Madewell is ok with you smoking
Brands are 'growing up'. Plus: people want splurgy indulgences they can afford.
Morning,
I’m back. The vacation was lovely. More on that in TRAVEL.
While I was I was unplugged, Kirsten co-host a breakfast club for LA marketing and brand folx to connect in IRL. The turnout was awesome! I’ll keep you posted for the next one.
If you only read one thing in this letter I recco: FUN FOR THE WEEK. 2 weeks’ worth of fun things, many of which could be blown out but there was only so much space. It will get cut off, open in your browser. I know, know.
There’s also a clear theme this week: splurgy, do-able indulgences.
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
CELEBS NOT CELEBRATING // Celebrity brand fatigue is hitting. Celebrities are still giving brands a big boost but consumers are not biting as much as before. The Cut recently dove into the topic, focusing on celeb beauty brands. In short: quality and value still matter. Consumers aren’t willing to put their pennies behind a brand—celebrity or not—if the goods aren’t delivering. ‘Expert’ co-founders and founders will matter more soon.
F&B
CHEESE CRAZED -> As Seen On // The average American now eats about 42lbs of cheese a year. While Tillamook has taken over the cheddar space, the opportunity is smaller varieties. There are many popular cheeses here in Europe that don’t have a major player in the States yet.
Related: My feed is constantly full of people lugging butter back from France. I don’t believe that one of the ‘big butter’ players can’t swoop in here if they wanted to.
NON-ALC IS MOVING INTO ITS ‘TABLE’ ERA // Ghia came out with a shareable format this week. Good Twin also is rolling out a rebrand. As the non-alc space has become more mainstream, people are looking for options they can bring to the table, in packaging they are proud to share even if there’s no booze involved.
SMALL SPLURGES ARE BIG // The $23 Honey Deuce is fueling the US Open’s bottom line but they also added a new splurgy snack to the menu: A $100 box of chicken nuggets—6 nuggets, each with dolloped in caviar. Caviar ‘bumps’ have been popular for a while but the theme is ‘affordable’ extravagance—a strategy you can use and apply, sans caviar.
DRUGS
MADEWELL IS SMOKING -> Feed Me // Smoking is very much back. Madewell x Alexa Chung dinner party the pair threw for NYFW they handed out Zippo lighters as swag. This resurgence of smoking is not as interesting as the general shift we’re witnessing in retail brands getting more grown-up and edgy vibes lately. Brands seem to be shifting in 2 directions: edgier/sexier/more sophisticated or more nostalgic / classic / basic / refined. Very interesting to see the direction Madewell is choosing.
ALPHAS & ZS
CHATBOT ≠ CONCIERGE -> AfterSchool // Gen Zers are 35-40% more likely to call a business than their older siblings, the millennials, to jump on their phone and —gasp—call a brand. Businesses want to replace humans with AI in customer service but it turns out that if you position it correctly, having a human could be the right flex.
RETAIL
WHAT’S WORKING FOR TARGET // Another gem from The New Consumer was a deep dive on Target which grew 2% YOY—beating expectations. Target is aspirational mass retail and tells you a lot, regardless of the economy. My summary: 1) Price reductions worked. 2) Haircare is big. Blake Brown Haircare was their biggest hair care launch on record. 3) Minis did really well—read: splurgy, do-able indulgence. 4) Their exclusive seasonal product from Bubly, Bubly’s Melted Ice Pop killed it. Aka. Novelty still works. 5) A healthy update to the candy aisle worked wonders—parents hate sugar. 6) People are obsessed with protein.
THE CATALOG HAS LANDED -> As Seen On // JCrew’s print catalog is back and back with a bang. The new catalog reads like an editorial magazine, featuring QR codes to shop the content (Dan Pelosi did this in his cookbook and it was a hit too). People are swooning over the all-film shoots, Demi’s feature for her ‘vintage’ collection, and simply that ‘print is back’. One thing about print, much like caviar-topped nuggets, bougie beauty minis, and real people on the end of the phone, is that it feels like an indulgence. Not to hit you over the head but the theme is real.
TECH
DESIGN IS A GATEWAY DRUG // Kirsten recently has gotten BIG into Notion. Her gateway? A well-designed template. Their growth strategy is working. Well-designed templates are a successful converter for the brand and they are doing a lot of work with creators. A big value prop for them is flexibility / the ability to personalize. Not only just a good strategy but could also be fun for a brand to play with making their own Notion ‘worlds’ for consumers.
SPORT
THE SPORT OF FASHION // Athletes, especially female athletes, are huge at this NYFW. USA gymnast Jordan Chiles walked the runway for Kim Shui. Kysre Gondrezick is establishing herself as a street-style icon. The list goes on. As the always right,
said this week “sports is maybe the only cultural unifier we have right now.”ROLEX GETTING ROLLED OVER // LVMH is in talks to be the main luxury player in Formula 1. Until recently, Rolex was the official timekeeping sponsor, that now might move to TAG Heuer. The bottle of sparkling they spray might also get a shake-up. F1 grew enormously in the US over the last few years and while it dipped a little in 2024 it’s still bigger than ever and the timing makes a lot of sense.
WELLNESS
NORDSTROM’S NOT GETTING IT -> Retail Diary // Nordstrom’s recently releases a ‘Young Adult Beauty’ edit online. Here’s the thing though: not one of the brands in there is an ‘it’ brand with alphas. Every parent will tell you they are told what to buy. They aren’t going out looking for anything but a particular brand. The right brands are critical. You can upsell them later but not without the right initial ingredients. Nordstrom is decently on the pulse so hopefully they’ll fix this misstep.
VIRTUALLY UNWELL // Hospitals worldwide regularly face bed shortages and ‘virtual hospital beds’ are becoming a thing. One ‘provider’, Doccla raised £35 million ($46 million) to expand in Europe. The opportunity here is the shift from home to home-care-facility. This will be a huge space. Well-designed equipment. Furniture. Different food needs. Carer needs. There’s so much brand potential here.
TRAVEL
BRAND OBSERVATIONS FROM MY TRIP // I truly tried not to work on the trip but the eye sees what the eye sees. 3 brand observations:
A brand that was new to me: Engine. It could have felt cheesy and gimmicky but was displayed perfectly. Their insta doesn’t really reflect the feeling. My drink came in this cup that felt super different. Bring back custom branded glassware.
We stayed at the Menorca Experimental. It was lovely. The brand details were great.
The stairs, the logo typing into decor in an elevated way and the illos were standouts.
The Spanish glass form-factor game is unmatched. The tonic water would win in aisle on form factor alone.
FUN FOR THE WEEK
Havaianas are using their charms à la Crocs
Brand partnership versions of these would be so fun.
Uniqlo has a new CD, with a Chloe pedigree.
Novelty dog food in this vintage packaging style would work.
Poppy did a huge pop-up for NYFW. Very high-intensity, almost Nike. Cherry Cola was a smart move. Sexual, indulgent 90s NYFW brat vibes. In a good way.
Happier Grocery is the new Erewhon.
Posted too late but actually still nailed it—very Martha Stewart
I loved and felt this so so much.
A former exec from Aesop is launching a premium deodorant line.
Packaging should be (will be) exponentially cheaper.
Fishwife launched a cookbook and is popping up in NYC in collaboration with Klaviyo.
Introducing OffBall. “Sports. Culture. Curated. No algos, no aggregation, no AI.” An editorial sports newsletter that aligns with the fashion/sports crossover happening right now.
A sprinkle machine—fun!
Banza looked at Goodles packaging and thought ‘we should do that’
The anti-filler movement has moved to teeth. People want real faces.
Rachel Karten did a great interview with Chili’s social director and it touched a lot of seizing the moment and the need for speed.
This collab makes zero sense to me.
Spotify is tapping into everyone’s love of BTS with a new podcast (show?) about ‘the making of the album’ called Countdown To.
Have this guy stack your products for a fun shoot.
Brazil’s X users don’t love the other algo-driven platforms because there’s no “zoeira” or “zuera,” aka meme-filled chaos. A case for no algo driven social.
Miranda July and Prada teamed up to make a self-help hotline for NYFW.
Marta’s gifting suite is returning to LA and NYC. Beauty brands, get in while you can.
Michigan held a contest for a new “I voted” sticker. Winners include a 12-year-old girl’s drawing of a werewolf ripping off its shirt.
Seeing a lot of ‘live’ photo booths like this in my feed lately.
Meghan Markle’s brand, American Riviera Orchard, has to rename because you can’t trademark place names. Naming 101 but also why you always do the trademark search before launch.
Chipotle is doing Halloween costumes and it’s genius and hysterical.
This Cheetos pop-up in CDMX is fun.
Collage is in. Here’s a Haricot Vert ‘mystery craft kit’ vending machine for collaging. Here’s more evidence. Crafting is generally very in.
Moving image photography in fashion will be big this year I predict. The informality of the audio 🤌
Tooth gems at events are also a thing now and very cute.
This NFC tag-enabled product search I think will be a thing. See someone wearing something you like ‘scan’ with your phone to get the product + monetize your wardrobe effortlessly. People will like it.
Check out these painted speakers.
Fashion week is obsessed with this photo booth—opportunity for partnership seems obvious I
Is your blue my blue—in case 90% of your friends haven’t shared this with you.
Grab this lady for your pop-ups and you’d have a line down the block.
Kelly Wearstler and a cake made of pickles. Need I say more?
This Liquid Death campaign sponsoring fans versus drivers for NASCAR is fun/funny.
OnlyFans is a master class on the creator economy. In 2023, creators received $5.3B in payouts. Total NBA salaries 2023-2024 = $4.9B for comparison. Wild.
That’s all, folx.
-Chris
PS. This week a reader asked if I ever do consulting. The answer is yes. Always happy to be part of the brain trust. Reach out.
“I have a good sense my ROI is strong when investing in CD aka In Good Co. services.”
If you read this and liked it, that little heart is there for that. The algo and I appreciate it.
always love reading these :)
Smoking weed.