On Independence Day we will consume 150 million Hot Dogs!!!!

Narita, Japan at the airport!

The Japanese Shinkansen is the world’s busiest high-speed rail line. Carrying 151 million passengers a year, it has transported more passengers (4.5 billion) than all other high speed lines in the world combined.

Though it is largely a long-distance transport system, the Shinkansen also serves commuters who travel to work in metropolitan areas from outlying cities. This train is the most relaxing way to travel I have ever experienced.



There is no baggage check-in, no security lines, no seat belts, you walk on and bingo always right on time the train pulls out. I always took the 7:04 to Osaka from Tokyo…7:05 you missed but between Tokyo and Shin Osaka, the two largest metropolises in Japan, they have ten trains per hour with long trains, 16- cars each (1,300 seats capacity) running in each direction with minimum 3 minutes frequency.

It is clean of course (it is Japan) and it runs clean using electric power.

It is great. I was able to go to the Winter Olympics each day from Tokyo to Nagano door to door in about 90 minutes,

Where is our American ingenuity? GE helped Japan with its rail system let’s get them on the stick for our Eastern Seaboard. We need this train!

They’ve got roughly $200 billion in disposable income, and they aren’t afraid to spend it on clothes, designer sneakers, alcohol, fast food, cellphones and video games. I’m familiar with the lackadaisical spending habits of Gen Yers, because I am the father of three of them, and until last fall, I watched them splurge on things such as a Wii and an iPhone.

Now thanks to this recession they are changed.

They eat more meals at home and actually pay attention to the price of groceries. They are buying and using more household products, from dishwasher soap to stain remover.

As a result, they are more receptive to advertising in those product categories. But what surprises me is how few marketers outside of clothes, shoe, food-and-beverage and entertainment marketers actually pursue that age group.

I wonder why. Consumers settle into brand choices in their 20s, according to one report, and those preferences don’t change much into their 30s and beyond. And get this: Brand loyalty increases with age, 37% of 18 to 29 year-olds buy one favorite brand of mayonnaise, for instance, vs. 55% of those 30-plus.

Just recently, Kraft Foods launched a campaign for its Miracle Whip spread that does the unthinkable and looks beyond moms as the target. The goal was to simply remind young consumers about Miracle Whip, a sandwich spread and dressing they most likely grew up with but may have abandoned after childhood.

Along with a traditional media campaign and Facebook and Twitter pages, Kraft created Zingr, a software application that allows users to “zing,” or comment on, content on the web. The tool is actually useful and savvy in how it taps into the way Gen Y consumes information. Zingr makes it easy for Gen Yers to share what they love to share the most: cool content and their opinions. Plus, Miracle Whip scores points for not overwhelming users with blatant product branding.

In a few years that generation will be the moms and dads of the world, the major household buyers. Within the next decade, they’ll be generating $2.77 trillion dollars per year. It’s essential for brands to grab them now and reach out in ways they find meaningful.

Wacky fruit and vegetables made a dramatic return to supermarket shelves throughout Europe for the first time in more than 20 years Wednesday, after the European Union scrapped rules governing the size and shape of produce.

Until now, cucumbers could not be legally sold unless they were “practically straight” and bananas were not allowed to have abnormal curvature, according to the regulations.

But curvy carrots, over-sized melons and other strange fruit and vegetables will be back on the menu as the EU strives to cut red tape and reduce waste during the tough economic conditions.

“It makes no sense to throw perfectly good products away, just because they are the ‘wrong’ size and shape,” she said. Farmers had been forced to trash up to a fifth of their produce for breaking the EU standards.

They would never sell in japan where the fruit has to look perfect and a melon that perfect sells for at least US$100! Here is an example of selling perfect fruit…these are square watermelons for easier storage, shipping and of course serving!