Trend Check: brands, food & drink, beauty, retail

Brands

Co-creative platforms (#32)

Creativity-based digital engagement is evolving into a key pillar of next gen digital spaces.

Creative expression is a big draw of the metaverse: 76% of people who know what the metaverse is want their avatars to express their creativity in ways they can’t in the physical world, according to Wunderman Thompson Intelligence’s “New Realities: Into the Metaverse and Beyond” report.
Nike launched a new Web3 marketplace, .Swoosh, in November. Nike says the platform will let users co-create products such as virtual shoes or jerseys.
Forever 21’s Shop City, launched on Roblox at the end of 2021, lets users create their own Forever 21 virtual shop, customizing everything from the design to the virtual fashion on the shelves.

Meli Bio Eleven Madison Park 5 — Eleven Madison Park

Food & Drink

Haute Veganism (#43)

Plant-based dishes are now synonymous with fine dining.

Eleven Madison Park has retained all three of its Michelin stars after going vegan last year, making it the first three-star Michelin vegan restaurant in the world. “The plant-based menu is a bold vision of luxury dining,” proclaimed the 2022 New York Michelin guide, released in October.
Italy’s best restaurant is embracing vegetables. The plant-based tasting menu at Reale restaurant—which was just named the country’s best restaurant and is helmed by three Michelin-star chef Niko Romito—is “redefining what Italian food is,” CNN reports.
Vegan restaurant Dirt Candy in Manhattan was awarded a Michelin star in October.

Beauty

Adaptive packaging (#57)

Inclusion’s Next Wave is cresting in the personal care category, thanks to a swathe of brands designing their packaging for a wider range of abilities.

Personal health care giant Haleon (formerly a subset of GSK) partnered with Microsoft in October to make its products accessible to blind and visually impaired shoppers, including an ‘always read the label’ collaboration for toothpaste.
Proctor & Gamble’s Pantene partnered with Navilens at the end of 2021, with plans to add QR codes to its hair care packages for read-aloud product information at the shelf.
Sexual care brand Roam has braille on its lubricant packaging. The brand, which launched at the end of 2021, closed a new round of funding in November 2022 and is reportedly in talks to bring its product line to a major UK retailer.

WEB fortnite polo stadium collection 3 1920x1080 210113dcb53d — Fortnite x Ralph Lauren

Retail

Direct-to-avatar (#61)

Brands continue to explore digital drops for avatar shoppers.

Ralph Lauren released a digital clothing collection on Fortnite in October, joining other high-end brands like Balenciaga and Moncler in outfitting Fortnite avatars.
Walmart Land, a new Roblox activation where avatars can purchase virtual merchandise, was announced in September.
Burberry and Roblox launched a virtual handbag collection in July. The bags—which were designed in partnership with renowned digital designer Builder Boy—were crafted out of clouds, water and wild foliage.
A digital Caroline Herrera gown sold for $5,000 on Roblox in September.

Main image courtesy of Roblox