving Kraft in 2007. She hopes her Evanston business will be profitable within three years. The Therapeutic Garment Maker
The Therapeutic Garment Maker
Telesto Medtech
In the early 1990s, Don Kellogg's wife, June, developed lymphedema, a condition that causes excruciating swelling of the limbs. A former product developer at Nabisco, Kellogg thought maybe he could ease her pain. He fabricated a lightweight, comfortable sleeve that he filled with foam. The device wicked away moisture and gently pushed excess fluid away, allowing the skin to breathe.
Today, his invention has turned into a $150,000 company and Kellogg into a 72-year-old entrepreneur. His Belmont (Mass.) startup, Telesto Medtech, wouldn't be here, however, if not for the San Francisco 49ers. Kellogg dropped his research after June died in 1994 in San Francisco, where she had been getting treatment. But the NFL team had heard about the sleeve from therapists who had seen its benefits, and in 2002 began using it to treat swelling from injuries.
Sensing a bigger market, Kellogg rang up an old friend and former Chicago futures trader, Mitch Kasper, who invested $100,000 to help launch the company in 2006. The made-to-fit garments cost $250 to $900, and customers include lymphedema patients as well as the Oakland Raiders and Dallas Mavericks. More Flavors of Organic Ice Cream
Dori and Carson Boneck
When Dori Boneck began making organic food for her newborn, Madeleine, in 2006, she decided other mothers might want to feed their little ones the same thing'without the hassle of cooking up meals themselves. So last May the former elementary school teacher launched Maddy's Organic Meals, the first USDA Certified Organic product for children in the Midwest. Boneck and her husband, Carson, produce and package the meals in a professional cooking space they rent in Chicago. Each 8 oz. package costs about $6. There's Perfect Pears for four-month-olds, for instance, or Scrumptious Succotash for eight-month-olds. Maddy's is sold at the Goddess & Grocer and other markets in town and, since February, can be ordered through the company's Web site, maddysorganicmeals.com.
Daphne D. Mazarakis
Daphne D. Mazarakis can make whey protein sound pretty appealing. A former brand manager at Kraft Foods (Velveeta and Kraft Singles), Mazarakis, 35, says she sprinkled whey powder on her regular meals, and without doing anything else differently, she lost a skirt size in six weeks. Now she's preparing to roll out her own line of yogurt with whey protein. Her startup, Tula Foods, plans to begin supplying its Better Whey products to Whole Foods Market in July.Body builders have been consuming whey protein since the 1970s. But extracting it from milk isn't easy. Plus, the substance often tastes chalky. "It requires delicate treatment and high technology," she says. Though whey protein could be added to other products, Mazarakis chose to start with all-natural yogurt because its sales are growing 35% a year in organic markets. The alum of the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business invested $800,000 in Tula after leaving Kraft in 2007. She hopes her Evanston business will be profitable within three years.
In the early 1990s, Don Kellogg's wife, June, developed lymphedema, a condition that causes excruciating swelling of the limbs. A former product developer at Nabisco, Kellogg thought maybe he could ease her pain. He fabricated a lightweight, comfortable sleeve that he filled with foam. The device wicked away moisture and gently pushed excess fluid away, allowing the skin to breathe.
Today, his invention has turned into a $150,000 company and Kellogg into a 72-year-old entrepreneur. His Belmont (Mass.) startup, Telesto Medtech, wouldn't be here, however, if not for the San Francisco 49ers. Kellogg dropped his research after June died in 1994 in San Francisco, where she had been getting treatment. But the NFL team had heard about the sleeve from therapists who had seen its benefits, and in 2002 began using it to treat swelling from injuries.
Sensing a bigger market, Kellogg rang up an old friend and former Chicago futures trader, Mitch Kasper, who invested $100,000 to help launch the company in 2006. The made-to-fit garments cost $250 to $900, and customers include lymphedema patients as well as the Oakland Raiders and Dallas Mavericks.
Three Twins Organic Ice Cream
Neal Gottlieb
Don’t let the name fool you—Three Twins Organic Ice Cream started as a one-man band. When Neal Gottlieb opened his shop in San Rafael, Calif., he did everything himself. He sold just $365 of ice cream his first day, Aug. 27, 2005. Three Twins is up to 25 employees now at two locations and expects to generate at least $750,000 in revenue this year, double 2007’s sales. Gottlieb, a 31-year-old Cornell University graduate, got into the organic ice cream business after stints in finance and the Peace Corps in Morocco. He started Three Twins—Gottlieb used to live with his twin brother and the brother’s fiance[need accent mark on first e]e, who was also a twin, hence the store’s name—with $70,000 of his own and has since raised $1 million from folks in the organic food biz to open a factory to make ice cream for retailers such as Whole Foods. Gottlieb’s California outlets stock more than a dozen flavors, and he has a notebook with more than 100 more he wants to try. One is organic rocky road. The hitch: He hasn't been able to find a source of certified organic marshmallows.
Neal Gottlieb
Don’t let the name fool you—Three Twins Organic Ice Cream started as a one-man band. When Neal Gottlieb opened his shop in San Rafael, Calif., he did everything himself. He sold just $365 of ice cream his first day, Aug. 27, 2005. Three Twins is up to 25 employees now at two locations and expects to generate at least $750,000 in revenue this year, double 2007’s sales. Gottlieb, a 31-year-old Cornell University graduate, got into the organic ice cream business after stints in finance and the Peace Corps in Morocco. He started Three Twins—Gottlieb used to live with his twin brother and the brother’s fiance[need accent mark on first e]e, who was also a twin, hence the store’s name—with $70,000 of his own and has since raised $1 million from folks in the organic food biz to open a factory to make ice cream for retailers such as Whole Foods. Gottlieb’s California outlets stock more than a dozen flavors, and he has a notebook with more than 100 more he wants to try. One is organic rocky road. The hitch: He hasn't been able to find a source of certified organic marshmallows.
This Germ-Killing Fabric May Save Lives
Vestagen
Ben Favret
At least 1.7 million U.S. patients contract infections in hospitals each year, claiming 100,000 lives and costing $30 billion, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Orlando entrepreneur Ben Favret, a business-side veteran of biotech startups and pharma companies like Pfizer (PFE), hopes to reduce those numbers with a new type of fabric for hospital garments, curtains, linens, and furniture. The material, dubbed Vestex, is coated with an antimicrobial to kill germs. It also repels fluids while remaining breathable enough to wear. Favret, 44, licensed the technology from Swiss textile giant Schoeller in mid-2008 and formed Vestagen to commercialize the fabric. The material doesn't need approval from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, but the company is running clinical trials nonetheless to prove medical benefits. Favret funded Vestagen out of his own pocket before raising $2 million in May from V10 Capital Partners in Richmond Va. The company, now with six employees, expects to have initial trial results this fall. After that it will take its first scrubs and lab coats, manufactured at plants in Massachusetts and India, to market.
Ben Favret
At least 1.7 million U.S. patients contract infections in hospitals each year, claiming 100,000 lives and costing $30 billion, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Orlando entrepreneur Ben Favret, a business-side veteran of biotech startups and pharma companies like Pfizer (PFE), hopes to reduce those numbers with a new type of fabric for hospital garments, curtains, linens, and furniture. The material, dubbed Vestex, is coated with an antimicrobial to kill germs. It also repels fluids while remaining breathable enough to wear. Favret, 44, licensed the technology from Swiss textile giant Schoeller in mid-2008 and formed Vestagen to commercialize the fabric. The material doesn't need approval from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, but the company is running clinical trials nonetheless to prove medical benefits. Favret funded Vestagen out of his own pocket before raising $2 million in May from V10 Capital Partners in Richmond Va. The company, now with six employees, expects to have initial trial results this fall. After that it will take its first scrubs and lab coats, manufactured at plants in Massachusetts and India, to market.
A New Snack Chip Pops Up
A New Snack Chip Pops Up
Pop Chips
Keith Belling
Sometimes a bad habit can turn into a good idea for a startup. Whenever Keith Belling went out for a sandwich, he recalls, he had to have a bag of Doritos even though he knew fried chips weren't good for him. So his business partner, Patrick Turpin, called Belling immediately when, while looking for their next venture in early 2005, he heard about a Southern California business that made private-label snacks. Its products were limited to rice cakes, but Belling figured the same process could be used to air-pop a healthier type of snack chip. Pooling nearly $1 million of their own money, the partners bought the factory and in mid-2007 launched Pop Chips in San Francisco. Belling, 52, who is chief executive, had more than a gut feeling to go on. Pop Chips is his fourth business. He began in 1986 with a coffee bar in San Francisco, which grew to a 30-unit chain by the time he sold out in 1992. He was also part of the team that took over money-losing Restoration Hardware in 2001. Pop Chips began with a bang, with shelf space in 1,000 Safeway (SWY) grocery stores in the West. Today 100-calorie bags sell for $1.29 at Jamba Juice (JMBA, while 3-oz. bags are available for $2.99 nationally in Target (TGT), Costco (COST), and Whole Foods Market (WFMI). Pop Chips employs 30 people, plus another 100 at its factory. Revenue should top $18 million in 2009, up from $6 million the year before, Belling says. But he says the company won't become profitable until 2011, as it plows its cash, plus $10 million from private equity fund TSG Consumer Partners, into marketing efforts such as chip giveaways. As for Doritos, Belling says he hasn't had any in years.
Keith Belling
Sometimes a bad habit can turn into a good idea for a startup. Whenever Keith Belling went out for a sandwich, he recalls, he had to have a bag of Doritos even though he knew fried chips weren't good for him. So his business partner, Patrick Turpin, called Belling immediately when, while looking for their next venture in early 2005, he heard about a Southern California business that made private-label snacks. Its products were limited to rice cakes, but Belling figured the same process could be used to air-pop a healthier type of snack chip. Pooling nearly $1 million of their own money, the partners bought the factory and in mid-2007 launched Pop Chips in San Francisco. Belling, 52, who is chief executive, had more than a gut feeling to go on. Pop Chips is his fourth business. He began in 1986 with a coffee bar in San Francisco, which grew to a 30-unit chain by the time he sold out in 1992. He was also part of the team that took over money-losing Restoration Hardware in 2001. Pop Chips began with a bang, with shelf space in 1,000 Safeway (SWY) grocery stores in the West. Today 100-calorie bags sell for $1.29 at Jamba Juice (JMBA, while 3-oz. bags are available for $2.99 nationally in Target (TGT), Costco (COST), and Whole Foods Market (WFMI). Pop Chips employs 30 people, plus another 100 at its factory. Revenue should top $18 million in 2009, up from $6 million the year before, Belling says. But he says the company won't become profitable until 2011, as it plows its cash, plus $10 million from private equity fund TSG Consumer Partners, into marketing efforts such as chip giveaways. As for Doritos, Belling says he hasn't had any in years.
Brick Industry Opts for Automation, Innovation
REBs are either perforated or hollow, have better insulation properties, and less energy and resources are consumed in their production.
In Europe REBs have wide acceptance but in
Buoyed by the experience of the early starters, more entrepreneurs are importing state-of-the-art fully automatic machinery from
“Visualising the potential in the Indian construction sector, major European machinery manufacturers have tied up with Indian machinery manufacturers and started operations in
Speaking to Business Standard, Ecologic Building Systems (P) Ltd Director-Marketing Rajinder Singh said, “We had set up a new unit in Una district of Himachal Pradesh last year. The plant was set up with an initial investment of Rs 40 crore with state-of-the-art fully automated German technology to manufacture concrete products. We have an installed capacity of 60,000 concrete blocks and up to 600,000 units of bricks/pavers a day.”
He added that acceptance among builders, contractors and architects is increasing day by day, and in order to cater to the National Capital Region market, the company now plans to set up a new unit in the NCR region with a capital outlay of Rs 40 crore, with the same installed capacity. This plant too will have fully automated technology imported from
Further, a number of mechanised plants are coming up in the northern region with the capability of producing both conventional bricks and REBs.
The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) has been working in the brick sector with the objective of improving energy efficiency and reducing CO2 emissions through the promotion of energy-efficient technologies and practices. It is involved in implementing a project for promoting energy efficiency in the Indian brick industry, in partnership with the Union ministry of environment and forests.
The executing agency is the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). To demonstrate REB technologies, develop technology models and reach out to various regions and brick clusters, the project has set up local resource centres (LRCs) in the North, East, West, South and North East. The Punjab State Council for Science and Technology is the LRC for the northern region.