29 : 09 : 23 : Weekly Debrief

need to know
news
featured-post
sustainability
retail
technology
drinks
culture
product design
health & wellness
category - fashion
category - female futures
sector - food & drink
type - need to know
Need To Know
category - design
category - mobility
category - sustainability
sector - health & wellness
sector - youth

This week: 6 Indian jewellery brands combining heritage and innovation, a new Tinder subscription, the value of NFTs, a pizza-themed world, elf's new individuality campaign, a Yellow Pages fragrance, and a residential retail macrotrend.

Powered by:

29 September 2023

Author: The Future Laboratory

Image: SHIFT sofa, Form Us With Love

Share

Left: Alok and Papa Don’t Preach, India. Right: Aulerth, India.

1. Big Ideas : Six Indian Jewellery brands combining heritage and innovation

In India, jewellery is more than adornment; it’s a cherished cultural emblem, an embodiment of heritage, and a symbol of status and tradition.

The specificity of this market dates back centuries, entwined with the country’s rich history, gold and gems resources, local know-how and diverse cultures.

Jewellery in India also transcends aesthetics and carries deep emotional and societal significance, often passed down through generations. Beyond personal adornment, it is pivotal at weddings, festivals and in rituals.

From emerging designers with out-of-the-box techniques to established brands adapting to new market demands, Indian innovators are redefining this cherished tradition and blending heritage with technology, sustainable practices and new retail strategies. Meet the trend-setters shaping the future of the Indian jewellery market.

Read the full article on LS:N Global.

‘A world in which we degender jewellery is a more beautiful world because it’s a more authentic world’
Tinder, US

2. Tinder introduces £410 monthly subscription plan for serial daters

Global – Unveiled in September 2023, Tinder Select is the platform's new high-end subscription plan offered to its most active users for £410 ($499, €475) per month.

This exclusive tier offers premium features like VIP search, matching and conversation, although specific details have yet to be disclosed. The company stated that this offering is currently accessible to fewer than 1% of Tinder’s most active users.

While Tinder Select represents a significant price increase compared to its other subscription options, which start at £20.60 ($24.99, €23.75) per month, the dating app aims to cater for highly engaged and active users seeking more effective ways to connect. Tinder’s current top 10% of users by time on the app contributed an average of 53% of total time spent on the platform this year, according to research firm Apptopia.

Match Group, Tinder’s parent company, has previously ventured into high-priced subscription models with the acquisition of The League, a dating app with a weekly fee of up to £823 ($1,000, €950). Although Match Group expects Tinder Select to attract a limited number of new subscribers, it anticipates a considerable impact on revenue.

As explored in Video Dating Futures, dating apps must evolve to remain relevant in an oversaturated market. For Tinder, attracting new users remains a challenge, and it will get more complex as even Roblox aims to become a platform for dating.

Mintus, UK

3. Stat: The majority of NFT collections no longer have any value

Global – A September 2023 report by cryptocurrency platform dappGambl has found that the majority of non-fungible token (NFT) collections are essentially worthless.

The study, Dead NFTs: The Evolving Landscape of the NFT Market, analysed data from NFT Scan and CoinMarketCap and found that out of 73,257 identified NFT collections, 69,795 (95%) had a market cap of 0 Ether (ETH). The research estimates that some 23m investors own these valueless token collections.

dappGambl’s report also revealed that only 21% of the identified NFT collections had 100%+ ownership, meaning 79% have remained unsold, highlighting the issue of surplus supply versus dwindling demand for NFTs.

That said, the report concludes that NFTs are far from dead and experts predict that NFTs will soon undergo a transformation from collectibles to assets with tangible utility as the market matures. The tokens might find application in elevating brand loyalty, for instance.

4. Pizza Hut creates pizza-themed world in the metaverse

Middle East – Publicis Middle East and Pizza Hut have collaborated on the restaurant giant’s first venture into the metaverse.

Inspired by fans creating their own pizza-themed experiences on the app, The Hut is a virtual Pizza Hut world on Roblox. Fans can play mini-games and hunt for their favourite pizza toppings and earn badges and prizes, all while kitting out their Roblox avatars in pizza-themed costumes and accessories, such as cheese and tomato onesies, tomato helmets and pepperoni glasses.

The new Roblox world is accompanied by a Fun 4 All family pizza and sides deal from Pizza Hut.

‘With the launch of The Hut into Roblox, we want to honour the efforts of our superfans and deliver what they have been hoping for, giving them a chance to virtually experience the Pizza Hut world and share their love for pizza,’ Ahmed Sabri, marketing lead at Pizza Hut Middle East and Pakistan, told Campaign.

Pizza Hut’s new campaign follows in the footsteps of other retailers such as Chipotle, Coca-Cola and Kellogg’s that have entered into the Gastro Gaming Market in an attempt to appeal to families and young gaming communities.

TMNT: Mutant Mayhem Pizza-Scented Controller by Xbox, US
Express Your Elf by elf, UK

5. Beauty brand elf champions individuality in new campaign

UK – Generation Z are known to be individualistic, and elf got the memo. The brand, which stands for ‘eyes. lips. face.’, invited the audience to re-imagine the acronym and its definition of beauty in a new creative campaign.

The elf commercial, developed with the strategic creative agency Southpaw and Irresistible Studios, serves up self-expression galore. The video playfully re-interprets the meaning of elf by means of spoken word performances. It features a range of diverse and fashion-forward characters giving their take on the ‘express your elf’ challenge, from ‘euphoric.luminous.fierce’ to ‘every.’life.free’.

At a time when beauty is being refined for Generation Z, the campaign sets out to connect the American brand with a new, younger and UK-based customer demographic. ‘We’re speaking to an audience that reject stereotypes and make-up is an important way to express the fluidity of their identity,’ says Glenn Smith, creative director of Southpaw. ‘This is their story, with elf being this supportive friend rather than a brand just trying to sell product.’

Selfridges and Yell, UK

6. Yell is releasing a fragrance that smells like the Yellow Pages

UK – Almost five years after the last issue of the Yellow Pages was sent to print, Yell is creating an Eau de Yellow Pages perfume.

With top notes of bergamot and a hint of lemon, followed by cedar, musk and notes of sweet vanilla, the fragrance is intended to evoke memories of leafing through the heavy business catalogue. A limited run of the perfume is set to be released later this year.

‘The books are no longer a mainstay of our lives, but the Yellow Pages had an unmistakable smell that still conjures up cherished memories,’ Yell’s head of public relations, Sarah O’Rafferty, told Metro.

Yell has also recently collaborated with Selfridges on a limited three-month run of the Yellow Pages Directory of Now. Available online and in Selfridges stores, the 72-page publication has been reworked into a guide to the current cultural zeitgeist, while retaining the famed Yellow Pages aesthetic.

The current speed of the trend cycle has shortened perceptions of what is ‘vintage’ or ‘nostalgic’ drastically, leading to many fashion brands building archives. By embracing this archival model and reworking previous concepts to continue the brand’s legacy, Yell becomes a perfect example of a resilient Elastic Brand.

7. Macrotrend Preview
Home States Futures : Residential Retail

With hybrid working becoming the new normal, global retail footfall in decline, and the evanescence of third spaces, there truly is no place like home for brands.

As our offices become more social, intimate and personal, our homes are becoming more collaborative, corporate, commercial and hybrid.
 
But our living spaces are also becoming the real battleground for brands – with consumers demanding new kinds of intimacy, service and regenerative practices, and brands delivering these through transformative experience and superlative service. 

Our Home States Futures macrotrend will highlight a new approach to viewing the home as an active and concentrated retail and lifestyle eco-system. It will become a hub that brands must target, woo and win over in precise and interconnected ways. To conquer this home-centric market, brands may appoint chief household officers and businesses will need to coordinate conversations, find synergies and create clear cross-selling strategies.

Join our in-house team, invited experts and global panellists at our Home States Futures online event on 19 October 2023 from 4:30pm to 5:30pm BST as we examine the future home – in terms of how we broker time, maximise wellbeing, re-assess usage, reduce waste, embrace data and develop new ways to side-hustle revenues from our sitting rooms.

Ketut Subiyanto

8. What’s next for beauty?

 

Global – From holographic temporary hair dyes and clean hygiene systems for skincare to multi-sensorial experiences in perfumery, beauty industry players are combining science, care and entertainment to keep consumers on their toes.

‘As you’ll discover when you tap into our beauty sectors and reports, beauty isn’t just about light, colour and cleanliness this season, it’s also about multi-sensorial experiences,’ says Chris Sanderson, co-founder and chief creative officer at The Future Laboratory.

Watch Chris’s brief overview of the best innovators featured in our analysis of Longevity Lifestyles, Chameleon Cosmetics, Purified Beauty and Synaesthesia Scents.

 

Want to read more?
Become a member today!

Sign up to one of our trends intelligence platform, LS:N Global and get unlimited access to a hive of insights - from microtrends and macro trends to market reports, daily news, research across eight industry sectors and much more.


Discover our memberships

Already a member? Click here to login