A newsletter on upcoming food and beverage trends that offers a curation of brands and aesthetics written by Andrea Hernández.
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Jorge Luis Borges is one of the most recognized Latin American authors, who meshed magical realism alongside themes of mathematics, philosophy as well as divinity —he wrote the infamous short story Library of Babel. In it, Borges makes the case that in an infinite universe, the concept of individuality is null, nothing is original. When it comes to the food and beverage industry, what is giving the illusion of an ever expanding category, one could argue the same: the rise of “bland” or what I love to refer as DTC (direct to copycat) —which I argue in an interview for VICE last year, comes from wanting to borrow from a more established company’s brand equity.
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Social media as well as the explosive tech unicorn movement in the 2010s led to the era of “blanding” permeating from industry to industry —the same very sterile, minimal look that many DTC companies used, considering they were all about cutting costs to you via eliminating middlemen and making things simpler for you, thus pared down aesthetics made sense. There’s a reason why brands in fashion industry spend so much money, time and resources protecting their brand equity, obviously there’s more at stake when comparing luxury handbags to a mere canned beverage, but my point is, that blanding isn’t new, we are living in a capitalistic society nonetheless, people will follow the money, what is novel, is the rate and speed in which the blanding is happening —fueled by the likes of Instagram, Pinterest and the rise of food and beverage as the new external signalers.
Does packaging matter? Yes.
Are rebrands becoming the new launch? Yes.
Are rebrand cycles increasingly shorter? Yes.
Then what the fuck should brands do?!
Take time to build out your own universe.
Think of your brand as its own universe, it can contain multitudes, but most importantly it should contain a Black Hole. This is important to have in a world where advertising costs on social platforms go up, when you don’t own the mediums and you’re prey to their dynamics in trying to capture an audience—but when you have your own gravitational pull, you’re drawing people to you regardless of the platform, as your universe expands, the pull remains the same.
Stop gravitating around others universes, riding on the coattails of a trend and let us bring back focusing on the process of creation —building out entire worlds that combine equal parts nostalgia but that sense of discovery. There are brands now that are hedging against the bland, by doing just that. Here are some great examples to note :
Universe: Rubyverse
Gravitational pull: Tart is fun
Recent Expansions: New still flavors, new sparkling flavors.
No other brand has an origin story like Ruby, a universe revolving around hibiscus as a stand alone ingredients —with different entities and beings as well as planets populating their verse, though all uniting in the combat against the evils of sugar. From the humble schmee to a noble Tree Prince, you could even find out what Ruby character you are. What beverage brand has an interplanetary radio station, coveted merch drops and hosts events that are equally as eccentric as their brand, appealing to a much younger demographic, as well as winning the taste buds of intergenerations alike?
Founder Noah Wunsch is a creative mastermind, that alongside the most insanely talented artists like Sharmila Banerjee (Bone Jelly) and the agency Talmor & Talmor have reminded us what beauty there is in origins, the weird, the non sensical as well as the reminiscing of that child like feeling of discovery on something that feels authentically fun.
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Universe: Liquid Death
Gravitational pull: Murder Your Thirst
Recent Expansions: New Sparkling Flavors
One of my favorite brands to date, Liquid Death has been able to start a legitimate cult, that has consumers literally branding themselves with tattoos that is just Liquid Death’s logo —this universe is barely 5 years old and has already engulfed so many into their bloody, hardcore realm. It’s literally refreshing to see a brand opt out of the usual DTC, pastel, cozy aesthetic that had dominated in the past decade, in lieu of gross aesthetics. Not to mention, promoting SaaS (shitposting as a service) even as they experience an explosive growth.
At a time where we are seeing the newer generations, embrace a sort of counter culture movement, rejecting the same “vibes” Millennials came into, in favor of adopting more loud, chaotic and gross aesthetics, Liquid Death has positioned themselves as King, though have unfortunately, began to see the rise of the copycats. Though when you are being true in building out your own world, there is less to worry about as those who are merely riding on your coattails can only play catch up, while Liquid Death, has continued to pave way, and take on an offensive approach to literally become a contender in the water wars, against legacy brands alike.
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Universe: Ghia
Gravitational pull: Feels Like Ghia
Recent Expansions: Canned aperitif, new flavors, hazelnut spread, decor accessories
Ghia is another favorite example to use when it comes to building out a gravitational pull, and in similar fashion to the branding genius likes of Poolsuite, this non-alcoholic aperitif has positioned itself synonymous to a specific time and place —vacationing in the mediterranean. The hues and imagery that’s carefully curated to populate it’s social feeds sets the scene, pastries and decor in the form of fish, minimal tablescapes by the sea, open rooms with views to the ocean while the wind blows the translucent curtains, their pull is the idea of being able to create fun memories whilst indulging in a tasty AF aperitif, “tastes like summer sun” reads their Instagram page —one could even argue, it tastes like summer fun as well.
Their brand has converted celebrities and normal folk alike, clicking on their #FeelslikeGhia hashtag is a form of tele-transportation, and who can resist the gravitational pull of practical pleasure, that is something that is immediately available to me than actually booking a Eurotrip (in this economy?!) —though by all means, we are here to encourage more snax leisure. Like we said in our first issue, which explored rise of sober curiosity, “What’s In a Drink —that consumed in any other way would taste just the same?” the answer is… great marketing.
Trend-O-Scope
After what felt like being stuck in a sensory deprivation tank for the past 2 years, post-pandemic has us craving restoration through senses —enter the rise of synaesthetic and the return of the supper club. Here’s one of my favorites, that actually exploded in size, even post pandemic, Pasta Mama.
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Coming Soon, To a Store Near You
Spoonful of News 🥄
NFT beverage Local Weather is a nootropic Gatorade meets web3 LOL .
Speaking of web3 snax, Mr. Raspy launched this week!
Simulate is gearing up to release their TENDERS soon.
Ruby launched their new sparkling beverages TODAY!
Bawi, a new agua frescas brand launched this week!
Ffups is a brand that is in line with our predictions that people care less about snack functionality as a counter push to “adaptogenic everything.”
See you again next week, in a different future, same place.
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