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Switzerland – Artist Mélanie Courtinat has created a virtual reality (VR) experience as part of the École Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne degree show, which immerses users in a lush outdoor environment. I Never Promised You a Garden invites visitors to ‘walk among fantastic plants and make them bloom with a light brush of the hand’. The results are projected on to a surrounding screen in the exhibition space in real time, enabling visitors to participate in the experience vicariously.

If the VR headset is left unattended, the garden begins to fade away, encouraging other visitors to revive the scene. The piece was designed as a response to the isolating nature of VR and explores its potential as a collaborative platform. For more see our Virtual Reality Market report.

US – Children’s start-up Seedling recently launched Parker, a soft toy bear that can be enhanced using Apple’s new ARKit. After downloading the Parker app, children can hold a smartphone or an iPad up to the bear for an immersive experience in which they play games such as becoming the bear’s doctor and examining its bones and internal organs.

Through augmented reality, Seedling offers children an expansive playtime experience without cameras or other embedded electronics that would threaten the children’s privacy. ‘We are taking old-school physical toys and bridging them with new technologies in a way that is gentle and safe to create meaningful experiences for families,’ said Phoebe Hayman, co-founder and CEO of Seedling.

For more on how parents are harnessing the power of technology to assist them in parenthood, see our Parenting Marketing report.

Once the preserve of specialist grocers, organic products are now increasingly available at regular supermarkets and discount stores. Together with mass merchandisers, these low-cost food retailers now account for 25% of all organic produce sold in the US, according to Nielsen. As explored in The American Middle macrotrend, brands are increasingly aware of the dangers of ostracising lower-income households, and are offering good-quality produce at more affordable prices. Own-brand retailers could help with this as private-label organic items in the US are 18% cheaper than branded products on average, according to Nielsen.