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Amazing article! Indeed, you are right! At Shad, it is easy to find someone holding an iPhone with a personal trainner app! Well, I might start doing so as well!
Digitalization is re-shaping the fitness industry. As you have mentioned, companies such as Equinox are treating this issue as an opportunity. They have to, although wise they will lose their business. Equinox made a smart move to partner with Apple but, as you perfectly pointed, will this be enough?
I would love to see more incremental disruptive technologies being applied to the fitness industry, aside from the basic stuff we already have. I agree with you, having new technologies applicable to clothes, shoes, and incorporating more sophisticated aspects on it will be just amazing. I guess more and more people are willing to have “professional grade” information about their workout. I’m keen to see new developments on this subjects!

Loved this innovation brought by Blue C Sushi! Such a smart move to, as you have mentioned in the article, minimize waste and better serve their clients.
As a sushi-lover, I do have concerns about raw food being exposed for too long on restaurants. RFID technology adopted by Blue C Sushi will definitely improve food safety concerns. I found very interesting how the restaurant, even though with low margins, managed to employ technology on its front and back offices. I guess the main challenge here is making it profitable and leverage the learnings to the restaurant supply chain. Well, this won’t be an easy task as restaurant business is known for its tradition and technology aversion!
Great article!

Well written article!

I was delighted to learn that McDonald’s has a mobile app! I will definitely download it, as I’m a big fan of their meals!
On the digitalization, I believe McDonald’s is pursuing the right path when investing in alternatives ordering channels to increase revenues. Apple Pay is also a smart move as people spend a lot of times in lines, which might hurt the company revenues.

As an ending note, I agree with your suggestion: McDonald’s should definitely leverage technology to better communicate its meals’ ingredients and preparation process. Being more transparent is a must, especially in the food industry.

Great article!
As a big fan of GoPro, I must confess that this was a pleasurable reading!
GoPro changed the way we deal with cameras: I carry my GroPro whenever I go adventure. Small, practical and reliable.
As you have mentioned in the text, it is changing the way athletes, travelers, etc are image capturing, and this is amazing.
Unfortunately, there will be some tough challenges. As you have mentioned, as smartphone industry begins to flourish and tech companies start to heavily invest in mobile’s camera updates, it will be tough for GoPro to stay with its competitive advantage.
Recently, the company is investing in new products, such as drones. Honestly, I think GoPro just realized what you have mentioned and is desperate to avoid what happened with Kodak.

Very interesting and funny post! I really enjoy the “two digital R’s of the restaurant business” concept and fully agree with it. Digitalization the restaurant industry is, indeed reshaping it.

I was amused to learn that each Yelp start can have such a great impact in a restaurant revenue (5% to 9% revenue, according to your text). I actually really pretty much on Yelp whenever I want to explore a new restaurant. I think this is a powerful tool for a restaurant business to improve their business as well as to keep update with consumers’ demands.

On Open Table, even though I have never used it before, I do think it can be sometimes distracting for consumers, however, the idea of making restaurant reservations online is very appellative. I will try it once.

As you mentioned, I do agree: restauranteurs have no other option as to embrace this shift for digitalization and attend to more demanding consumers that are using technology to improve their eating experience.

I’m a big friend of the brand and a customer who believes business and sustainable practices should be aligned. I like this article because it portrays the difficult decisions business face when they adopt “go-green” value propositions.

The example of retail emissions for North Face stores is a good picture of the hard balance the company ought to achieve: maximize returns for shareholders while achieving its own goals for sustainability. I have never realized that Patagonia reuse buildings ad retrofit existing stores. This is not only a smart and commercial way to build new stores but is also visual appetitive: our generation seems to enjoy the contrast between the old and new, especially in interior design. North Face should also adopt this approach; LED lighting is a good strategy but, as numbers show, not enough.

I was also impressed by the “Hot Planet/Cool Athletes” educational program. Even though US and Canada are important markets for the company and US the second largest CO2 emission in the world, I do believe that the program should also aim emerging countries such as Brazil and India. On these countries, climate change is still an undervalued topic. Hence, giving North Face willingness to impact and raise attention on the issues we are facing, I would strongly recommend the brand to expand the program and focus on what young students can do to decrease the alarming change in climate.

Good job, great article!

I found this article very interesting! It really concerns me the fact that world population is increasing pretty fast and the available food sources is getting more and more scarce. This is a snowball problem: higher demand for food increase pressure in suppliers that ended up fostering ways to cope with rising demands: in the vast majority, cheaper and less sustainable ways.

It is impressive how Israel, such a small country, was able to find a smart solution for a global problem. The country is located in the middle of the desert and water is a precious resource. Nefatim’s solution, I imagine, not only employs the perfect amount of water required to plants to flourish but also optimize the water allocation to avoid unnecessary waste. I’m looking forward to seeing the company next steps; the challenge of micro-irrigation adoption in developed countries is still a barrier, but next generations, I believe, tend to be more sustainable driven and new technologies adoption will be a must.

Hi, Jarod!

As a big fan of protein bars, I was delighted to learn more about Exo. Even though the idea of eating cricket may, at first, sound a little odd for me, I do see myself buying this product. The sustainability appeal is indeed very interesting for this product. In addition, insect protein could be a good alternative for people who are allergic to meat alternatives like soy.

I do question what would take for western cultures to adopt it as an alternative to beef and pork meats. I guess taste is an important factor but breaking stigmas and making people more comfortable with the green idea of eating ground insects is also a turning point. I also see pricing as a challenge to overcome: until mass production, the cricket protein bars are quite expensive and, to be considered as a food for the poor and a viable replacement of beef and chicken, it must be affordable.

Hi!

Even though I’m a frequent traveler, I have never realized that JetBlue actually separates its flights’ trash. This is a nice approach the company has on the issue and from now on, I’ll be more aware of the need to separate my trash on flights as well.

I also have never thought about the relationship between hot temperatures and the energy required to a plane to take off. This makes total sense and, indeed, is an alert of the “unseen” impacts rising temperatures have on our daily activities.

On the fuel efficiency issue, the numbers you show are impressive.I see a major effort from airplane manufacturers such as Boeing, Airbus, and Embraer to manufacture more eco-friendly and fuel efficiency planes. However, airlines should also assume the responsibility and contribute – not only pressure – for more sustainable practices. I was happy to learn that JetBlue is taking the lead on this issue!

Hi, Aakash!

Really interesting text about Blue Apron. I have heard about the company even though I’m not a cooking fan.
I confess I didn’t know about their value proposition of reducing food waste. Indeed, this is a daily problem we face but we don’t actually realize its dimension.

The idea of selling the right size meal portion, at an accessible price is fantastic. I haven’t realized the responsibility I have as consumer: when I buy more than what I need from a supermarket not only I’m contributing for food wasting but also I’m perpetuating the pressure on the supply chain overproduction and overstocking

I like the idea of BA using their raw ingredients directly from local farms and suppliers; I wasn’t expecting such a sustainable consciousness from a startup that was launched just a few years ago. Sustainability sometimes can be costly and incorporate it in a business model can be quite challenging, but BA did it.

I really like this article from professor Jose B. Alvarez, where he discuss the food waste impact and how changing our conceptions on food might help reduce it: http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/business-solutions-that-help-cut-food-waste

Good job, very interesting post Aakash!