Nostalgia

Trend - Keyboard manufacturers are creating keyboards using special keycaps and switches in order to appeal to fans of ASMR and soft, gentle sounds. These keyboards are crafted using special keycaps, lubrication, and materials that help customize the sound emitted when a key is pressed.

Insight - More people are seeking ways to enhance their work-from-home environments as remote work practices reach an all-time high. For some consumers, the fuzzy or tingling sensation felt when listening to certain recorded sounds can evoke a sense of relaxation and peace. Consumers who are fans of ASMR may gravitate towards keyboards with PBT, lubricated, or soft-sounding keycaps, as these offer an auditory benefit for fans of gentle sounds.

Trend - Luxury fashion brands are unveiling anime-themed collections to foster relationships with the younger generation and today's nostalgia-fueled adults. Anime and cartoon motifs can transform pieces into collectibles valued for years, and with the popularization of diverse media, brands are finding inspiration outside the dominant culture.

Insight - Fans are eager to purchase merchandise featuring their favorite characters, making anime a more approachable marketing strategy. As consumers look for more diverse sources of culture in everything they do, the luxury scene is proving that it can appeal to a more diverse and younger consumer audience. By releasing anime-themed goods, luxury brands demonstrate that they are willing to interact with an ever-changing pop culture scene.

Trend - Users on various social media pages are sharing simplistic, personalizable pasta recipes with cheese as a base. These recipes are accessible enough for any user to join the trend and versatile enough for each content creator to add their own touch to the viral dishes.

Insight - One of the main attractions to food and home cooking is that it brings people together. One evergreen desire for modern consumers is interpersonal connection. People enjoy cooking with their families, friends, and even strangers. When people find breakthroughs or believe strongly in a dish, they take to the internet to share it with others worldwide. These recipes become viral due to a consumer desire for connection and interaction with content creators and other users.

Trend - Brands are tapping into nostalgic soda flavors, reimagining these drinks as health-positive products filled with probiotics. These items satisfy nostalgic desires for hearty, classic sodas while simultaneously boosting consumers' gut health.

Insight - Many consumers remember the joy of drinking soda as a youth. However, far fewer customers continue to drink soda in adulthood for health reasons. These consumers desire to recapture these flavorful, youthful experiences, but not to the detriment of their own health. Therefore these customers place pressure on brands to create better-for-you products that appease nostalgia.

Trend - Brands are creating retro-style kitchen appliances equipped with modern technology. These appliances offer nostalgic designs, bringing a natural, simpler feel to a modern kitchen. These products do not compromise on function or convenience, as they feature modern smart technologies.

Insight - Nostalgia is an evergreen trend when considering customer motivations. When a modern product boasts the right balance between function and nostalgia, the target customer is more likely to purchase the product due to the inherent emotional connection. While many industries embrace nostalgia, such as the entertainment industry offering remakes of past content, others look at nostalgia as a gimmick. This places pressure on more industries to incorporate nostalgia into functional products.

Trend - Fragrance brands are partnering with brands in other spaces to offer bundled products that complement each other. By pairing fragrances with functional products, the consumer experience is elevated by activating more senses, such as through pairing scents with alcohol or with sodas.

Insight - Consumers in the fragrance space prioritize high-quality products and unique experiences that bring a sense of luxury. Many of these customers turn to fragrances as a means of relaxation and self-care, as scented wellness products often have measurable positive effects. However, fragrance products are less common when extending beyond the wellness space.

Trend - Cheese curds are typically tied to full dishes such as poutines and salads. CPG brands have transformed these curds from a simple topping to a standalone snack by adding batter, seasonings, and herbs. These bite-sized fried, cheesy snacks provide both nostalgia and comfort to consumers.

Insight - As children return to schools and adults return to work after the pandemic, there is a returning desire for conveniently portable comfort foods. Whether being packed into a child's lunch as a snack or helping a worker get through the day, rich foods that do not take time or create a mess are well suited for this current environment. The fried, flavorful nature of these foods makes them evoke nostalgia in adults while making food more palatable for younger children to indulge in.

Trend - East Asian flavors and food forms have dominated the mainstream ethnic food space in North America for some time; however, a recent increase in Caribbean influences can be seen across industries, from high-end dining to packaged snacking. Food of West Indian origin focuses on heartiness and refreshing tropical flavors, providing both escapism and comfort.

Insight - Over the pandemic, more people returned to the kitchen to enjoy the exploratory nature of food. Additionally, the emotional aspect of cooking and eating became more important than ever. These dual desires of escapism and comfort were initially satisfied by the online foodie community. Influencers and high-end chefs alike recognized Caribbean food as a winner in this regard. This was further fueled by folks of West Indian origin -- whether currently living in Caribbean countries or not -- looking to both enjoy and share food that is familiar to them, especially in the midst of chaos.

Trend - The current 90s revival in pop culture has extended to toys that were once central in the childhoods of Millennials and Gen X. Brands are now re-releasing classic 90s toys, or using them as inspiration in new products—evoking nostalgia while still appealing to young consumers.

Insight - The Y2K revival in fashion, tv, toys and other culturally infuenced trends has appeal for a wide range of consumers--either Gen Z who view 90s and early 2000s' trends as aesthetic inspiration, or Millennials and Gen X who remember these trends from their youth. When it's effectively done, evoking nostalgia either creates emotional connections with customers, or appeals to consumers who romanticize the past.

Trend - Cannabis and alcohol brands continue to release seltzers and canned cocktails because of popular demand. Cream soda flavors in these lightweight beverage options are now becoming more common, particularly in the summer months.

Insight - Canned hard seltzers, or cannabis-based seltzers, are especially popular in the summer when outdoor socializing among consumers is common. The inclusion of familiar or even nostalgic flavors in these beverages will help brands maintain relevance as the competition in this space grows.