A newsletter on upcoming food and beverage trends that offers a curation of brands and aesthetics written by Andrea Hernández.
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🔮 Peek into the future:
CPG now stands for community packaged goods
focus on building out the fans not the FUD
empowering the consumer communes
proof of platform —living in the web3 middle
DTC: DAO-to-Consumer, co-creating with non-fungible tastings
what’s in a chain, that by any other name would proof the same?
seize the mints of production —on the new utility mint auctions
cannabis market after dark, as opposed to dark markets
Oracular Spectacular, curation of new products
Spoonful of news
CPG: Community Packaged Goods
There are two inalienable truths in 2022, that at one point you too will suffer the spam of cryptobots on Twitter and second, that web3 will be brought into the conversation in one way, wordle, or another, because like life and taxes, it has somehow become an inevitable subject. To be fair we did warn you about the permeation of it into food and beverage back in September of last year, however, we’re not really talking about trend chasing gimmicks like launching a virtual version of a product to garner hype around the movement, lol McDonald’s how about you fucking mint an original recipe and let us fractionalize the wins—but I digress.
As I’ve previously stated in our web3 F&B updates. the space deserves necessary criticism, however, it does hold the promise of improving upon existing dynamics, and in an industry that is highly aggregated, LMAO our entire food supply is owned by like 5-6 conglomerates, I choose to believe that wielded correctly, web3 can be leveraged for good —though if shots of optimism aren’t really part of your keto, adaptogenic diets, gather around degens, gird your Ledgers and watch your step, the floor is rising so beware of any incoming rug pulls, and remember, the gas is not always cheaper on the other chain.
For those who have yet to read Kevin Kelly’s “1,000 true fans” the TLDR was basically that if one is able to achieve a MVA, minimum viable audience, ergo 1,000 diehard groupies, then one foregoes the need to scale to maximize one’s monetary potential —in his 2008 essay he notes how the internet offered the potential to see this dynamic manifest itself in a way that was most fruitful for both parties at hand. However, what we got a decade later, was centralized “creator” platforms where yes, you could have 1,000 true fans, in fact you could have millions, yet one would still be under the chokehold of platforms —otherwise known as “web2” dynamics. Examples of this include Facebook’s ever changing algorithm that has basically become a Ponzi scheme where you pay to reach the audience you built in the first place lol, and most recently the exploitive fees on Etsy that is leaving seller’s at a literal loss, that sparked a recent boycott.
A few weeks ago we talked about building brand universes as a way to hedge against these predatory behaviors from platforms we have become enslaved to, a brand universe contains many multitudes but most importantly a black hole, a gravitational pull that draws people in, whether it’s a feeling, external signaling, a mission, etc, a less expensive and less extractive way to attract those 1,000 “true fans” —the premise is simple, no matter how big your universe expands (platforms, IRL, URL, etc) the pull remains the same. This is an important reminder, that the focus should be on building one’s fans, and not FUD, cryptolingo for fear, uncertainty and doubt, and so if we can focus on pulling in community, and less on the FUD stemming from the possibility of losing out on growing our audiences on web2 platforms, one can lay the foundations for what comes next, taking it from proof of community, to community as cofounder.
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In the old days, lol what I mean is the 2010s, community as proof manifested itself in different ways —one could Kickstarter their way into putting a product out there (monetary proof) and one could leverage community input (product fit) into a unicorn disrupting an entire industry a la Glossier —however, though given the illusion one had stake in a company for being early “proof” the reality is that these transactions were not really empowering for the consumer in a way that was innovative, much less empowering. A dynamic that Outdoor Voices founder, Ty Haney, is improving upon by leveraging web3 dynamics, “Try Your Best” a new tool that helps CPG brands engage with customers, if brand universes are the key to attracting community, think of this platform as a way of terraforming each expansion.
Communes are where folks live together sharing responsibilities as well as possessions, consumer communes are manifestations of web3 wherein a shared group reaps in the rewards of their contributions in a more empowering way, take for example the latest brand launch on TYB’s platform, Joggy, it’s loyalty rewards meets skin in the game, their “Team Joggy” NFTs yielded more than just your usual “perks” —
Revenue- Based Rewards “Grow as we do”
5% of Joggy's revenue is dedicated to special rewards paid exclusively to the 500 founding collectible holders
Direct to Insights
Beta taste + shape our community program
Access to Drops + Unlimited Discount
20% off of all Joggy orders with special access to deals + limited product runs.
Consumer communes are BOTTOM TOP perks on-chain where in multiple brands can be feeding into the communes by way of platforms, that allow for a reciprocated interaction. Tokens/ NFTs in this sense serve as an upgraded form of affiliate program, and platforms like TYB allow for this to be doubled into R&D meets consumer insights, while rewarding your early fanbase with the “grow as we grow” modus operandi, and could not have come at a better time considering CAC costs grow higher, we inch closer towards a cookie-less world, not owning your platform is proving to be “death by a thousand cuts” —and taking it back original premise of DTC (direct to consumer) closer consumer contact that would help improve upon brand experiences. Whereas Kevin Kelly’s original premise sounded more like “1,000 reliable patrons” to me, these structures hold the promise of turning them into true fans, allowing the consumers to contribute while communing on collective returns.
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Not every manifestation of web3 in F&B is focused on fostering community brand relationships, some iterations of these dynamics are emerging out of the need to solve for or improve upon existing friction points. Proof of platform is manifested in the likes of BlockBar —a platform that has become the exclusive marketplace for luxury spirits, solving not only for authenticity, but serving as its own resale marketplace and providing additional up sell such as special storage, considering bottles that cost thousands of dollars need serious TLC (tender, love and care)
Blockbar knows it pays to be stuck in the middle, leveraging web3 to ease on problems that arise when dealing with these particular luxury goods, once NFTs are purchase for example, you can HODL (cryptospoke for hold) and whenever you want, burn the NFT to get your bottle shipped, or alternatively, flip it or preserve it in their storage to accrue value. Recently, Blockbar has served as the go-to platform for the likes of LVMH to drop their NFT tied, luxury spirits bottles, proving that there is much to be made being proof of platform.
The laws of gravity state the obvious that is “what comes up must come down” and as science would have it, there also exists a TOP BOTTOM dynamic when it comes to community packaged goods. Enter the creative collective model, in this modus operandi, the group works alongside existing brands to push out products that are crafted with their community criteria in mind, and with each product launch, the earnings are equally reaped the collective. As opposed to the brand introducing a product, the creative collective take part in shaping said collaboration, and in similar fashion, tries to merge both interests in a way that creates a win win structure for both parties at hand. Creative collectives can also serve as a launching point for collaborations, being the epicenter that attracts brands to work with in the first place, the creative collective, as opposed to the consumer commune, focuses on using the pool of talents to their advantage.
The best example of this dynamic can be seen manifested in Friends with Benefits, the most recognized crypto community as of late, and its recent exploration of CPG by launching their first product in the form of a beverage. In the future, one might hear DTC being referred to as DAO-to-consumer, which is exactly what FWB has pioneered, but in theme with “communes” the way this was brought to life was through leveraging their community, it also helps when your community members contain the likes of CPG brand owners themselves. FWB as a creative collective is not just exploring product launches within food and beverage, but throughout different industries and mediums, both online and offline. But before anything materializes, the creative collective must submit proposals that need to be put to vote as a whole. Once it passes, the collaboration is then brought to life, beta tested and then readied for launch, and being crypto native, you know web3 dynamics are inherent —minting is the new “cop the drop” and products are first offered to community, and cult adjacent communities alike before opened up to the public —NFTs serving as non-fungible tastings.
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Being part of a collective creative, both Taika’s and FWB’s mission align, in that they both seek to fuel creativity, the idea of launching a sparkling yerba mate was done in the best interest of the whole, and for the potential this combination holds to appeal to a more mainstream market, thus increasing their shared rewards and return on investment as a DAO. Wanna see how the mate is made, step into the mateverse. You may be asking yourselves, “has she finally lost it?!” and I would be remiss if I didn’t say talking about non-fungible edibles at times makes me question reality, but alas the FWB x Taika mateverse can be best defined as a decentralized creative collective and their sparkling mate is the “default gateway”. The rise of yerba mate should come to no surprise as our generation as well as GenZ have searched for “cleaner” options to energizing, as noted in our “New Energy Source” issue —demand for yerba mate has spiked post-pandemic. So why would this collaboration make sense? Because there is A LOT of money to be made from capturing some of that market share considering the energy drink market exceeds $21 billion in total annual sales in the US not to mention energy drinks make up 30% of the sales in $$ of packaged drinks for sale at convenience stores, and yet they are legit a shock to your system, the average energy drink contains around the same amount of caffeine as four servings of coffee, or 320 mg of it.
Yerb is the Word
—Yerba mate market is estimated to be growing at a CAGR of 5%
—GenZ is leading surge in interest in this as an RTD, opting for healthier ways to “power through”
—GenZ + millennial driving the clean energy movement, popularizing “functional” and “plant based” in RTD caffeine.
—In line with our predictions in “functional unwinding” what consumers are looking for in terms of energy is equal parts calm and focus.
Going live live this Thursday (4/21) , those on the allow list will be able to mint one of the 400 NFTs (priced at 0.08 ETH) available that come with access to a case containing two versions of the beverage, on-chain voting will take place that ultimately will decide on the final recipe that will move on to a more public release —a literal manifestation of community as co-founder, the first ever of its kind. Similar to other projects, it will include a lifetime discount to Mateverse, so long as you hold your token, access to a token gated creative club on Telegram as well as more TBA perks. As opposed to previous web2 structures, these DAO-to consumer products are ready to ship when the NFTs go live, meaning their sparkling yerba mates will begin shipping as of 4/25, next Monday, and voting opens after the public mint ends and will run until May 9, 2022. This drop also represents a different iteration of gamified consumer insights—two flavors stand before you, but only one lightly carbonated sparkling yerba mate will stand to go public —which will it be, the rest of us will have to stay tuned.
Speaking of DTC, DAO-to consumer, another type of creative collective has emerged in the form of ClubCPG, a curated community of 300 key leaders in intersection of web3 meets consumer, the club recently announced the creation of POP! an NFT collection that is a way to expand their community without diluting the original genesis group value, and innovating how web3 tier memberships should look like —incubation, community as proof and reward structures based on “time of mint” —which they call “the utility auction” rewarding early participation, which of course holds more risk, it should therefore, also hold the biggest reward, which I would like to formally refer to, seizing the mints of production!
POP! members in this structure serve as the “brand” and will be leveraging the creative collective’s mentorship to produce products, drops, events, etc that overall bring shared benefit to the larger ecosystem. “Community meets utility” is why CPG is shifting away from being defined as merely consumer, but more so community packaged goods.
Let them ETH cake?
What’s in a chain, that by any other name would proof just the same? The chokehold of Ethereum is losing grip as more CPG brands as well as platforms embrace these different chains.
Avalanche
Its claim to fame is as an eco-friendly, proof-of-stake blockchain. According to CRYPTO Carbon Ratings Institute Avalanche uses .0005% of the energy used by Bitcoin.
Used by
“Try Your Best”
Solana
A public blockchain platform with smart contract functionality, native cryptocurrency is SOL. Its claims to fame are offering faster transaction times and lower costs than its main competitor, ETH.
Used by
Polygon:
A a decentralized ETH scaling platform that enables developers to build scalable user-friendly dApps with low transaction fees.
Used by
OffLimits initial NFT drop at Art Basel
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Perhaps no other intersection is expected to reap in the benefits of web3 dynamics than the one of cannabis packaged goods, and leading the move into this brave new on-chain world is the team at Potli, as an equity-certified, Asian-women founded brand, this company has proven time and time again that there is a demand for diverse products through the legacy of artisanal, award-winning plant medicine infused products they’ve launched. Products like Dream Honey, Shrimp Chips and Sriracha have gone viral with small upfront investments and resulted in high praise and high returning customer rates. Against all odds of operating in the complicated Cannabis and Hemp industries, Potli has made it past the $1M in revenue mark, an achievement less than 5% of all startups cross.
ALPHA LEAK!
Critical to their success has also been a championing community, and now they are bringing their community as co-founders as they leverage web3 to move past red tape, and obstacles that have hindered this intersection of CPG, ever the one’s to push the boundaries and innovate, they are building the first crypto community that lies in the intersection of food and beverage, and cannabis packaged goods.They are introducing Potli’s Night Market, which will serve as a space to co-design products bringing community as co-founder as well as reaping the rewards with the collective, the project involves an array of incredible artists, collaborators, brands and advisors, you can learn more on their Mirror manifesto here.
Oracular Spectacular
A subsidiary of the Snax Television Network.
Shhhhhhhhh!!!! My favorite show’s about to start “What’s New, You Ask?”
Darkside: Recently launched, super sexy coffee liqueur brand!
KA!: In line with our predictions on the rise of psychedelic adjacent CPG, KA! is chewable kanna.
MBU: Feijoa gin and tonic from New Zealand.
Cliche: Newly launched hard wine seltzer, lol.
Ruani: Ladies and gentlemen, we have arrived at adaptogenic brownies.
Spoonful of News 🥄
Global Cannabis Capital (GCC) is raising funds through crypto.
Plant-based chicken NOWADAYS raises $7 million to expand.
Speaking of energy drink markets, A SHOCK energy bev raises $29 million.
Snax Concierge 🛎️
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