The kumquat theory is when a concept reaches the forefront of your consciousness and your subsequent increased awareness of the concept leads you to believe in coincidence.
Take for instance the day you first learn what a kumquat is. In the coming week you will undoubtedly see kumquat soda at your local coffee house and kumquats on sale at the grocery story. Now, it is not that kumquats are new to any of these locations, just that you now recognize them. But you are likely to view these events as coincidences, “funny, I’d never heard of a kumquat till last week, and now I see them everywhere.”
Coincidence can be a very compelling selling point. If you can induce “kumquat experiences,” you can likely induce further exploration and even better, execution. I’ve seen this happen time and time again with business pitches, new products, restaurant suggestions, or job candidates. (When pitching this to your boss it may be best to not say you want your new product to elicit “kumquat experiences”)
The disclaimer of course: once you garner the attention you desire from the contrived/serendipitous coincidence, you have to have something to back it up. If the first kumquat soda you try, after learning what they are, sucks, it doesn’t help other kumquat products.
