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Luxury Lattes
Reinier Evers is the founder of trendwatching.com, a consumer trends firm with a network of some 8,000 trend spotters who scan the globe for emerging consumer trends. Evers says there are a number of big trends that smart companies will cater to in 2007. One of the most noteworthy trends is "all about status-craving consumers hunting down the next wave in über-exclusive goods, services, and experiences that are truly out of reach for 99.9% of the mass class."
Since Starbucks has proven the willingness of Americans to spend $5 on a cup of coffee, Evers says the market is now ripe for an "ultra-deluxe Starbucks [-type shop] that sells $15 lattes." The key: branding it as the most exclusive coffee shop in the world. "Can you just imagine the kind of PR you'd get when a reporter spotted the first $15 cup of coffee?" says Evers.