Move over Jaguar, let's talk Volvo
Plus: Sports Malls are in stealth mode, and the biggest opportunity in wellness is time.
Morning,
Reminder, you’re invited to Seoul, confirm your spot by Dec 5th. And the next LA Breakfast Club, Dec 13th, if you want to hang with some fun folx.
If you only read one thing in this letter I recco: SPORTS MALL and ON DEMAND.
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
TWO VEHICLES // First, I’ll always applaud a brave move, even one that falls on its face. And if all press is good press, Jaguar won. But yes, it lost its heritage and the logo sucks. But the worst is missing the mark on the buyer. The modern car buyer is getting older, not younger and that’s unlikely to change. Meanwhile, Volvo had a great ad this week. It spoke to their core strength: safety. And it reflected the modern dad—rare. Relevant and on brand. Jaguar forgot both of these things. I’ll expand mid-week.
PRO BOOTS // Boots found itself the target of right-wing hate this week for daring to portray an interracial Mr & Mrs Claus. I’m already tired of the next 4 years.
SODA SLOP // Coca-Cola’s AI ad ruffled feathers. ‘It’s slop’ was something I read a lot. I don’t love the ad, it feels a bit lazy. But the name-calling is more fascinating. Creatives are (rightly) scared out of their wits by AI. Dismissing it as ‘slop’ is an easy bandwagon to jump on. But it’s not going away. Humans have value; we have to dig deeper.
F&B
BURGERS ARE CLASSY // The good ol’ American burger is back. Buns and all. This week Delta added Shake Shack to its first-class menu. The same week, Louis Vuitton unveiled a cafe at their new ‘temp’ location. They are serving monogrammed savory waffles with caviar and, yep, cheeseburgers. Gluten is back and high-low is still in.
FAST LANE TO A COMEBACK -> Snaxshot // Chipotle is back thanks to ‘Chipotlanes’. If you, like me, are new to this fabulous name, these are their drive-thrus. That take an average of 12 secs per order. People love guac. And not wasting time.
SECOND CHANCE // Tropicana’s rebrand is legendary—not in a good way. This week, they changed their bottle shape. People are unhappy. “Only 7% cited familiarity” debunking the idea it’s a resistance to change. Being distinctive is important.
MOLLY’S WORLD // One thing I love about Molly Baz’s brand is that every extension feels natural. She has a baby > she talks about what she feeds them. She likes natural wine > she partners on one. Molly’s mayo obsession is longstanding. Ayoh is so her. More brands need to remember that if your audience is with you on the journey, they get excited when you do something new.
DRUGS & BOOZE
WHOOP I TOOK ACID // WHOOP added psychedelics tracking to its list of capabilities. “WHOOP Journal lets users log 100+ behaviors—from acupuncture to sex and journaling habits—to see how trends affect biometrics”. Now, it includes ketamine, LSD, and psilocybin. This space will benefit from the next administration. Pay attention.
MOËT HENNESSY REVIVAL -> As Seen On // Alexandre Arnault—who successfully revived Rimowa, is leaving his Tiffany’s post and heading to Moët Hennessy. I don’t believe champagne’s problem is the ‘lack of fun times’. I also don’t believe people aren’t drinking. One look at Ruinart social and you can see fresh eyes are needed. Most of the other brands are in the same boat.
SILVERS, ALPHAS & ZS
ACTIVELY BREAKING THE MOLD // Einat Israeli put it perfectly: “Demographic shifts and longer life expectancy are transforming how older adults approach leisure. Many are moving beyond cruises or traditional "senior" vacations, opting instead for intense physical adventures.” The olds are not sitting around being old.
COMPLEX KIDS -> AfterSchool // ComplexCon, aka CactusCon went big this year. They moved to Vegas. Sports was a big theme—smart. The other? Alphas and Zs. “60,000 teens, twenty and thirty-somethings (and occasionally some middle-aged, credit-card-holding parents) flocked to Las Vegas this past weekend”. And, we’re getting an Ed Hardy comeback too.
RETAIL
THE MARKET FOR MARKETS // UK Korean market brand, Oseyo, opened its 14th store. I was in Prague last weekend, there must have been 10 Asian markets just in the city center. The global appetite for global cuisine is big. There’s still plenty of room to play.
RISING UP // Vessi, the Canadian waterproof footwear brand, opened a new store. It looks great. I live in waterproof Adidas for ½ the year, the potential of this category is there (and underserved). But people don’t buy features, they buy brands. Vessi has some solid minds guiding them. Excited to see what they do.
H&M IS BRAT // H&M helped Charli XCX take over Times Square for an impromptu concert. It was only announced 30 mins before Charli hit the stage—fun. What was missing? The H&M connection. Apparently, she wore a custom version of the Holiday connection. But if I’m sitting here lost, I know others are too.
TECH
NOT PERPLEXING // Perplexity is rolling out their AI-powered e-commerce tool in the US.
said it best “ What would take this to the next level is a partnership with affiliates like LTK/ShopMy for a more curated list of results. I’m sure they’re working on it.”SPORT
dropped a trend they are seeing coming: “Retail Malls → Sports Malls: From shopping for clothes to playing sports, facilities are transforming retail areas.” This will work. I’d be tracking this.GET IN YOUR HEAD // Neurotech is growing in sport. NeuroTrainer optimizes decision-making skills. Myndlift is gamifying focus. The Denver Nuggets are using Reflexion’s Edges to up their reflexes. BlazePod reaction lights are being added to gyms. The list goes on. If you’re interested in the longevity brands, watch this space.
BEYONCE FOR XMAS // Netflix generated $17.8m in ticket revenue for the Paul/Tyson fight, the largest boxing gate outside of Nevada. For their Christmas Day football game, Beyoncé is performing at half-time. If she brought out Mariah the internet would implode. Netflix is not messing around with this sports vertical.
WELLNESS & BEAUTY
ON DEMAND //
had a fabulous 2-part letter on Beauty and Wellness trends. All fascinating. Botox and lymphatic drainage were popular—obviously. But this opportunity feels massive: “I'm more concerned about the time this all takes — I'd pay extra for people to come to me. It's like having a part-time job going to all of these appointments.” At-home services / all-in-one has huge potential. I once had a vet who visited the house. I would pay anything to have him back. The biggest luxury is time.MENTAL HEALTH, NOW // Speaking of on-demand. At home (aka remote) mental healthcare exists but Self Space feels new. An on-demand high street mental health space. No appointments needed. The world needs this.
HEALTHCARE IS THE NEW CPG // The changing face of healthcare is shaping up as one of my top 5 things of 2025. Julie launched a Gen-Z-friendly cold sore cream—with a tiny purse to carry it. They are bringing “bottom-shelf products to the top.” I have a half-dozen other examples. Healthcare is to the next half-decade, what CPG was to the last five years.
TRAVEL
PRAGA BAG // Organized a whirlwind immersion of Prague last week. A mini example of the Seoul immersion. We ate, we experienced, we shopped, we found. A highlight reel after the cut off, view in browser. But the fave?
Euforia // I have to order things on menus I haven’t seen before. Birch Sap was just that. It’s a super complex, not sweet, delicious non-alc bev. Run don’t walk.
FUN FOR THE WEEK
49 startups that hit unicorn status in 2024 & VCs investing in consumer products.
Boden X Colours of Arley 👀 Please let this be good.
This kinetic Christmas tree by Wade & Leta in Singapore is awesome.
Brunello Cucinelli hopped on the mini-movie train.Harrods and Loro Piana did too.
Rancho Gordo, an heirloom bean purveyor, is selling out $200/year subscriptions.
- , WSJ and I agree weight vested will be the gift of the season.
McDonald’s is getting into CPG with half-gallon jugs of McRib sauce.
Target’s Holiday pop-up looks cute.
This pop-up by Documents in Shanghai is nice.
Thought this Jeremy Allen White for Calvin Klein ad was going to be a Jif commercial—sad it wasn’t.
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.
PRAGA BAG CONTINUED:
Eska // Another run don’t walk. Take a shot of Seabuckthorn Berry. (this ingredient is one my wellness oracle has not stopped talking about). The potatoes in ash—mindblowing.
Byssine // They stocked Le Rub. Other fun brands: Cosmic Dealer, Agent Nateur, Racyne, and Saint Charles. A lot about microbiome & ‘high-vibrational’ (another thing the wellness oracle talks a lot about.)
Abel // 3 people have told me about this brand recently. It’s on the up. Found at Shop Up Stories, who also stock the best beanie brand: Le Bonnet.
Re // Get great coffee at EMA. They used Re to-go cups. It was simple and felt great.
Rivedroite // Also big in Paris. The photography is terrible, the product is nice in person. Another cute accessories brand: Studio Noos.
Brixtol Textiles // A brand out of Stockholm. These coats were amazing.
Me and ur oracle are aligned, I’ve been a fan of sea buckthorn for 10+ years. Bet you were happy to get a new beanie.
Really enjoyed this week’s newsletter! Completely agree—Birch Sap is absolutely delicious!