Source: Keywords Everywhere
Meet barndominiums -- the latest craze in modular construction. Barndominiums (or barndos, for short) are warehouses that serve as homes, known for being affordable, energy efficient, flexible, and low maintenance.
While #barndominium on TikTok has already exploded with 86.6m+ views, compare that with #vanlife’s 3.5B or #tinyhouse’s ~$1B -- the barndominium movement is only in its infancy.
Take note from the modularized construction and prefab opportunities from our ADU Signal, but barndominiums have one key difference: They’re usually made of metal.
There’s growing demand for custom-built barndo kits. One example: Worldwide Steel Buildings, which saw barndominiums as a leading driver for their $24.3m in sales last year, up 47% from 2019.
Entrepreneurs could differentiate by using sustainable materials or adding interior design modeling.
Interested buyers not only need manufacturing kits, but also guides on what to do with their barndominiums after they’ve built them. (Just ~35% are used as permanent residences.)
There are opportunities for peer-to-peer rental markets a la Airbnb, as well as event rental (e.g., weddings and retreats), aircraft hangars, auto shops, art or fitness studios, and more.
Who knew there were so many fossil hunters?
Fossil Guy, a one-man show of a website that curates hunting locations, virtual tours, articles, and more, has organically doubled its traffic in the last 6 months to 80k visits/mo, according to SimilarWeb.
Over 1.2B people search “fossils” every month on Google, according to Keywords Everywhere. Other relevant searches include:
Want to get your hands dirty? Consider the following opportunities:
Fancy some lobster in your morning routine? What about salmon? Marine glycoproteins (molecules found in aquatic species) are swimming their way into skin care.
Most recently, 2 biomedical engineering graduates launched Marin Skincare, which uses lobster glycoprotein as a key ingredient to treat eczema, psoriasis, and dry skin.
Marin partners with Luke’s Lobster to source the ingredient, which was previously a wasted byproduct of processing lobsters. Unlike many animal-based consumer products, Marin harnesses the circular economy (a $4.5T potential market) while also supporting coastal communities.
Restorsea, with $24.9m in funding, has a similar process of using salmon glycoprotein from fish farms -- otherwise waste -- for anti-aging products.
Vegan is in vogue, but animal-based functional products are alive and well -- recall our Signal on how organ supplements are making millions, and collagen is predicted to be a $6B+ industry by 2026.
Sifting through academic papers gives a number of applications for marine glycoproteins that haven’t been taken to market yet, including herpes and osteoporosis treatments.
Lobster Unlimited, a company developing novel ways for upcycling lobster processing waste, is even researching therapeutic capabilities for fighting cancer.
Its antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties also make it a good supplement, paving the way for lobster-infused powders, energy drinks, ice cream, and more.