Is Allbirds the Sweetgreen of shoes?
Plus: Should divorce be repositioned as retirement?
Morning,
This week’s letter is a little shorter because we’ve something new at the end. Introducing THE UNSAID SERIES. These will be dives into topics, consumers, and life phases that brands could should be looking at differently. That deserves to be brought out of the shadows. Scroll down to get the first of these and tell me what you think in the comments if you have the time.
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
GEN-Z IS STARTING TO DIVORCE -> AfterSchool
This week the internet was abuzz when YouTuber, Aspyn Ovard, announced her divorce, the same day giving birth to her 3rd baby. Looking beyond the click-bait nature of this article, divorce is getting a rebrand—speaking of Isla Fisher’s recent divorce announcement, Hunter Harris referred to it as a ‘retirement’—repositioning! Divorce is no longer a dirty secret. No longer a sob story. Scroll to the bottom for more on this space.
In our very first letter, we mentioned somatic wellness as a rising trend, and here we are with Nike embracing it. They recently opened a BreatheLab at the Paris House of Innovation that integrates “somatic based practices such as body and breathwork into their wellness practices to unlock and tune into” our emotions.
SHOCKING NEWS, RANKING KIDS ISN’T GOOD FOR THEM
Snap, announced on Friday that it was turning off its paid friend-ranking feature, Solar System. The feature allows paying subscribers to see where they rank on their Snapchat friends’ best friends list. Honestly makes us wonder if Snap has even one parent working on the product team.
F&B
To coincide with the eclipse last week, SunChips launched an extremely limited edition flavor. They gave customers 4 minutes and 27 seconds to order the limited-edition chips Pineapple Habanero and Black Bean Spicy Gouda chip. The seeding kits were cute. The social posts are for sure some of their top performers.
Olipop recent competition for a social role on TikTok for a #OLIDreamJob when a bit awry. There were 650 posted entries on TikTok (technically optional for the role), But, when they announced the winners, the chosen winners hadn’t posted and weren’t even active on the platform. People noticed. It wasn’t pretty. This could be a great way to engage fans, just take notes and don’t make these missteps.
Famed restaurant, now CPG brand, Noma is coming to NYC to promote its CPG products, like the new-and-improved Mushroom Garum and the Corn Yuzu hot sauce (Yuzu is everywhere right now). While they’re in town, they’ll be hosting book signings, doing pop-ups, cooking at the ‘greenmarket’, and doing collabs (including at Pop-Up grocer). Why NYC, why now? A NYC pop-up announcement soon?
ALFRED’S COFFEE IS BREWING THE HOTTEST BILLBOARDS -> Feed Me
Emergency contraceptive brand, Julie, moved their viral billboard to Alfred’s coffee cups. Having lived in LA, it has been hard to escape the success of Alfred’s media business. Emily says partnerships start at $150k. It should be annoying but the team does it well and I’m surprised more coffee brands haven’t jumped on this bandwagon.
RETAIL
US RETAIL HEATING UP -> Feed Me
Uniqlo is back to expanding in the US. After a massive retreat, the US CEO says they now understand the US market better (different product assortment, etc. Curious to see how it will be different). Uniqlo is part of a large trend. More foreign retailers are seeking to build firmer roots in the U.S. Primark and Zara, JD Sports and IKEA are also expanding their bricks-and-mortar presences as a long-term bet on U.S. shoppers.
TED IS NOT PART OF THE EXPANSION GANG
Ted Baker is closing 15 stores. One quick look at their site and you can tell that Ted isn’t paying attention to menswear trends and needs a new lens. The best part of this article is without question this quote:
“Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at investment platform AJ Bell said although the Ted Baker brand did "still chime" with consumers, "the sound is dull and for many younger shoppers their engagement is limited to fragrance and underwear".
COACH MADE A HERO -> AfterSchool
Apparently—shocker-of-shocks—the rise of the Tabby bag’s popularity was not an accident. The Coach team took data insights and paired them with a culture insight (Gen-Z group was seeking ways to feel more confident) to focus the team on a hero product and drive Gen-Z purchases. What’s great here is not necessarily the data part which everyone is doing but the pairing with a cultural insight to make the data shine—way more interesting and a much more important takeaway.
TECH
Residential electric car charging in the UAE is nascent, meaning most people rely on public charging stations. BMW realized this. They took three vehicles around Dubai, photographed them at over 300 charging stations before uploading reviews of those charging stations to Google Maps. So every review featured their electric cars. They now have been seen 2 million times on Google Maps, spiking test-drive bookings by 400%. Fun (also, this whole substack is a fun one, dive in)
SPORT
SOCIAL MEDIA IS A SPECTATOR SPORT -> LinkInBio
The Dodgers have installed a ‘social media room’ at their stadium that allows spectators to see the action of the social media team posting about games in real-time. Some people are describing it as being in a ‘zoo’. It’s interesting to see social and especially ‘live social’ being elevated like this. It’s hard! Wonder how the team feels about it though.
An all women’s sports, sports bar, The Sports Bra made $1M in 8 months. Women’s sports is exploding and a place we’ll see more brands getting excited about, no doubt.
WELLNESS
Spring is a miserable time for millions in Japan (and basically anywhere with pollen). So, Japanese employers are offering “tropical escape” programs, allowing employees to work remotely from other parts of the country with low pollen counts. This feels like something brands could easily tap into.
Serena Williams launched a makeup brand for athletes. Wyn’s being sold through Ulta. The brand’s supposed to focus on Serena’s (hard-earned) sports meets makeup but beyond the color of the packaging, there’s not much sporty about the brand. Where are the faces of stunning, sweaty-faced, athletes?
ANYTHING YOU CAN DO I CAN DO BLEEDING
August has partnered with USA Track & Field (USATF) for a multiyear sponsorship, becoming the official period product supplier to the USATF team. Love this initiative. Generally, August kills it.
TRAVEL
It’s hard to escape a travel publication that isn’t posting sexy photos of cool train interiors, saying how train travel are where it’s at. Lliving in Europe,, I can say first hand train travel is truly a (better) lifestyle but this deep dive into the math emissions for US trains makes it seem slightly less rosy. Still think there are content opportunities for trains and brands, just stick to the coasts.
FUN FOR THE WEEK
I’m changing this category up a bit. I’m combining JUST FOR LAUGHS + FUN FOLLOWS—> FUN FOR THE WEEK. From campaigns to accounts, articles and new brands to straight-up funny moments.
Haruko Hayawaka’s new work for Cometeer
This artist redesigning basic flyers and posters
Enjoying the raw aluminum and new illustrations on the new Ruby packaging
Nicole’s Jcrew collab
BNP Paribas Open using players as staff and filming it—fun(ny).
The Empire State Building winning over the internet during the earthquake
Referring to about Allbirds, Emily Sundberg: “The downfall of Allbirds was their corny vibe at the end. You don’t want to be the Sweetgreen shoe.” I spit out my tea.
WELCOME THE UNSAID
Episode: Divorce
Trends, as always, aren’t always about what the masses are currently doing but where things are shifting. Outlier behavior that’s emerging.
What’s shifting in divorce?
DIVORCE IS A BECOMING BENEFIT
Companies are beginning to offer workers tools and services to navigate separation by offering ‘divorce benefits’.
Everything from time off, counseling, child-support tools, and legal services.
Divorce is, statistically, one of the most stressful times in someone’s life, out-ranked only by the death of a spouse—yikes. Businesses interested in getting an employee’s full attention back are tackling the problem head-on.
“On top of stress, [divorce] can cause absenteeism as workers take time off to attend to these matters, putting these employees on the back foot. A rising number of companies are aware of these difficulties – and keen to offer their workers support benefits that employers haven’t traditionally provided. “
What’s the takeaway?
Divorce is being reframed as a mental health topic. And one we can openly discuss. Expect to see more services, tools, and conversations around divorce with a sympathetic versus shameless lens.
Work/life balance is being replaced with work/life endorsed. Declaring one's public approval or support of the company you work for is commonplace now, and employees are expecting to get a similar ‘support me’ attitude in kind. There’s also a growing trend that supporting employees' lives outside of work is beneficial to companies.
Company perks aren’t dying, they are just moving away from ping-pong tables.
DIVORCE IS TURNING INTO A CELEBRATION
You only have to take one look at this Culture Study thread (paid, screenshots as a taste below) on divorce to see that many, MANY, people find it a big cause for celebration.
Not convinced? Just walk on over to Walmart, Etsy, Pinterest or Amazon for divorce-theme decor. That’s right. People are throwing divorce parties. And it’s not just in the US, this is a rising trend among women in China too.
“Search trends show that people are gaining a new perspective of divorce,” says Swasti Sarna, Global Director of Data Insights at Pinterest
What’s the takeaway?
American adults who consider divorce to be morally acceptable have hit historic highs. To date, single-parent narratives in TV and advertising take a very sad, charity-case approach—we’re all ready for the refreshed perspective. Less ‘woe is you’ and more ‘whoa is you!’. The ‘rediscovery’ of self after divorce is a massively untapped sentiment.
Divorce is messy but not knowing how to handle it isn’t cause for shame.
Expect the spending to follow. Looking at the bachelorette party trend and spending increase over the last decade (the average bachelorette now costs $10,800!), where we see standard, often cheesy assortments now, we’ll high-end ‘outta here’ vacation packages and swanky party decor for every aesthetic.
A changed perspective from people post-divorce. While there will inevitably be a ‘f*ck them’ attitude from a (significant_ segment, we’ll see an increasing acceptance of marriage as a ‘chapter,” and divorce as an equal and not lesser value ‘chapter’ for people to experience. ‘Retiring’ from the marriage is another perspective.
DIVORCE IS FINAL FRONTIER
Yes, yes, we know divorce is ‘final’ but for many, it’s increasingly the last time they will ever get married. Rates of remarriage are decreasing and there’s a growing cohort who are actively not going back for seconds—mostly women.
Women make up 70% of divorce filing and are much less likely to remarry than men. You only have to spend a short time on TikTok to see an endless stream of ‘emotional labor’ memes or women discussing what they can get done in the time that men appear to be on the toilet.
“Men themselves appear to be well aware of how they benefit from marriage, as they are much more likely than women to get remarried after a divorce.”
And it’s not just women with kids. It’s increasingly people over 50 who are saying no more—ever. The great gray divorce has been a rising trend for a while and will likely have a massive impact on retirement, caregiving, and more.
What’s the takeaway?
Single and ready to mingle. Not only ‘post-divorce’ retreats but single-traveler trips will rise. Hotels, restaurants, and airlines will all shift to accommodate a changing landscape of solo travelers or groups of ‘solo’ travelers.
Even with married parents, there’s a lot of discussion surrounding the lack of ‘the village’ parents were told to rely on. However, parents and single parents are changing that and we’re returning to an interest in communal living that we haven’t seen since the 60s/70s.
In the past, many families have relied on aging parents to co-care. The burden will fall more to kids (in an industry that is WILDLY unequipped for a digital generation) or to communities with services like SilverTree (essentially, LifeAlert but with your friends.)
DIVORCE IS A MULTIPLIER
We’re shocking no one when we say that divorce divides things up, but the lens could be that divorce is a multiplier. More homes. More experiences. More attitudes. More stuff. More styles.
Of course, many divorcees are now co–parenting, and using many tools to do so, in a cultural shift in itself from a time when women were expected to ‘take the kids’. With fathers being more active, but also laws changing, two homes are increasingly common.
What’s the takeaway?
For many, similar to the disdain for the ‘sprinkle baby shower’, the thought of a divorce registry will be off-putting but expect support for this chapter of people’s lives to be more mainstream, accepting, and celebratory. It’s a big purchase driver and brands could be tapping it.
There will be an increasing interest in how children living with two approaches and perspectives will not ‘suffer’ from divorce but potentially find some added benefit to having more ways to learn how to approach life.
While we talk about 2 homes or things multiply, we’re also seeing an increase in less traditional approaches such as co-living coming off the back of Covid restrictions. People will find multiple ways to navigate life happily ever after divorce.
DIVORCE IS A PORTAL
With people openly discussing their divorce in public, on social media, and in substacks, we are getting an increasingly clearer view of how divorce can change you.
Women are becoming more aware of their finances. Speaking openly about money. Divorce is also releasing us from traditions, such as seeing ‘freed’ holidays as small opportunities versus missed moments. Many, many thousands of creators are sharing therapy tips with the divorced or soon-to-be divorced or unhappily married masses in the millions. We are even honoring this portal with divorce doulas that help lead us through this, just as we would a birth.
What’s the takeaway?
Culturally we’re beginning to see the chapter as a portal to not what we’re leaving behind but what we are opening up space for. This changing narrative from loss to self-love knows no bounds in terms of what it will change for us societally.
As more and more stories come to the surface, expect to see a big shift in the level of conversation about divorce.
Of course, without a doubt, there will continue to be many negative aspects to divorce, like the financial burden of it, to tricky rise of conversations about eggs and embryos with the recent increase in fertility treatments, so expect just a door opening to all conversations, good and bad, to be had loudly versus whispered.
WHO TO FOLLOW?
Brands, accounts, pubs, and substacks are doing interesting things in this space:
Big Salad. Cup of Joe long been the friend of many women on the internet but Joanna’s Substack, started after her (very public and oft applauded) marriage ended, delves into a lot of topics but one of them is divorce and dating after divorce. The way Joanna dealt with the public grief around her marriage honestly, is one of the finer moments of the internet. It must have been so hard to navigate but she, seemingly, handled it with huge amounts of grace.
Nicki Marie. This mom is hysterical and more importantly, saying things people are resonating with. She doesn’t exclusively discuss divorce but shares the funny and the real sides of divorce in a very relatable way.
Culture Study. If you want to tap into anything, this could (should) be a place to start but it has some VERY good discussion boards (on LOTS of topics).
Divorce From A Kid’s Perspective. Not a massive following but dives into topics like transition days etc. There are insights to be had.
Michelle Dempsey The co-parenting guru. Dropping good advice for challenging situations.
Sara Davison All divorcees know the importance of the pep talk and this divorce coach delivers.
WFTDivorce A meme account about the trials, tribulations, and often hilarity of divorce.
Róisín Lanigan, writer, author of “The Chic Young Divorcée” This quote sums it up best: “My advice for anyone who feels self-conscious about their age would simply be: don’t get botox, get divorced.”
Lyz Lenz, author of This American Ex-Wife, a divorce memoir.
Reesa Teesa, creator of the ‘WTF Did I Marry’ series.
MEMES AS A CULTURAL INDICATOR
Exhibit A. I have spent so many hysterical nights laughing at what newly divorced friends are seeing on dating apps. There’s a bounty of opportunity here.
Exhibit B. There are a lot of very proud (mostly ladies) out there. They’ve walked the fire. They’re an archetype. More of it here.
Exhibit C. It’s not all laughs, obviously.
Exhibit D. Friendship plays a big role in these stories. There’s a lot to work with her.
Exhibit E Getting back in the water isn’t easy.
DIVORCE YOURSELF FROM THE UNSAID
We’ll say again before anyone gets confused, divorce is hard, often unpleasant, and frequently heart-wrenching but there’s a distinctive shift happening, similar to the shift in public perspective around menopause and gender.
Brands need to get on board with leaning into the unsaid.
Marriage and consequently divorce is being reframed, questioned, and possibly blown apart. More on that in another one of these we have planned on marriage (it’s getting interesting!).
What comes on the other side of this divorce from the shame of divorce? Expect the walls to crumble—in a rebirth and opportunity sort of way.
That’s all, folx.