Many times you see things in passing that seem so inconsequential at the time only to have them reverberate later with that famous "Uh Huh!" moment. And so it is with this installment.  Too busy during the holidays to take a moment for observation, we quickly dismissed a concept at a local mall kiosk that deserves some business retrospection.

Everyone offers every kind of food delicacy during the end of the year holidays.  There's popcorn, candy, cookies, cheeses, sausages, and the time honored favorite, fruitcake.  A friend of ours believes that there is only one fruit cake in the world, incessantly passed around from person to person, preserved forever, never spoiling, never eaten. But the one we missed was the most innovative twist on an old product standard and favorite.  It is passionately known as the....

UPCAKE!  So, "What is an upcake?", you ask. Well, they start with cake and bake it in a paper cup mold.  There is chocalate cake, yellow cake, devils food cake, you get the idea.  And then they add the twist.  After they are baked they dump them out of their molds upside down and add the icing.  But instead of adding icing to the top of the cake, they add icing to the bottom and sides of the cake.  Voila! An UPCAKE is born!  The company that makes them Is called Dixie Picnic and they sell them via mail order as well as in their store and restaurant. The concept is so simple it leads to the question, "Why didn't I think of that?"

Innovation requires that you sometimes choose to "turn the world upside down".  This may have to be done with your product, your business, your marketing, and perhaps, yourself.  Take a long hard look.  Are you missing something so obvious that if you began implementing it tomorrow it will dramatically improve your world? True innovation requires research, thought, and action.  Insipration for innovation can begin with the simple exposures, like in passing by a mall kiosk and suddenly recalling the inspiration two months after the fact.  Strive to turn the world upside down. It can be rewarding.

And, as always, we welcome your comments.

The Plain Page Prophets