Editor’s note: This article was first published in June 2013; its figures are from 2013, including Modern Toilet’s 12 additional restaurants, square watermelon prices in Japan, Kopi Luwak at up to $350 a kilo on Amazon and $35 a cup, and underwear at $25.
These ideas that started in Asia may seem a little crazy, and imagination has clearly played a very important part in catching consumers’ attention. What is clear is that they are very profitable businesses on the Asian continent. The question is: will they succeed outside Asia? There is only one way to find out, although we know that some of them have already made the leap to other countries.
(Also read: Innovative and profitable businesses around the world)
6 business ideas to import from Asia
1. The Modern Toilet restaurant
Innovation and originality taken to the extreme
Eating poop-shaped ice cream while sitting on toilet-shaped chairs might sound disgusting, but in Taiwan it is apparently big business. This original restaurant was founded in 2004 by an entrepreneur who previously ran an ice-cream parlour. Since then the concept has been so successful that he has opened 12 more restaurants on the same theme, where drinks come in quirky containers and meals are served on bathtub-shaped plates. It’s no surprise that themed restaurants do well in Taiwan, where there are other outlandish restaurants inspired by hospitals, car repair shops and so on.
(Read: The 9 most original restaurants and 5 ideas for innovative restaurants, where the food, at the end of the day, is what matters least.)
2. Selling canned air
Air quality in China has become so bad that one businessman is making a fortune from it. The compressed air is sold in cans the same size as ordinary soft-drink cans. The inventor of this business idea is said to have sold 8 million cans in the first 12 months at a price of 5 yuan (about $0.50). Part of his success comes from donating a percentage of the profits to China’s poorest regions.
3. Square watermelons
Playing with nature has produced what is considered one of Japan’s greatest innovations. News of square watermelons began to arrive in 2001, although the Japanese are said to have been growing square watermelons and melons for more than 30 years. They are very popular in Japan and can sell for between $150 and $250 each. A fruit grower in Panama was the first to copy the idea, and today his company exports square watermelons to the United States and Europe at $75 each. As you can see, playing with the shape of fruit can also be very profitable.
4. One of the most expensive coffees in the world
If you have a sensitive stomach, please don’t read this. One of the most expensive coffees in the world is Kopi Luwak, which comes from the droppings of a very peculiar Asian cat-like animal (the civet). This long-bodied mammal, which lives in the jungles of southern Asia, eats the coffee berries. After the beans ferment in the animal’s stomach, its droppings are collected, cleaned and roasted. And there you have your coffee.
A kilogram of this coffee can cost up to $350 on Amazon, while luxury restaurants can charge up to $35 for a cup of this exquisite product. Now I understand why tea, rather than coffee, is the culture in that part of the world.
5. Odour-absorbing underwear
As we said before, clothing, food and technology were among the most profitable businesses, so a textile innovation had to make the list.
An entrepreneur has invented men’s underwear that absorbs odours and can be bought online for $25. He uses nanotechnology to stop smells from escaping through the fabric. The fabric was invented and patented by the US company Nano-Tex and is often used in sportswear. The inventor says it has been a best-seller among women who buy this kind of underwear for their boyfriends and husbands. In Japan it is a luxury item for executives. The company has since diversified and sells socks and T-shirts made from the same fabric under its 4Skins brand. (Read: Patches invented to hide the smell of farts)
6. Ashes of the dead turned into beads
When we wrote about the most original funerals and cremations on the planet, we mentioned something similar. In South Korea this business idea has received government support, because turning our loved ones’ ashes into jewels or gemstones saves space in cemeteries, which are full and short of room.
Several companies have bought the Korean technology for turning ashes into gemstones. The business of this kind of cremation is booming.
Further reading
- New, little-exploited businesses
- 9 business ideas you can run from home without commercial premises
- 8 profitable business ideas from around the world
Featured image: Cat, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
