2017Issue6_Alabama_v9.indd

OUTSIDE THE BOX

Unicorn Juice Things are getting nasty in the land of the latte. In the hipster haven of Brooklyn, N.Y., a small coffee shop called The End, a barista pours a blue liquid in a cup and tops it with frothy coconut milk, goji and pomegranate

CRYPTO CONFUSION

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While the Washington swamp is mired in discussions over excess regulation, the ephemeral world of crypto-currencies is making fortunes without any regulation whatsoever. Recently, two unnamed companies with no sales raised $400 million from investors. Instead of the usual Wall Street IPO, this was done through an ICO or Initial Coin Offering, which is totally unregulated. This exploding business, for which over $1 billion was raised in offerings this year, not only includes Bitcoin, but also names like Blackcoin, Burstcoin, Potcoin and Zcash. These offerings, which investors use to purchase this digital currency, rose in value 3,350 percent in the first half of 2017, proving once again that you don’t have to make a product to sell it.

powders and fluorescent pink vegan sprinkles and calls it Unicorn Juice. But the company is suing Starbucks’ Montauk Juice

Factory for trademark infringement to the tune of $10 million, for selling a pink and blue concoction called a Unicorn

SAFETY NET

Frappuccino. A judge will rule whether the lawsuit is as mythical as the creature it’s named after.

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The merger of longtime rivals QVC and the Home Shopping Network (HSN), which made fortunes on items like the Miracle Mop and the George Foreman Grill, are hoping the $2.1 billion deal will give them some leverage against Amazon. Both companies were early adopters of e-commerce and are not under the same pressure as brick-and-mortar retailers. But sales at both companies have been declining precipitously over the past year courtesy of Amazon.

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Analysts say Nike hasn’t done enough to capture the millennial market. But this could change. The company has decided to start selling its products on Amazon and Instagram – a move that’s likely to boost its stock price as well as sales as sporting good sales increasingly move online and into social media. The trick will be to highlight athletic products more as fashion statements and not just performance apparel. MISSING

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ALABAMA GROCER |