TikTok TV and indigenous ingredients

Plus, the strangest waitlist strategy we've ever seen.

Friday 25 August 2023 View in browser   /   Sign up Tapping into a community is a smart way to start something – and people will go niche to connect: career-themed claw clips, high intensity workouts and a love of olives. Plus, right at the end, the weirdest waitlist strategy we've come across. 01. TikTok's already chipping away at television viewing. So why not create television that's made for TikTok? This is the idea behind Adam Faze's Fazeworld. The first series is called Clockwork Dynasty and follows dealers around New York City's watch shops (think a less frenetic Uncut Gems), with extra features like group chats and live events. Already it's racked up millions of views. Political content is also in the works.   02. Louisiana-based Collette Bernard is an artist who dabbled in sticker and accessories designs until her tooth claw clip went viral among those in the dental industry (a surprisingly big niche). Now she's designing a line of career-based hair clips, based on suggestions from commenters on social media. 03. Sad but true: it's a good time to be in the business of the unemployed. A year of layoffs and a tightening job market has seen a steep rise in the number of people seeking support beyond Linkedin:  Irregular Hours is a just-opened 'career center' in New York City, which offers headshots, archetype-based career exploration and sharing its community via IG resumes.  Home From College is focused on Gen Z job seekers, with resume templates and short paid project-based gigs.  Run The Check hosts a grid-based job board for the creative industry in the UK. 04. And to pick you back up, some good news from the world of Courier. Paulana Lamonier, one of our previous Fresh Fund winners (cash grants for black business owners who have great ideas to start or grow a business) is up for two Emmys. The former college swimmer and swim instructor runs Black People Swim, an organization that offers affordable swim lessons geared towards people of color – in the US, around two in three black children have little or no ability to swim. Since we caught up with Paulana in 2020, her business has been picking up momentum and attention – and is earning her an extra $1,000 per month. BRAND PARTNERSHIP There's a big opportunity for every business on TikTok One in three TikTok users bought a product because they saw it on TikTok. And with TikTok for business, your product could be next. There are digital marketing resources for businesses of all sizes, with all the features you need to launch effective ads, drive sales and measure performance. Take the guesswork out of going viral. 05. Palestinian-American siblings Rana Kamal and Khalid Ansari turned their father's hummus recipe into a company selling Middle Eastern staples with a twist – things like truffle hummus and snackable pita puffs – across 600 stores. Now they've opened a hummus-focused cafe in Minneapolis. 06. Kashmiri chef Vanika Choudhary's preferred ingredients aren't exactly off the shelf. Fiddlehead ferns from the Himalayas, chilis harvested from her parent's backyard and mahua – a wild flower that can only be picked at sunrise – have all featured at her Mumbai farm-to-table restaurants. Sourcing indigenous ingredients sets her apart – she was recently invited to host a pop-up at 180 The Strand in London. 07. Another way to make a splash in the culinary world: put your restaurant in the middle of a Norwegian fjord. Iris is shaped like a huge metallic egg and is accessible only by boat – hence why it's been dubbed 'expedition dining'. Iris's young chef Anika Madsen is also gaining attention for her ultra-sustainable cuisine; it's also drawn some comparisons to The Menu (if you know you know). Either way, she has people talking… TRY IT. You don't need a Norwegian fjord to get people talking. Here's our guide on pitching your business to the media. 08. CrossFit is the workout of choice for upwards of four million people globally and is professionalizing with big budget competitions – but has been noticeably ignored by indie brands. R.A.D. bucks the trend and is piggybacking on CrossFit's success. It makes training sneakers, sponsors athletes at the CrossFit Games and has done some notable activations from street pizza parties to surprise drops out the back of a van. 09. Related: the gym is continuing its surprising post-COVID resurgence. But there's still plenty of room for innovation. Former pro-surfer Matt Rodwell runs ARC Athletics Club in central London with coach-led sessions spanning CrossFit, gymnastics and weightlifting, as well as special events for members (plus he recently hosted a Corteiz drop 🔥). 10. Community seems to be what sets businesses like Arc apart. And when it comes to community-building, the more niche the better. Send Olives is an olive appreciation page started by Allegra Lorenzotti. She reposts photos from olive lovers around the world and runs partnerships – who's up for olive oil and lemon curd donuts with gin and vermouth glaze? Meanwhile, weekly olive drops are launching soon. 11. And just to show how far people will go in their pursuit of said briney fruit: everyone's talking about the negroni Jell-O olives from 'unusual Italian' restaurant Cafe Mars. Strangely appealing! BRAND PARTNERSHIP We moved into our new office in Hackney, east London, just over a year ago. In that time, many of you have come down for launches, events and talks, and it's really cemented our belief in the power of an incredible workspace and what an incubator it can be for your brands and businesses. So, we're opening our doors: for the first time, our beautiful new office space is available for hire – whether to host an event or to work from day to day. Email julia@couriermedia.com for rates and more info. 12. Our contributor Alexandra De Cramer just spent a bit of time in Paros, where she came across the pastry shop Cannelait. 'All the products are made with natural ingredients and are free from premixes, artificial colourings and chemical preservatives,' she says. 'The shop partners with local artisans to ensure the Greek heritage of one-of-a-kind ingredients, plus fresh hand-picked herbs from its organic garden in Santa Maria.' 🇬🇷 13. Alexandra also spotted a Greek ingredient to watch if you're over kombucha (and it's also good for the gut): 'The Greeks are obsessed with the flavor of mastic, a resin plant, which only grows in the micro climate in the island of Chios.' Paging Snaxshot... 14. Saigon-based Dan Q. Dao tells us there's a new brew taking over one of the coffee-drinking capitals of the world: 'I've noticed a proliferation of lighter, fruitier coffees – a trend that speaks to both the wide availability of tropical fruit in Vietnam, as well as the growing global taste for cold brews and citrusy espresso tonics. On hot days I get the yuzu cold brew tonic from Rang Rang and the peach iced coffee from RuNam. But even older, more traditional places are jumping on the trend: Hue Cafe now also serves a much lighter lemon juice coffee.' 🇻🇳 15. Can't make it to Vietnam? Montreal-based Cafélimo sells a canned cold brew lemonade, in the best four-pack packaging we've come across recently.  16. Meanwhile Orka, a beverage company launching soon, has the strangest landing page and waitlist strategy we've seen for a long time. It involves belly buttons. We're not making it up.  More from us (and elsewhere) 💪  Gyms are the new coworking spaces. 🍦  The surprising monopoly on ice cream cones. 🏡  This real estate app helps you live near friends. 🧠  Get smarter in just 5 minutes each morning.* 🥪  Why not: an all-felt deli in Montauk. *This is sponsored advertising content Advertise with us Drop us a line any time at hello@couriermedia.com. Update your preferences here. Unsubscribe here