40 innovative business ideas from recent years

Editor’s note: This article was first published in February 2018, but it was compiled from earlier articles, mostly from 2012-2014. References to “this crisis”, the prices cited and the 70 billion dollar US pet spending figure are from that period, and many of the companies named may no longer exist or trade as described.

Over time we’ve collected many stories of entrepreneurs who have come up with all kinds of ideas, from the most classic to the most innovative businesses. Some require more investment, while others can be started with practically no money, although we could say that, today, all these ideas are profitable.

Let your imagination and creativity run free and see whether you could apply them in your country or city. If you’d like to know more about any of the ideas, just click on its title.

Surprisingly innovative and profitable businesses

An innovative solution to the problem of guns

After the scandals we’ve seen in the news, both in the United States and in some European countries, a US company, Yardarm Technologies, has come up with a high-tech idea that lets gun owners disable their weapon remotely.

In other words, if a gun is moved, the system sends a message to the owner’s phone, giving them the option to disable it from their mobile. This technology would add only around 40 euros to the price of a gun, plus an annual fee of 10 euros for the service.

It’s a system gun manufacturers will probably adopt. CNBC chose this company as one of the most innovative business ideas of 2013.

Making alternative fuel

Although the alternative fuels market may seem saturated by large companies, a company called AMP Americas, which makes compressed natural gas, is going to start producing fuel from cow manure. The idea came to them while they were thinking about a way to make money from the manure produced by hundreds of farms.

A bullet casing can be a beautiful thing

In 2010 a small company had the idea of using bullet casings to create elegant jewellery. The company recycles the casings to make stylish accessories for men and women. It says women are developing a real weakness for these designs, while the company fights to patent this kind of jewellery.

Its sales have grown exponentially since it had the idea. You can see everything they make from bullet casings on their Bulletdesigns page.

Innovation for answering the call of nature outdoors

The product from Hallettco is very simple to explain. If you’re a hiker, camper or any other kind of outdoor enthusiast, you’ll know there are some things you can’t avoid, such as the call of Mother Nature and certain unavoidable bodily functions.

Based on the hazards of doing this in the wild, given all the fungi, bacteria, insects and poisonous plants, the company’s product is a strap you put around your body and tie to a tree trunk or a rock, which lets you hold the so-called “squatting monkey” position.

Nature takes care of the rest. It isn’t going to be one of the most profitable products in history, but it certainly is something mountaineers and some nature lovers are asking for.

A folding helmet

The number of people who cycle from home to work keeps rising in many cities, particularly in the United Kingdom, where the idea for Morpher was born: a helmet that meets every safety requirement (it has already passed all the European safety standards) and can also be folded to fit in a bag, so you don’t have to carry it around with you everywhere. Its creator, Jeff Woolf, had a bicycle accident and was aware that on that day he hadn’t been wearing his helmet because he didn’t know where he would put it. He spent years working on the idea, which is now on sale.

Special suits for executives who cycle to work

Continuing with the same trend (cyclists), Parker Dusseau, a US entrepreneur, has come up with a solution for executives who want to cycle to work but don’t want their suit to get creased or to sweat more than necessary. These suits have many of the features of sportswear, combined with spandex for stretch and moisture resistance.

Thanks to the pleats in the suit, the cycling executive can stretch their arms out fully, and there are zips under the arms that can be opened for ventilation. The suits still look elegant, and perhaps that’s why they cost around 700 dollars.

Condoms with advice from Mum

They’re called Momdoms and they’re sold in boxes of 6 and 12. Although linking these intimate moments with our mothers may not sound very comforting at first, what started as a business idea meant to warn young people and make sure they had safe sex has ended up succeeding simply because many of the tips younger users find inside the box are funny, such as “be careful who you use it with” and the like.

A cat litter box subscription service

In the United States alone, spending on pets is around 70 billion dollars. Until now, subscription services have proved to be a very profitable business when aimed at humans, so Poopy Cat is trying out a subscription service in which, for a monthly fee, you don’t just change your cat’s litter, you replace the whole box, all made from eco-friendly materials. For 19.95 dollars a month, this need is taken care of.

(Read: The most original funerals and cremations on the planet)

Waking up pleasantly with a vibrating alarm in your underwear

There are two ways to wake up: one is with that blaring alarm-clock beep that puts some people in a foul mood, and the other is waking up with pleasure. The makers of the Little Rooster say it achieves the latter. Designed for women, it goes inside the underwear and, when the alarm goes off, starts to vibrate, producing a pleasant sensation. It has up to 30 different intensities, although I’m not sure how good it is to head off to work that cheerful every morning.

Other innovative business ideas

1. “Transformer” cars

A group of Japanese entrepreneurs gave the word recycling a new meaning: any owner can “immortalise” their vehicle as a giant figure. The company’s slogan is: “There is life after the death of your vehicle.” See also: 6 original products from Japan

2. Restaurants specialising in Dukan diet food

In this case, following the success of Dr Dukan’s diet, with hundreds of thousands of people following it, some entrepreneurs had the idea of specialising in this type of diet, so that its followers could go out for dinner without breaking it.

For restaurant owners, focusing on people’s eating habits can be very profitable: vegetarian food, gluten-free food and so on.

3. Military-style weight-loss camps

This business is booming, because getting in shape or losing weight requires discipline. Discipline is the military’s strong point, so more and more camps of this kind are opening, where, through tough military training and discipline, people get their weight and habits back on track.

4. Chewing-gum removal

Removing chewing gum stuck to pavements and shop floors is no easy task, so companies specialising in it, which appeared in Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and elsewhere, have now arrived in Spain, and an entrepreneur in Andalusia has even turned it into a franchise.

5. Startups that encourage saving rather than spending

During this crisis, starting a business that offers a service encouraging saving rather than spending undoubtedly improves the odds of entrepreneurial success. From websites offering accommodation to travellers, to holiday home swaps, to the latest trend that’s catching on: bartering.

6. Sweets shaped like medicines

An original idea that makes buying jelly sweets fun.

7. Organic food co-op stores

As a solution to the crisis farmers across the country are going through, since they aren’t paid a reasonable price for their crops, these cooperative stores make it possible for customers to pay less for local organic fruit and for small farmers to sell their harvest at a reasonable price.

8. Hospitality businesses

If we break it down by type, we’d find plenty of ideas: in the case of a bar, “theme pubs” are popular these days, while small venues such as cafés are increasingly being turned into hybrid shops. And if you’re looking for ideas for an original restaurant, as we explained in a previous article, what matters now is fun and entertainment, not so much the menu.

(Read: 5 ideas for restaurants with entertainment.) And of course, take a look at the 9 most original restaurants.

9. Nap bars

While taking a siesta is perfectly normal in Spain, outside Spain, in Argentina, they’ve copied the habit from us and specialised in it, turning it into practically a ritual.

10. Bringing the internet’s “everything free” model to business

Until now, the internet has been able to offer free services thanks to advertising. This can also be done offline.

Some company ideas that work in other parts of the world

11. A company making artistic artificial trees out of steel.
12. Mannequin rental.
13. A company that uses cows as stress therapy.

To find out more about these business ideas: 5 one-of-a-kind businesses

14. A local bicycle courier company

At the start of the year we wrote about Ignacio Mellado, an entrepreneur who, after losing his job, decided to start this courier service for businesses and individuals. So far the company is rolling along nicely.

15. Original funerals and cremations

Death can also be a very profitable business, even though your customer never comes back a second time. We show how some companies have managed to innovate in this area to unimaginable lengths.

16. Second-hand businesses

As we’ve explained before, businesses focused on buying and selling second-hand goods are proving very profitable, and they can cover all kinds of items, from wedding dresses and suits to children’s clothes or digital goods, or even specialise in one particular sector.

17. The 35 million clothing business

A clothing store where users can design and sell their own garments. One of the biggest success stories of recent years.

18. Making food at home

When a woman left her career to spend more time with her children, she ended up founding Big Dipper, a big company making organic drinkable food that has won the hearts of many families.

20. 10 internet business ideas

These 10 ideas are working in other countries, and it’s a matter of finding a way to apply them in yours.

22. The gluten-free market

Making all kinds of gluten-free sweets, doughnuts, pastries and cakes has turned Babycakes into a benchmark for this style of baking.

23. Education franchises

With the cuts in education, many teachers won’t find a teaching post, so a teacher can even own their own business, and there’s a wide range of education-focused franchises for them.

Businesses for young entrepreneurs with very little investment

24. A premium errand service.
25. Social media for small businesses.
26. The internet and social media for older people.
27. Homemade candle making.

You can explore these services in more depth in 6 business ideas for young entrepreneurs.

Some innovative ideas

28. A Wall Street bar, where drink prices move like shares.
29. A bicycle rental company (very profitable nowadays).
30. Event management and promotion.
31. An ice-cream parlour with very original flavours.

To find out more: 5 innovative business ideas from around the world

Micro-businesses

32. Selling homemade handcrafted products.
33. Made-to-order customised trainers and clothing.
34. A helpline.
35. An advertising leaflet distribution company.

For more detail: 11 profitable micro-business ideas for students, homemakers and more

There’s money in controversy

36. Help for people who commit adultery.
37. A vibrator controlled by a mobile app (it recently raised another 50,000 dollars in a funding round).
38. An app for rating and talking about men.

To find out more: 4 controversial business ideas.

39. Clothing rental for special occasions

This kind of business is also booming because, with the crisis, people have been forced to cut back on some of these luxuries, without going without them for a one-off occasion. For your wedding day or an invitation to a gala dinner, you can rent the garment you need by the day, whether it’s a wedding dress or a tuxedo.

40. Vintage fashion

Innovation looking to the past: more and more entrepreneurs are opening clothing shops that bring back the fashion of the 1920s or the 1960s.

As we’ve said before, if we look back over it all, the most profitable businesses would be clothing, food and technology.

Further reading

Featured image: Archives Of Ontario from Toronto, Canada, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.