100 Day Challenge: Week 9

In the last couple of months, we have seen great examples of flexibility and resilience. From pivoting a business to uncovering new market opportunities, from developing a social platform to developing original ideas to respect social distancing. It is inspiring to see how creative businesses get amid this pandemic.

I am glad to share with you some stories from around the globe. I publish daily on my blog 100 day challenge and I’m sending you a weekly summary. By clicking on the underlined text, you can read the full story.

Olivia Garden, a Belgian – American company, is a manufacturer of high quality and innovative salon tools. When hairdressers all over the world had to close their business, Olivia Garden anticipated new requirements and market needs once the restrictions would be lifted. They decided to launch a new product line to provide hairdressers with the necessary tools to reopen in a safe way.

Justbite, a startup from Ghent, Belgium, provides companies with healthy snack boxes. When companies closed their doors and employees had to work from home, the target market disappeared overnight. Kevin Ringoot, founder of Justbite, decided to pivot his business and is now providing his customers with giftboxes for their employees working from home.

Milwaukee Food and City Tours faced a 100 % loss of revenue when the stay at home orders started and social distancing requirements were imposed. Theresa Nemetz realized quickly that she would be out of business unless they pivoted their business. Instead of taking people through the city, she now brings sights and tastes of Milwaukee to customer’s doors.

This Way to LA was founded 3 years ago by Nathalie Bevernaegie. She organizes private guided walking tours - off the beaten path - for tourists and local companies. With all the tours for this season being cancelled, she felt a strong need to connect with people. She came up with the idea for Cantina Quarantina, a private cross-cultural Facebook group in which members share a passion for cooking, travelling, and learning about other cultures.

Tokai Optecs, a distributor and manufacturer of high-quality lenses, is bringing a solution for eyeglass wearers to market. People with glasses have learned the hard way that wearing a face mask causes their glasses to fog up just about every time they exhale. By treating glasses with a chemical, the Belgian / Japanese Joint Venture, can prevent glasses from fogging. Tokai Optecs offered 50 sets for free to the hospital in Bierbeek, Belgium.

Maison Saigon from Thailand has found an original way to let you have dinner in a cozy environment, while respecting social distancing. On May 3 Thailand relaxed some of its lockdown restrictions, which includes restaurants and cafés. As customers are still required to follow strict social-distancing guidelines, the owner decided to give his customers some company in the form of stuffed pandas.

Mediamatic Eten, a restaurant from Amsterdam, the Netherlands, is thinking outside the box by putting diners in a box. The vegan restaurant offers outdoor dining in a small glass cabin built for 2 or 3 people. The boxes are called “Serres Séparées”, French for “separate greenhouses”. Waiters are wearing gloves and face shields and are bringing food to the table, using a long board. It really looks cozy and trendy, hopefully the boxes also protect against mosquitoes!