Reinventing How We Remember 💐

In this week's newsletter, we explore how technology and innovation are helping to provide comfort, support, and personalized experiences for those navigating the difficult journey of loss. As someone who lost a Mother 3 years ago, and has been through the process, I would’ve loved to have known about, especially a service like Settld the “grave care” service as I live abroad.

This week's focus: "The Modern Mortuary Makeover"

• What's new in the $157 billion death care market

• 5 memorial business ideas you could start

• What you need to get started and how much you might make

Read time: 7 min

🔎 Market Overview

The death care industry is transforming, with trendy, modernized mortuaries and innovative startups emerging worldwide. This shift is driven by changing attitudes towards death and funerals, especially among younger generations.

Key statistics:

• Global death care services market value (2023): $106.51 billion

• Projected market value (2030): $157.68 billion

• Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR): 6.79%

• Average funeral cost in London: ~$6.6k

• Median cost of a US funeral: $8.3k

• 68% of people in the UK see funerals as celebrations of life, not sad occasions

• 68% of Gen Zers strongly agree on the importance of funeral services, compared to 44% of baby boomers

🚀 Innovative Death Tech Startups to Watch

1. PlotBox: Cloud-based cemetery management software. Boosts efficiency by 80%.

2. Settld: Free online service for notifying banks and utilities after a death. Available 24/7.

3. Farewill: UK's top online will-writing platform. Over 30,000 wills created.

4. Storyworth: Helps families preserve memories through guided prompts and compiled books.

5. Exit Here (London): Stylish urns from salvaged wood and sleek coffins

6. Sparrow (New York): Gift shop and "celebration rooms"

7. Poppy's (London): Lilac-colored EVs for transport

8. Altima (Spain): 40+ funeral homes designed like art galleries

📊 Keyword Insights:

As I was digging more into this sector, I came across this specific search term that is steadily trending upward over the years and has a decent amount of search volume with a low KD score.

• Keyword search volume: for "urn": 49.5K monthly (US), "urns": 14.8K monthly

• Global search volume: 146.7K monthly

• Keyword Difficulty: 22% (quite possible to rank with quality, focused content)

• CPC: $0.89

• Search Intent: Informational, Commercial, and Transactional (People seek information and are considering purchase options)

• Keyword variations: 82,067 Total volume: 1.1M Avg. KD: 34%

💡 Business Ideas

1. Innovative Urn Products

Create a brand focused on diverse, handcrafted memorial products with modern design sensibilities. This could include:

• Traditional urns (49,500 monthly searches) ranging from $125 - $2,450, catering to different price points

• Cremation urns (9,900 searches) with custom designs and eco-friendly options

• Urn necklaces (8,100 searches) and other memorial jewelry for a personal touch

• Pet urns (5,400 searches), including specific dog urns (5,400 searches) and cat urns

• Biodegradable urns that incorporate seeds or plants for a living memorial

• Limited-edition collections inspired by different cultural traditions

• Online customization tool for clients to design their own memorial products

• Focus on eco-friendly and sustainable materials

• Combination of traditional designs and modern aesthetics

• SEO-optimized product pages to capture high-volume searches

2. Digital Legacy Preservation 

Create a comprehensive digital service to preserve and manage a person's online presence and memories after death. This could include:

• Secure cloud storage for important documents, photos, and videos

• Livestreaming funerals to allow remote attendance for those unable to travel

• Creating interactive online memorial pages with photos, videos, and guest books

• Offering virtual reality experiences to visit the deceased's final resting place

• Management of social media accounts, including memorialization or deletion

• Creation of interactive timelines and family trees for future generations

• Virtual reality experiences recreating significant moments or places

• Companies like Storyworth have already found success in this space, showing the growing demand for digital memory preservation.

3. Grave Care Business

Offer personalized, sustainable landscaping services for individual memorial plots and family burial sites, transforming traditional cemeteries into vibrant, eco-friendly remembrance gardens. This service could include:

• Custom-designed mini-ecosystems for each plot, featuring native plants that bloom in the deceased's favorite colors or during significant dates

• Installation of small-scale, solar-powered digital memorials that display photos, stories, or play favorite songs when visitors approach

• Implementation of water-efficient irrigation systems and rainwater harvesting to maintain plots sustainably

• Regular maintenance services including seasonal plantings, organic pest control, and eco-friendly cleaning of memorial stones

• Consider partnering with or utilizing services like PlotBox to efficiently manage cemetery operations and improve your service offerings.

4. Personalized End-of-Life Celebrations 

Offer unique, tailored services to create meaningful end-of-life celebrations. This could involve:

• Customized event planning, from intimate gatherings to large celebrations

• Themed services reflecting the deceased's passions or cultural background

• Immersive multimedia experiences showcasing the person's life story

• Collaborative art projects for attendees to create lasting memorials

• Integration of augmented reality to enhance the memorial experience

5. Grief Support Wearables and Apps 

Develop technology-based solutions to provide ongoing comfort and support for those grieving. This might include:

• Smart jewelry that can play comforting messages or soothing sounds

• Apps offering daily affirmations, guided meditations, and mood tracking

• Wearable devices connecting users to support groups and counseling services

• AI-powered chatbots providing 24/7 emotional support and resources

• Integration with health tracking to monitor physical effects of grief

💰 Show Me the Money | Potential Earnings

Potential earnings for Grave Care Landscaping Business vary based on location, scale, and services offered.

Let's crunch some numbers, shall we?:

Venture Type | Grave Care Landscaping Service

Initial Installation Breakdown

Market Potential

• Annual deaths in the US: ~2.8 million

• Estimated market adoption rate: 1% - 3%

• Potential annual customers: 28,000 - 84,000

Annual Maintenance Pricing

Potential Earnings with 100 Plots

Key Takeaways:

1. Premium plots offer higher profit margins due to more extensive services and customization.

2. Recurring annual maintenance provides a steady income stream.

3. The market potential is significant, even with conservative adoption rates.

4. Scalability is possible by expanding to multiple cemeteries or regions.

_{Remember, these are conservative estimates. Your actual earnings will depend on factors like local demand, marketing efforts, and operational efficiency}.

Success Factors

• Partnerships with local cemeteries

• Eco-friendly certifications

• Positive word-of-mouth and referrals

• Innovative designs and use of technology

• Strong community engagement

🧰 Startup Toolkit

💎 Pro Tips

• Target high-volume keywords like "urn" (49.5K searches) and "urns for ashes" (12.1K searches) in your website content and SEO strategy

• Create service bundles combining urn sales with memorial landscaping for increased value per customer

• Partner with local funeral homes, crematoriums, and pet cremation services for referrals and expanded reach

• Provide educational content addressing common questions like "what size urn is needed for an adult" (1.6K monthly searches)

• Optimize for local SEO: Ensure your business is listed in local directories and optimize for location-based keywords

• Offer compassionate, knowledgeable customer support to assist with sensitive decisions

stay innovative, Keep hustling!

Presley Devannand