Arrae is replacing hotel mini-bars with pills.
Plus: Brands are asking virtual AI customers for thoughts, and Wonder is planning an in-app nutritionist.
Morning,
Wow. Thanks to the few hundred new people here who trusted Allison Stadd’s recco (thanks, A!). Welcome. Humbled. And excited to try and keep you entertained.
If you only read one thing in this letter I recco: SUPPLEMENT BAR.
As always, the lens of this letter is a best-of-the-best on culture, trends, marketing, etc. What I’m dropping to friends on Slack or finding useful in meetings with brands.
Let’s dive in!
CULTURE
MEGA META // Meta Ray Ban’s team has been working overtime. My feed is inundated. Naturally, Eva Chen was using them (or being watched by some) at the Met Gala. There’s a Coperni collab. Molly Burke, who is blind, used them to pick out an outfit. Here they are at the Travis Scott x Spotify x FCBarcelona concert. Being brutally honest, the footage is all hard to watch, the tech seems slow. But they look do look normal, the mic is good, and the translation feature is fun. I used One Cliq to check the sentiment (this isn’t paid, I just like it) and unsurprisingly, everyone’s distrust of Meta is a major impediment—they’ll need a lot more seeding to get past that.
GREAT EXPERIENCE // Atoboy x Apollo Bagels, Sunn’s x Elbow Bread, Thai Diner x Katz’s Deli. The Great Nosh’s list of one-day-only food collabs is pretty wild (I want to go). Food experiences are huge right now. Yes Chef, Chain, Tuna Fight Club. But it’s not just food. Normal is hosting a 2-weekend shopping ‘experience’ in the old Barney’s location. Corona just hosted the most enormous concert for its 100th anniversary. Halara, the fitness brand, is hosting hundreds of yogis in Bryant Park all summer. Of course, there’s always a pendulum swing. In this case, ultra-intimate one-on-one shopping ‘experiences’ are starting to emerge. In all cases, the experiential bar is high.
F&B
TEA PLS // Alexander Wang opened a Hey Tea location in their store with very high-end merch (that will sell) and, most importantly, a bubble on top of the tea that will cause lines around the block. Laneige made this story-worthy collab with Boba Guys (their logo kills me) for their new launch. GCDS has a Hello Kitty Tea at their store right now (though that branded milk bread is what caught my attention). Tea is bigger than ever.
DRUGS & BOOZE
WINE CULTURE // Wine and booze aren’t dead. You know this if you read this letter or
reports (p43). What strikes me is that the industry seems intent on drinking the negative Kool-Aid. BookTok likes wine. This caviar spoon alone could revive the fizz biz. Aperol isn’t ashamed of itself, and the rest need to follow.FIZZ BIZ // Speaking of fizz, Instacart has a new drinks and delivery app, Fizz, for crowd-sourcing party bevs. It’s integrated with Partiful (who have quickly become brands’ fave way to reach Gen-Z, despite having a rough week,).
, the voice of Gen-Z, says it’s “Genius,” so you know it will be a hit. Venmo might not be so excited.SILVERS, ALPHAS & ZS
// Shiny pennies don’t always pay. Drunk Elephant sales have plummeted 65%. The reason? They went hard after Alphas’s, but the Alphas moved on. It’s a good cautionary tale. While Alphas have enormous sway over their family’s purchases, parents don’t typically want to use their kids' serums.RETAIL
broke the news that ShopMy has acquired ThingTesting. ThingTesting is great for finding new emerging brands like Muse Wash (lux detergent is big). This will help ShopMy become the go-to for emerging niche brands (Gen-Z loves discovery). Plus, ThingTesting’s editorial eye will be great for content.MINTED VINTED // Vinted is now the leading second-hand marketplace in Europe, over eBay and the largest clothing retailer in France, bigger than Zara, H&M, and Amazon—wild. Some might say ‘recession indicator’. But 1) Hauls mean most second-hand is nearly brand new, but costs less. 2) ‘It’s vintage’ continues to be the ultimate flex.
TECH
AEO Vs GEO // Is it AEO (answer engine optimization) or GEO (generative engine optimization)? Doesn’t really matter. “It’s no longer just about how you get found. It’s about how you become part of the answer. That shift changes everything.” I shared my AI thoughts in this
interview. Most brands aren’t ready.VIRTUAL OPINIONS -> Digital Native // AI is changing our expectations re: the speed of sentiment. OneCliq can pull thousands of comments into a quick snapshot in under an hour.
did an interview with the founder of SocialGlass.AI, which will curate “personalized, relevant feeds… to surface trends, language, sentiment.” View Point is making completely synthetic AI survey participants to get quick sentiment tests. Listen Labs lets you query artificial AI ‘participants.’ The question is: most brands have plenty of data don’t know how to use it. Will more information help?SHOPIFY’S WORLD // You can finally natively buy ‘physical’ products in Roblox—powered by Shopify. You can now buy natively in OpenAI—powered by Shopify. Shopify is to retail what NVIDIA is to AI.
WONDER NO MORE // Wonder, the food delivery app, is building in AI to tailor healthier meals. The AI will layer biomarker data, wearable stats, and glucose monitor readings to make AI-generated meal plans that “automatically [adjust] for deficiencies.” It’s a nutritionist built into food delivery.
SPORT
RUN AND INTERVIEW // Nike Running has a new interview series. It’s a moving podcast—love it. The host, Becs Gentry, is a seasoned podcaster and a famously avid runner. She interviews Nike celebs on their runs. More pods move out of the studio.
EXERCISE SNACKS // When Joe Holder did a guest letter for
while she was away getting married, he mentioned ‘Exercise Snacks.’ It stuck in my head. And then, a few weeks later, Exercise Snacks x Sky Ting x PyroSports graced my feed, answering “How do we make gym class fun?” This will get bigger.WELLNESS & BEAUTY
BABY MAMA // Fitness equipment brand, Bala, launched a new line of fitness equipment aimed at pregnant and postpartum moms (their launch party cakes are too good). Their Birthday Peanut is particularly interesting as it moves them into a healthcare space that doesn’t get nearly enough attention. Hospital contracts are lucrative, and you have a very captive audience.
MAC SMACKS? -> As Seen On// The comment section is highly divided over Mac’s new nepo baby campaign. It features Amelia Gray (daughter of Lisa Rinna), Francesca Scorsese. and Zaya Wade. While some of MAC's fans seem turned off by the campaign, all conversation is better than no conversation. Never try to please everyone.
TRAVEL
NEW AMENTIES // You’ll now be able to book glam, a chef, personal training, photography, massages, nails, etc, directly within the Airbnb app. It makes complete sense for bridal showers, family-of-the-bride/groom situations, conference keynote trips, etc. I used GlamSquad (not sponsored…yet) the last time I was in NYC, and the convenience was mind-boggling. This will work.
HOTEL INFLUENCERS // Hotels are becoming influencers. Palm Heights has a new collab with H&M Home. Casa Lawa has a new collab with Zara. Arc’teryx has a collab with Tibetan hotel chain Songtsam.
SUPPLEMENT BAR // Arrae, the supplement brand, is partnering with the Mercer Hotel to stock its supplements in room. Packing supplements for trips is a pain in the a**. And there’s no time people are more amenable to ‘trying something’ than while traveling. On my last trip alone, I tried methylene blue, freeze-dried peptides, and at least 3 face masks (Biodance collagen masks might be my new religion). I’ve also run out of magnesium glycinate on vacation more times than I can count. If someone wants to start a supplements and beauty minibar service for hotels, I want to chat.
FUN FOR THE WEEK
AI isn’t a differentiator. Brand is. Yet more evidence.
This week is fun campaigns: Thule, Merit, Starface x Heaven by Marc
Letterboxd is going to offer curated ‘rentals.’
Valentino built a listening room.
Maxine McCrann's painted Madeleines are stunning.
Quite in love with the vibe of this Crown Affair x D.S.Durga event.
Blank Street popped up with The London Social, with some custom flash tattoos.
This is what unique packaging can do for you.
That’s all, folx.
-Chris
If you read this and liked it, that little heart is there for that. The algo and I appreciate it.