Move over Coimbatore Krishnarao Prahalad’s ‘bottom of the pyramid’ (BoP). The opportunity now lies in BoUP or ‘bottom of the urban pyramid’, according to the Amsterdam-based consumer trends watch firm Trendwatching.com, a company that has a network of more than 700 ‘spotters’ in 120 countries.

“It is about opportunities to cater to hundreds of millions of low-income urban consumers, called ‘citysumers’, who don’t have middle-class salaries to spend. They will demand innovation tailored to their unique circumstances, from health issues to lack of space to the need for durability,” Henry Mason, head of research and analysis at Trendwatching.com, told Financial Chronicle, in an email interview. Mason cites India’s Aakash and PepsiCo India’s Lehar Gluco Plus, a beverage with electrolytes and glucose, and Lehar Iron Chusti, a fortified iron snack are as examples of products created for the BoUP.

BoUP is one of the 12 consumer trends identified by Trendwatching.com. The others include ‘red carpet’, which is about how businesses around the world attempting to woo the Chinese and lavish them with attention and respect through special tailor-made services and products. DIY or do-it-yourself is one trend that will see “large number of people discreetly tracking and managing their health using latest access devices, from smartphones to tablets, which are installed with novel applications”. Recommerce, according to Trendwatching, is about the best opportunity that exists today to sell and trade online on your own, which never has been as easy as is today. ‘Screen culture’ is about how human beings will live their life and do their work ever more on pervasive, personal and immersive screens and interactive surfaces. The year ahead is going to be also for “dealer-chic”, consumers securing the best deals on many online deal sites.

Commenting on the trends, Mason told FC that consumers today face turbulent times and it’s never been more important for brands to be aware of trends and the changing customer expectations that drive them. “Consumers will be more picky about how and where and what they spend their money on, and so it’s only by understanding what consumers want that brands can be successful,” Mason said.

According to him, while there are macro trends and big themes that shape the consumer environment, “watching trends is all about enabling profitable innovation”. “So the focus here is on easy-to-apply ideas that almost all businesses and entrepreneurs can run with quickly. Take for example ‘recommerce’, which is about creative ways that brands can help consumers unlock value from their past purchases. Now almost any retailer could roll out a ‘recommerce’ strategy in weeks using the examples as inspiration — either by partnering with a non-profit, or giving discounts for traded goods, or by helping customers recycle unwanted goods,” he explained.

Given the conditions that the global markets are in, Mason said the optimism of Asian markets and the potential these markets offer. “We touch on this in our ‘red carpet’, but we’re also looking at another huge trend which will be interesting for people in India, we’re calling ‘made for India’ (if not Bric or Brazil, Russia, India and China),” he said. “This is all about western brands paying homage to Indian (or Brazilian) consumers with local tailoring, love or exclusivity. This can be either for practical reasons (shape, size, features) or because of deeply rooted desires for recognition (cultural pride, heritage, lifestyles),” he added.

Mason cited French high fashion house Hermès’ limited edition collection of saris available only in its Mumbai store; Diageo’s Smirnoff Masala Marke pack, containing a 750 ml bottle of vodka, a 600 ml bottle of lemonade and a 50 mg sachet of spicy chaat masala; and the Hyundai HA, the car that was launched specifically by the Korean auto major for the Indian market; as examples of an emerging trend, he calls, ‘made for India’.

rejijohn@mydigitalfc.com