Dating app, Feeld is designing sex furniture.
Plus: Perelel hard launched a pregnancy, and Printemps has the je ne sais quoi we're craving.
Morning,
If you only read one thing in this letter I recco:
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
CAMPUS CLOUT // Brands are all on campus and spring break marketing. Small brands and big ones. Campus tours are costly, but the turnout is insane. I can tell you that the pros have good campus ambassador programs that drive that turnout. I have connects.
BRANDS NOT WELCOME // Doritos joined Blue Sky. No one liked it. The vibe was ‘Brands aren’t welcome here, you’ll ruin it.’ This is an interesting contrast to the sentiment re: brands joining Substack. Here, the vibe reads ‘Interesting. What will you say?’. The difference? Value add versus brand clutter.
F&B
SARATOGA SPRINGS A TREND // Saratoga Springs cashed in on going viral this week. But much like Gamestop meme-stock virality, this won’t help the brand long term. It’s momentary relevancy, but it doesn’t last. Another lesson? Brands who jump on the meme mostly left their consumers behind.
said the speed of memes is leaving most consumers confused.UNHINGED OR TOTAL FOOL? // California Pizza Kitchen announced a rebrand. The comment section was full of WFTs. But it was an early April Fools, a faux midlife crisis. I didn’t see the ad get much attention, so I’m not sure they pulled it off, BUT I do love that they are aware that their audience is probably 40, and they aren’t upset about it.
F*CK UP ARE IN // YouTubers have moved to a ‘no-edit’ approach. The New York Times Cooking channel was watching. They are now showing the full story, including the burnt-to-a-crisp attempts in the test kitchen and people are loving it.
said “Meghan’s team needs to be reading this”—hysterical.DRUGS & BOOZE
UNOBSTRUCTED BREWS // Coors wants to reward fans for their commitment.They made an AI tool to identify fans who have obstructed view at stadiums and compensate them with free beers. The more obstructed the view, the more brews—this part is fun. How this connects with the ice roller, I’m not clear. All fun but ready for the thru-thread.
SILVERS, ALPHAS & ZS
WHEN THEY GO LOW, WE GO HIGH -> Puck*// Lots happening in fast fashion. Forever 21 is out. Top Shop is back.
says Edikted stores are packed to the gills. My campus insiders say Happy Camp3r is taking off. And Zara, smartly, is saying we can’t race to the bottom and heading in a more luxury direction, this new store sounds and looks amazing. Old Navy is trying to get organized using AI. And H&M is trying to save on shoot costs with AI models.RETAIL
FRENCH BARNEYS -> Puck*// Speaking of pleasurable retail experiences, it sounds like the new Printemps is one. People are excited about the store design, but also the products. 25% are exclusive, new to the US French brands.
says this feels like ‘heyday Barneys’. Like I said, people want newness (American Eagle’s CEO also spoke to this recently), and when you forget that, things don’t go well. The US has lost its department-store-way. We need a Bon Marché equivalent, I’m bullish on Printemps. called out two collabs at Crate & Barrel—interest. Not a brand I’d imagine her referencing. One collab is with Jake Arnold, the other is with Brigette Romanek. The latter feels like a deliberate move on C&B’s part to move slightly closer to CB2 without overlapping.TECH
TEENY RIVI // Rivian is launching a ‘micromobility’ startup, Also. “There’s a seat, and there’s two wheels, there’s a screen, and there’s a few computers and a battery.” And it will be affordable. The founder thinks e-bikes should cost $10K (correct). It’s “a reflection of a poorly developed supply chain that’s very, very, very tiered.”
HALLOW DOLLARS // What app has been downloaded 18m+ times and used by 500m+ people across 150+ countries? Hallow, a prayer and meditation app. They have raised + $55M. Religion is booming lately.
AI INSIGHT //
shared a list of must-watch, well, AI newcomers—canaries in the coalmine—tech brands. One that’s interesting? Browserbase. Essentially they’re building tools for automatically checking competitors’ prices, testing digital experiences, or tracking how your brand shows up across the web. (Related: A friend intro’d me to OneCliq, an AI that can scan for consumer sentiment in minutes—handy!) Loveable and Bolt. were also on the list. They build websites with a simple prompt. Squarespace must be terrified, Shopify will likely be making an acquisition. But beware. Consumers got Squarespace template fatigue. AI-generate site fatigue will set in. Good news? We’ll enter a ‘fun site’ era to combat this as the role of a website changes.WOMEN ASK REDDIT // Why do women go on social media to find out what’s going on with them? The answer: because it’s the only place we’re getting answers. It seems they’re on Reddit getting those answers, too. 81% of the r/WomensHealth feel less alone, 73% feel more prepared, and 72% are coming back for more. This is a major opportunity.
SPORT
THE LEWIS EFFECT // Ferrari says almost half of new owners are under 40. That's a significant increase from just over 18 months ago, when the percentage of Ferrari buyers under age 40 stood at 30%. Some might call that the Lewis (Hamilton) Effect.
WELLNESS & BEAUTY
BABY ROE // Chef, influencer, and all-around muse, Sophia Roe, announced her pregnancy in the New York Times with a Perelel ad—what a get! The campaign is called “The Ingredients of You.” Sophia talks about food security and nutrition a lot (amongst sharing very stunning creations). I asked the team how it came to be and what other brands could learn from it:
“Sophia actually reached out to us after using our Perelel Conception Support Pack when she became pregnant. From the start, it felt deeply aligned.…the key to creating this kind of magic is to stay deeply rooted in your mission and build relationships with people who not only believe in what you’re doing—but live it. When there’s true alignment in values, the story writes itself.”
Love this. Also all the pregnant moms collab’ing. Molly, Kylie, Sophia—quite the trio if someone wants to tie it all up with a bow.
THE BEAUTY OF NICHE // This
letter shared is truly a fun read. Beauty journalism is headed in a fun direction. is another excellent example. Real, unprecious, not just straight beauty, and deeply, niche-ly, personal—love.THE ORAL MICROBIOME // The gut microbiome is mainstream now, but on the fringes, there’s an increasing interest in the oral microbiome. Links have been made between your mouth and rheumatoid arthritis, endometriosis, and dementia. Gallinée and Fygg, Viome, Proclaim, and no surprise,
are all over this.TRAVEL
FANCY TEMEZCAL // Larry Ellison has opened a new location of Sensei in Los Cabos. Zadún will have a traditional Mexican sweat lodge (temazcal) and localized treatments, like herbal massages. I did a temazcal. I credit it with starting this letter—transformative.
WILL TRAVEL FOR GAMES // Any parent of a teenager can attest to this truth: youth sports is a big travel driver.
says youth sports is one of the few AI-resistant niches (not wrong). Sports with the most revenue potential? Lacrosse, volleyball, hockey, and soccer. Lots of room to make this pleasurable for families.FUN FOR THE WEEK
Feeld designed a bed for hooking up. All the fun brands are working with Gustaf.
Gambling is becoming Gen-Z cigarettes. And sports brands should care.
Calvin Klein/Bad Bunny shoppable bus stop is fun. Byredo’s pop-up—another level.
Odd Bird is making orange N/A sparkling wine. Hello!
A Jacquemus bowling alley at Neiman Marcus (these words are odd together.)
Hair fragrance is being added to the whole-body fragrance mix.
This Gucci video feels like Instagram Premium meets Severance.
This is hysterical. And a lesson for brands.
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.
*affliate link
So much happening! Thanks for the recap.
My fave is definitely the Bad Bunny one