Niche market

A niche market is a focused, targetable portion (subset) of a market sector.

By definition, then, a business that focuses on a niche market is addressing a need for a product or service that is not being addressed by mainstream providers. A niche market may be thought of as a narrowly defined group of potential customers.

A distinct niche market usually evolves out of a market niche, where potential demand is not met by any supply.

Such ventures are profitable because of disinterest on the part of large businesses and/or lack of awareness on the part of other small companies. The key to capitalizing on a niche market is to find or develop a market niche that has customers who are accessible, that is growing fast enough, and that is not owned by one established vendor already.

Etymology
The term "niche" was first used by ecologists to describe a species' position and use of resources within its environment. When used in business the term implies a situation or an activity perfectly suited to a person or a given type of personality. This concept has been extended from persons to products on the market. Whereas a niche in the strict sense can be a working position or an area suited to a person who occupies it, the market niche is perfectly suited for a product of human labour.

Marketing in and for niche markets
Niche marketing is the process of finding and serving profitable market segments and designing custom-made products or services for them. For big companies those market segments are often too small in order to serve them profitably as they often lack economies of scale. Niche marketers are often reliant on the loyalty business model to maintain a profitable volume of sales.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niche_market