Waterford’s Sphere Trending predicts consumer future

A lot of companies want to know what’s coming in the near future – what trends might result in profit, and how to dodge bad situations. Sphere Trading helps businesses do just that.The Waterford-based company specializes in trend forecasting for consumer and design firms. It also monitor’s product innovation trends, assembling reports on everything from what will be the next in colors to what helps make people look up from their smart phones and notice advertising. The 10-year-old company counts a long list of Fortune 500 companies, manufacturers and national retailers as its clients.The company employs about a dozen people and two interns. Those employees do everything from traveling through trade shows to recognize trends and new customer bases. They also make their ways through about 10 key U.S. cities to see how the U.S. consumer is evolving.”As the economy has changed so has our business model,” says Mandi Mankvitz, social media director for Sphere Trending. “We know that a lot of trends won’t come from just trade shows.”The company is looking to expand into healthcare and automotive markets and hopes to hire a few people over the next year to meet new business needs.Source: Mandi Mankvitz, social media director for Sphere TrendingWriter: Jon Zemke