Drinking

Implications - As consumers look for experiences that balance authenticity and personalization, brands are moving to offer customizable food and beverage experiences that reimagine the ordering process. This progression highlights the need to incorporate unexpected, exciting elements to the retail experience in order to allow customers to feel in control of the process. [More]

Implications - Providing both a multi-sensory element and an elevated opportunity for presentation, edible flowers and botanical extracts can now be found in a variety of luxurious food and beverage experiences. This shift highlights how living a nature-integrated lifestyle as is seen today as a means of status in the same way as health and wellness. [More]

Implications - Taking the cafe concept to a much more curated level, brands are flipping the tables and turning consumers into hands-on baristas. The self-serve model not only increases brand-consumer engagement, it also appeals to discerning coffee drinkers who are very particular about the customization of their java. By giving consumers a chance to craft their version of a perfect beverage, these cafes allow for a truly personalized experience without any interference or potential misinterpretation by staff. [More]

Implications - With millennial consumers being drawn to low-cost experiences that can accommodate large groups easily, beverage brands are marketing products around the experience of summer picnicking. This shift speaks to the importance of ritual across age categories and highlights the opportunity for brands to build themselves into the experience of these rituals. [More]

Implications - With an internet-driven skincare culture driving a collective interest in preventative anti-aging measures, collagen in particular is being integrated in food and beverage outside of the health and wellness market, with even collagen-distilled alcohols emerging. This progression highlights the new view of self-care as essential and how new priorities informed by the wellness movement are inspiring the design of new experiences in seemingly unrelated markets. [More]

Implications - The versatility of botanical ingredient hibiscus is proving to be a staple in emerging beverage experiences that aim to add value with layers of healthful floral elements. In addition to highlighting the subtle ways in which the health and wellness movement seeps into unexpected areas of consumer life, this shift speaks to the pursuit of complex, comforting food and beverage experiences that promote a feeling of experimentation. [More]

Implications - Boasting a versatility comparable to ginger, cardamom is quickly becoming the go-to functional spice thanks to its easy incorporation into such a wide variety of culinary staples, both sweet and savory food and beverage experiences. This shift highlights a continually evolving North American palate thanks to a world of influence in regards to flavor, as well as speaking to the mainstream desire to see subtle spice elements incorporated into familiar food and beverage experiences. [More]

Implications - Meeting the desire for both direct-to-consumer brand interactions and limited edition, personalized merchandise, brands are hosting pop-up experiences that invite customers to experiment in order to co-create custom products. This progression demonstrates the need to engage consumers with memorable brand touchpoints during a time when brand loyalty is at times difficult to garner. [More]

Implications - Engaging consumers visually and emotionally, alcohol packaging that is both imaginative and interactive offers opportunities to create new brand rituals around ready-to-drink beverages. Either through inspiring imagery or unusual packaging styles, beverage brands are enticing new consumers to try out their products based on visuals alone. Particularly useful for newer brands and products that doesn’t have a lot of online credibility yet, an enticing appearance draws in curious experience-seekers. [More]

Implications - Enjoying the fun flavors of pre-mixed beverages, Millennials still seek to look sophisticated while consuming their drinks. Enter streamlined packaging designs that offer a refreshingly minimalistic approach to fun fruity cocktails. As every social situation becomes a photoshoot opportunity, Millennials are hyper aware of their image, often choosing alcohol beverages that suit their stylistic preferences and personal branding. [More]