Hot Summer Trends
Summertime is here and consumers are tapping into exciting new trends to make the most of the season. The experiential and LBE industries are heating back up after two summers of restrictions and people are continuing to focus on wellness and mental health. Inclusivity has also been a key trend for brands—highlighting the consumer desire for diverse consumer products that represent people from all walks of life. Here are all the hottest trends we have our eyes on this summer.
Virtual Wellness
It’s no secret the wellness space has been exploding over the last few years, expanding its reach to include everyone from toddlers to Baby Boomers. According to the Global Wellness Institute the wellness market has grown 6.4% since 2017 from $3.7 trillion to a value of $4.2 trillion. This number is expected to increase to $7 trillion by 2025. This rapid growth has led to tons of innovation, especially in the experiential and retail space. Virtual wellness initiatives have been taking off lately, blending the metaverse or cryptocurrency with health and wellness for a phygital experience that consumers are loving.
Non-profit organization Happy Jack recently teamed up with NFT platform Sweet for an NFT collection in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month. A portion of the profits will be donated to different mental health charities like Active Minds and Born this Way. In the kid’s world, Bored Ape, Roblox, and musical Dear Evan Hansen came together for a series of Ape NFT’s and Roblox skins based on the iconic blue-striped polo shirt from the musical. A portion of profits from the NFT’s and Roblox skins will be donated to Child Mind Institute, a non-profit that supports children affected by mental health disorders. Tripp, a digital wellness start-up, recently acquired EvolVR, a virtual reality meditation community that has hosted over 3.5 million VR wellness sessions. The pair will expand the virtual platform to include other wellness activities in the metaverse like breath work, sound baths, and more. NFT Gurus, an NFT project is gearing up to launch a virtual monastery following their collection of meditating guru NFTs. The mental health-focused project aims to “cleanse negative energy and anxiety” from the metaverse.
Pickle Flavors
Flavor trends are constantly evolving and pickle flavors are trending up right now. Grocer Trader Joe’s recently debuted a new pickle seasoning, adding to their already iconic seasoning roster that include Everything But the Bagel. Utz Chips and Grillo’s Pickles have collaborated to create Grillo’s Dill Pickle Chips, and Sonic Drive-In just rolled out new crispy pickle fries that have taken social media by storm. The trend even popped up in alcohol and spirits last year—Brümate and Crook & Marker debuted a hard pickle seltzer that was originally teased as an April Fool’s joke.
Inclusivity at Pride
June is Pride Month and consumers are no longer content with accepting a simple t-shirt or a rainbow profile picture on social media. When it comes to Pride celebrations and capsule collections, LGBTQIA+ shoppers are seeking out authentic, diverse products made by actual members of their community. They’re also taking note of brands that only support the LGBTQIA+ community during the month of June. Many of these criticisms were voiced last June, and some retailers responded with earlier, longer celebrations and a more robust collection of consumer products that represent the broad spectrum of the LGBTQIA+ experience. This year Target focused on a “community-created” Pride collection designed by LGBTQIA+ artists that includes items like binders and compression tops aimed at trans shoppers.
We Bring You Up to the Speed of Now
We’re Brand Central Insights, a custom trend intelligence service from licensing agency Brand Central. We understand that trends change so quickly it can hinder the ability to strategize and innovate, so we created a unique offering that distills pop culture trends and market insights most important to your business so you can stay focused on the future. Each month we’ll be rounding up the hottest trends across food, fashion, home, influencers, and more to show you what we’ve been loving.
Want even more trends in the meantime? Contact us to learn more about Brand Central Insights and for a sample report! Email Alicia at alicia@brandcentralgroup.com or visit brandcentralinsights.com today for more information.