January 2004

Threshold News

Combating the “poverty of perspective”

As a wired – or wireless – information consumer, you may be rich in e-newsletters and automatic alerting services. Many industries are served by excellent industry news updating services. But for all their genuine value and convenience, daily e-newsletters compound the ever-present problem of information overload in at least two ways: they exacerbate the “poverty of perspective” and their focus is broad and inflexible.

When one scans brief abbreviated news items daily on a given topic – let’s say the courtship, acquisition, and absorption of one company by another – there is no opportunity to take the long view. Headlines of events make impressions, but understanding of the import or inconsequence of those events is elusive because news bulletins come in one at a time over an extended period. Perspective is lost.

And then there is the matter of focus. A news service that covers the food industry will be useful for general awareness, but is not narrow enough to help a product manager or a marketing executive monitor specific competitor and consumer issues. Focus and the flexibility to change coverage are lacking.

These two problems are an opportunity for corporate information specialists to tighten the focus on news developments for their clients, and to provide analysis for perspective. Threshold’s Monitoring & Tracking Services fill this gap. Our newsletter services for competitive intelligence, customer tracking, and issues monitoring filter and analyze developments in weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly chunks. Clients gain perspective and deeper, focused coverage of just those issues and companies that are important to them.

Inspired by Herbert Simon’s idea of “poverty of attention” discussed in Davenport and Beck’s Attention Economy (Harvard Business School Press, 2001).

Opportunities In Business

Circular saws to cereal boxes: Good design shines

From Michael Graves measuring cups at Target Stores to Carly Fiorina’s proclamation that new HP products will be “sleek not geek,” good-looking, functional design promises to infiltrate the mass market. Industrial designers, including package designers, have always been part of the product development process, but in recent years the search for smart design has been pushed up a notch. And for good business reasons: when everything else is commoditized, design is the one area where you can add value.

The Oct. 27, 2003, issue of Newsweek was devoted to design, and Fortune (Dec. 8, 2003) featured From Drab to Fab, a focus on the “industry” in “industrial design.” Companies like Whirlpool and Master Lock are recognized for innovation in the appearance of appliances and otherwise mundane products like padlocks. These companies and other tool and small appliance manufacturers are making breakthroughs in attractive form-follows-function design. For instance, Stanley Tools and Black & Decker have designed “cool” into products like utility knives, power drills, and hand vacs. In Silicon Valley, electronics manufacturing companies are hiring more designers and bringing them into the product development process earlier.

And consumers are rewarding those companies that feed the need for beauty in functional products, as well as in fashion. People watch Queer Eye for the Straight Guy because it’s a fun way to learn something about everyday aesthetics, from clothing to food preparation to house and garden decor. Flat screen televisions are selling well in spite of their high cost not because most of us really appreciate the technology, or even the better screen resolution. They just look better in our homes.

Turning to the design of food packaging, one observer has said that the reason shoppers spend more time in the produce aisles is the “over-messaged, overzealous and loud packaging emanating from aisles three to seven. As a result, consumers seek refuge in the relative calm of the colorful stacks of greens, oranges and reds that greet them in the produce section.” If that’s the case, then more packaging like the serene boxes for Rice Thins and Deluxe Cheddar Macaroni & Cheese from Kraft Canada might lure consumers back to the center aisle. Food and beverage marketers have begun paying more attention to function with stand-up pouches, fridge packs, and inverted squeeze bottles. But package designers in the United States are just beginning to add great looks to functional elements. Uncle Ben's Ready Rice does a good job of combining aesthetics with functionality with its clean looking stand-up pouch that goes directly into the microwave.

For a look at what design pros consider to be the best in commercial design, go to IDEA 2003 Winner Showcase, then click on the category that interests you.

The Packaging Design Book (Jan. 2004) showcases a wide range of packaging design work from areas such as brewing, food, soft drinks, games, pharmaceutical products, phones, consumer durables, industrial products etc. Click here to order.

To learn more contact Threshold for additional sources.

Opportunities in Technology

Nutrigenomics: Genetically tailored diets on the horizon

Nutritional genomics, the study of relationships between dietary factors and the expression of different genes – especially those related to illness – has been gaining attention in the mainstream media, as well as some significant investment from the U.S. and foreign governments and private interests.

Many illnesses, including cancer and type II diabetes, are the result of an interaction between a number of genes and a "trigger" – such as diet – that causes those genes to be expressed. The goal of nutritional genomics is to identify those triggers and understand how they interact with an individual's genetic makeup. Depending on which report you read, within the next five or ten years researchers should know how to tailor a person's diet to fit his or her genetic fingerprint and thereby prevent or delay the onset of illness.

In the United States, a Center of Excellence in Nutritional Genomics has been formed as a joint program between the University of California, Davis, and the Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI). The collaboration is supported by a five-year, $6.5 million grant from the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities, a division of the National Institutes of Health. The center will seek to identify genes controlled by naturally occurring chemicals in food and study how some of these genes can tip the balance between health and disease. The hope is that focusing research efforts on minority populations with significant health disparities will provide the key to better health for everyone.

The field may hold great opportunity for the food industry, albeit a few years down the road. The New York Times predicted, "Mass market products like corn flakes may one day come in different varieties, geared to different subsets of people based on their genes. And dietary guidelines issued by the government or medical societies will have to make more distinctions based on genetic profiles."

A small number of companies, including Sciona (Britain) and AlphaGenics (Rockville, MD), already have begun selling tests for genes that influence the metabolism of alcohol, folate, and other nutrients. These tests, however, look only at a small number of genes, and critics say they are too simplistic to offer real benefit. Still, major companies are watching developments in this field, waiting until the body of knowledge has advanced to the point where the idea of food as medicine can become a reality.

Recommended reading:
Andrew Pollack, "New Era of Consumer Genetics Raises Hope and Concerns," New York Times 10/1/02.
"We are what we eat," The Economist 9/6/03.

For more information:
An upcoming Institute of Food Technologists continuing education program on nutraceuticals features two sessions on nutragenomics, indicating that food scientists are beginning to take note. For details, please click here.
The Ethics Guidelines for Nutritional Genomics Project has prepared a consultation document that highlights some of the ethical problems of the new science. The document may be viewed here.

Opportunities For Fun

Create your own Jackson Pollock masterpiece (without the associated alcoholism and untimely death)

Just for fun, check out the Pollockizer at Design Week’s Web site. (Click on the colorful graphic in the far left column.) Sponsored by HP, this interactive module allows you to make your own abstract art and “exhibit” it in a gallery.