Co-creation

Trend - Established food brands are partnering with candle companies to venture into the home goods space. Offering decadent scents and premium ingredients, these collaborations aim to inject the brand's identity into everyday life, providing consumers with a new way to experience its products.

Insight - Consumers often seek novelty in their purchases, gravitating to exclusivity and the opportunity to engage with brands in a fresh, unique way. Brands are responding by teaming up with leaders in adjacent industries, leveraging their shared reputations to attract consumers drawn to their designs or signature scents. Leveraging partnerships allows brands to expand into unconventional sectors, connecting them with consumers who may not typically interact with their products in the grocery store.

Trend - Brands in the more designer end of the tech spectrum are releasing products with stretchable and malleable displays. These use AMOLED technology and are built in such a way that they can be twisted and bent without breaking or stopping the image from being displayed.

Insight - Businesses and startups with more niche product ideas often run into barriers when trying to bring a concept product to reality. These barriers can include cost, scale, or simply the feasibility of the product in general. Many such products in the technology space are limited due to physical limitations regarding battery sizes or screen sizes, amongst other potential issues. In order to address these concerns, designer tech brands are creating malleable displays for unique product ideas.

Trend - Brands from various industries, including non-gaming related ones, are collaborating with gaming hardware manufacturers on co-branded controllers. These controllers offer mutually-beneficial advertising for brands, while the unique designs function as statement pieces for the consumers.

Insight - Individuality and self-expression is a core priority for humans in general. Consumers do not want to have exactly what everyone else has, and instead are more likely to purchase products that reflect their own values or interests. This can materialize in the form of clothing and home decor, but also in terms of accessory and technology choices, with even earphones being a form of self-expression. To offer more expression options for gamers, brands are releasing co-branded game controllers.

Trend - Pet food brands are releasing hydration-focused drinks and meal supplements for dogs and cats. These are electrolyte-rich products that ensure pets are intaking enough fluids throughout the day. These products can be served on their own or as additions to regular meals.

Insight - Many pet owners simply feed their pets a few regular meals per day with provided drinking water and occasional treats, but not as many owners invest in dietary supplements or products purely for nutritional benefits. While some owners do, others take a passive approach, often due to busy lives. In order to ensure pets are ingesting more healthy diets with balanced nutrients, including hydration, brands are releasing convenient products for pet owners that do not intrude on time constraints.

Trend - Supercar and hypercar manufacturers, for both street-legal and track-focused markets, are creating record-setting vehicles with hybrid drivetrains. These vehicles are more sustainable than their gas-powered counterparts while not coming with the compromises associated with purely electric supercars.

Insight - There is an ever-growing pressure from policy makers and the community alike for the automotive industry to make a shift toward sustainability. This manifests primarily in consumer vehicles increasingly incorporating electric power, whether in full or in part. However, even the luxury vehicle and racing vehicle markets are not exempt from this pressure. Fans of motorsports, as well as consumers of luxury vehicles, are placing pressure on supercar brands to make genuine sustainability efforts.

Trend - While personal finance management apps have existed for over a decade, the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) and data collection algorithms have made recent apps far more effective than before. These modern budgeting apps are used to prevent unnecessary spending while saving toward goals.

Insight - The extensive convenience of modern e-commerce platforms, such as Aliexpress, Temu, or Amazon, has led to consumers from Gen Z to older Millennials constantly facing targeted product advertising. This has led to an impulse spending problem in many consumers who purchase frequent low-cost products, unaware of how quickly these purchases add up. More tech-savvy Gen Z and Millennial consumers, in an effort to curb this aspect of e-commerce culture, are turning to budgeting apps powered by AI.

Trend - Oral care products are increasingly drawing inspiration from iconic brands and well-known names across the fashion, pop culture, and consumer packaged goods industries. These products often include toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash, and floss, all designed to resonate with modern fan bases.

Insight - Social media platforms have connected younger audiences around shared interests, allowing them to engage with products in ways that reflect their digital habits. In response, brands across various industries are opening themselves up to cross-industry collaborations, aiming to attract fans of established brands and convert them into loyal customers. Businesses that effectively tap into current social media trends and influences are better positioned to capture the attention of young shoppers.

Trend - Physical AI-powered tools, in conjunction with cameras and advanced AI models, are being used as a starting point for disease diagnoses. While these tools cannot legally diagnose someone of a condition, they can be used to more quickly point doctors in the correct direction, increasing efficiency.

Insight - While most consumers are aware that, when ill, simply looking up symptoms cannot accurately diagnose what the cause is, this is still a common first step for people when deciding whether or not to seek medical attention. Due to the popularity of these practices, and the introduction of AI in nearly every industry, AI brands are creating tools for consumers and for professionals that can more accurately determine medical conditions based on advanced models combined with physical testing tools.

Trend - Furniture brands are utilizing 3D knitting solutions to create affordable, durable, and sustainable products. The 3D knitting machines function similarly to 3D printers, using fabrics instead of filaments. While still a niche product, 3D knit furniture is gaining traction for its uniqueness.

Insight - While the field of 3D printing continues to grow with innovations in speed, efficiency, and sustainability, as while as reductions in cost, 3D printed products are still often regarded as lesser than their counterparts by consumers. This is often due to both the types of filament used and consumers becoming aware of the affordability of 3D printing. In order to alleviate one of these complaints, brands are expanding the types of materials 3D printers can use, leading to 3D knitting machines.

Trend - Brands now offer customization options for sports drink mixes, letting users adjust various components of their hydration product. These customizations can affect flavor or ingredients, enabling users to tailor their drink to their unique preferences or physiological needs.

Insight - Fitness-conscious consumers often adhere to strict fitness routines and support these exercises with a balanced diet. However, many rely on sugary drinks to hydrate, counteracting their workouts. In response, brands are introducing customizable hydration options to meet diverse fitness needs and support overall wellness more effectively than generic products. As athletes explore holistic diets, they're seeking solutions that enhance every aspect of fitness while aligning with their unique goals.