2. PREMIUMIZATION

London's St. Pancras International railway station is now home to Europe's longest champagne bar (96 meters)

Definitely part of the 'traditional sphere', PREMIUMIZATION is not going to go away in 2008. Basically, with more wealth burning holes in (saturated and experienced) consumers' pockets than ever before, quick status fixes derived from premium products and premium experiences will continue in full force next year.

What's new then? How about 2008 being about the PREMIUMIZATION of everything and anything. In other words, no industry, no sector, no product will escape a premium version in the next 12 months. Some poignant PREMIUMIZATION examples for that sign of the times feeling:

• OK, so we've done wine, coffee and tea, which leaves water to get its much-deserved PREMIUMIZATION moment. And we don't mean of the Pellegrino or Perrier kind: those 'upgraded' bottled water brands have become too mainstream to excite truly premium-obsessed consumers (who don't care about carbon footprints, but we'll get back to that later on). So make way for Evian's limited release Palace bottle, only available in high end bars and restaurants. Features a specially designed pouring top and is accompanied by a stainless steel coaster, selling for USD 15-20 per bottle.
  
• Bling H20 is bottled water that comes in limited edition, corked, 750 ml frosted glass bottles, embellished with Swarovski crystals. Established in 2005 by a Hollywood writer-producer who noticed that “you could tell a lot about a person by the bottled water that they carried,” Bling H20 is designed to be as much a fashion accessory as a drink of water. Aiming to be the Cristal of bottled water, it's been spotted at everything from the MTV Awards to the Emmys. The bottles cost from USD 17–480.
  
• Tasmanian Rain is captured "on the pristine north west coast of the island of Tasmania, Australia." The water is collected "just minutes from where the World Meteorological Organization records the world's purest air." As this rain has traveled eastward via air currents over Antarctica and 10,000 miles of ocean, it contains 17 parts per million of dissolved solids. Tasmanian Rain is collected by a custom-designed catchment facility and never touches the ground. And so on.

• Carlsberg 900 (which doesn't have its own website) launched this summer in a very limited number of selected bars in Stockholm. Developed in collaboration with 12 top Swedish bartenders, Carlsberg 900 is “brewed from refined virgin hops and selected crystal malt, and triple filtered with a longer cooler fermentation process to ensure a pure, delicate taste.” Carlsberg 900 is priced at the premium end of the market, about the price of decent glass of champagne.

• Further proof that *anything* can be PREMIUMIZED: luxury marshmallows. From Dean & DeLuca's 1-pound Boulé Marshmallow Sampler of lemon chiffon, passion fruit, vanilla and rose-petal flavors (USD 28) to Pete's Gourmet dipped and undipped marshmallows, which are 1 USD a piece.
  
• Get ready to welcome honey to the world of PREMIUMIZATION. Most supermarket honey is imported from China and Argentina, and/or blended from many sources, creating a homogenous taste. But, like water, marshmallows, and beer, honey is now striking back with a sweet vengeance, and artisanal honeys are on the rise. Since honey's flavor and color are determined by the source of nectar, there's a huge variety of very local and exclusive types of honey, with floral sources varying from tupelo gum tree and Tasmanian leatherwood to cranberry and orange blossom. The Savannah Bee Company, for example, sells its honeycomb jars with this awe-inspiring description: "Filled with honey equaling the life's work of two bees, each golden cell brims with the concentrated nectar of thousands of rare and remote Georgia flowers.“ In New York, the Blue Ribbon Bakery Market has installed a honey bar, selling imported raw honey from Mexico. Seasonal (read: limited time only) varieties include mesquite blossom, orange blossom and golden reserve. Also emphasizing the unique flavors of different varieties, Bee Raw Honey sells sets of honey samples, packaging the liquid gold in test-tubes that are corked and hand-sealed with beeswax.

• More PREMIUMIZATION of the sweet kind: chocolate succumbed to PREMIUMIZATION years ago, with artisan chocolate boutiques now charging top dollar/euro/pound for wasabi-infused bonbons from San Francisco to Singapore. So what's next? A recent article in the Financial Times' How to Spend It supplement (which, together with Monocle, is probably the best publication dedicated to PREMIUMIZATION) lists a number of chocolatiers who are going 'bespoke'. Check out firms like Melt, Paul A Young and Sir Hans Sloane Chocolate House for some mouth-watering bespoke inspiration, then figure out if the future of PREMIUMIZATION for your industry is bespoke, too. Hey, Puma is already on board ;-)

Now, even though the food and beverage sector definitely leads the PREMIUMIZATION trend, there's much more going on:

• The Hasbro FurReal Friends Butterscotch Pony seeks to "fulfill every little girl's dream of having her very own pony." From Hasbro: “Butterscotch is a miniature Shetland pony, with a fur coat and mane that feel just like a real pony. Butterscotch also has built-in sensors all over her body, which enable her to respond to children in lifelike ways. If talked to, she will cock her head toward the speaker quizzically and blink her eyes. She will also react to petting, showing her enjoyment by rubbing her head against a child, twitching her ears, and swishing her tail. At over three feet tall, Butterscotch is more than strong enough to support a rider up to 80 pounds in weight. Along with her brush and carrot, Butterscotch comes with a special adoption certificate.” Hasbro told BusinessWeek that “Butterscotch is an attempt to think beyond the toy industry's usual pricing limits to capture a bigger share of the family budgets that regularly go to iPods and video game consoles.”
• Portuguese paper products company Renova sells Renova Black, lauded as the first fashionable toilet paper. Price per roll is EUR 2.17. Renova Black is also available as Renova Red, Renova Orange, and Renova Green.

Emirates' First Class private suites

Singapore Airlines Suites

Jet Airways' Suite in the Sky

• Air travel has become one massive inspiration source for PREMIUMIZATION. We're not even going to try to list all the business-class-only carriers that have sprung up, some of which are thriving. Also keep a close eye on the PREMIUMIZATION pissing match in First involving airlines like Emirates ('First Class private suites'), Singapore Airlines (12 suites on board of each of its new Airbus 380s) and Jet Airways (Suite in the Sky).

• The battle continues on terra firma: Lufthansa has been operating a dedicated First Class terminal in Frankfurt for a few years now, and recently opened a second one in Munchen, but got trumped in size and pomp by Qatar Airways' Premium Terminal in Doha. BTW, notice how these exercises in PREMIUMIZATION do wonders for brand and quality perception across the board...

• Hauzen is Samsung's new premium home appliance brand. Products include a washing machine, kimchi cooler, fridge and air conditioning system. Some of the appliances are designed by well-known Korean designer Andre Kim (that's right, a premium edition within a premium edition). Not available outside South Korea. Yet.
  
• The Plantronics Voyager 855 is the first two-in-one stereo bluetooth headset with "exclusive AudioIQ technology for crystal clear wireless sound." Price: USD 120.

• The KABE Royal Tower is a double-decker caravan. The 8.2 meter long camper is 4.4 meters high, allowing people to stand up straight even on the top deck. The lower deck features a living room, kitchen and breakfast dinette, plus a bedroom with single beds, while the upper deck has a 'lounge' with an L-shaped sofa and a cocktail cabinet. A door from the lounge leads out onto the roof of the front section, which serves as a sunbathing terrace. The new double-decker caravan is fully equipped with air conditioning on both floors, a dishwasher and more. Price: EUR 105,000.

• Strollers had their PREMIUMIZATION moment a few years ago when Bugaboos and Stokkes burst onto the scene. Now car manufacturers like Porsche want a piece of the premium pie: their stroller folds up small enough to fit in the luggage compartment of almost all sports cars. It comes with pneumatic tires and Carrera S rims for a high-performance ride, as well as a lockable front wheel, a handbrake and parking brake. Price: USD 690.
  
• Next: baby furniture. Combining functionality with style, Ooba designs cribs and high chairs that are touted by everyone from the curator of MoMA to French magazines that cater to parents who want to help their children develop a taste for beautiful objects.

• Lenovo now offers the ThinkPad Reserve Edition laptop, encased in leather. The Reserve Edition is based on the recently released 12.1-inch Lenovo ThinkPad X61s, and comes with 'Blue-Button Instant Access' for instant messaging with dedicated support staff. Price: USD 5,000, sold by invitation only.

• The Laundress is a collection of high-end fabric detergents and care products. When Lindsey Wieber, a sales executive for Chanel, and Gwen Whiting, a senior designer for Ralph Lauren, realized that their expensive clothes were suffering from dry cleaning, they took matters into their own hands and created The Laundress. Their line of premium fabric care products provides detergents for superior fabrics, from wool/cashmere shampoo to baby detergent. In their own words: “All fabrics are different—everything needs to be treated differently. All of our products were developed for a specific reason.” Adding to the sense of luxury, detergents and care products come in four signature fragrances: Classic, Cedar, Baby and Lady. The Laundress range also includes laundry bags and 'wet' swimsuit pouches.

• British Feature Radiators proudly states: “Our collection is made up of the best contemporary designer radiators (including stainless steel radiators), traditional cast iron radiators, electric radiators and towel rails on the market. With over 150 radiators on display in our showroom, expert advice, unrivalled customer service and nationwide delivery, feature radiators has been recognized the UK's leading radiator specialist." And regarding their 'Trend' model: "Tall and flat-fronted, this supermodel in the radiator world is an exclusive addition to Feature Radiators' contemporary collection. Made of lightweight aluminum and created by top Italian designers, the Trend not only has a tidy appearance but also has a magnificent heat output. Available in classic white and silver metallic.”

Clearly, the list goes on forever. In 2008, no self-respecting brand, even those who market the most mundane of commodities, will fail to introduce at least one premium version of whatever it is they're peddling. (Candles! Did we mention candles yet? Check out Acqua di Parma's Design Candle Collection, priced at a cool USD 130 per candle). If only for the premium profit margins that are involved. Is your industry or sector next?