LSN : Daily Signals : Avatar models get an inclusive makeover

Chipotle’s avocado apparel upcycles restaurant waste

Chipotle Goods, US

US – The fast food brand’s Chipotle Goods line features designs dyed with upcycled avocado pits.

The range of organic cotton clothing and accessories takes a sustainable approach by using waste avocado pits – the stones found inside the fruit – to dye items a pale pink or rust red hue. According to Chipotle, it is left with 300m avocado pits per year from its operations, but through this fashion initiative is able to divert waste to a second use. Furthermore, all profits from the collection will help to support organisations focused on making fashion or farming more sustainable.

‘We know people are looking to celebrate their passion for Chipotle, and we set out to create a line of products with the same thoughtfulness, care and attention to detail that we use in our kitchens,’ said Chris Brandt, chief marketing officer at Chipotle. ‘With Chipotle Goods, our fans can get quality items that support sustainable agriculture and represent our mission of cultivating a better world.’

As recently explored, food and drink brands are getting a taste for fashion as a way to stand out from competitors and reach consumers through novel products.

Culinary candy that’s calorie-transparent

Behave, US

US – Direct-to-consumer confectionery brand Behave aims to reinvent sweet treats with chef-crafted gummy bears made from natural ingredients.

Pushing back against mass-produced confectionery, the brand’s founder and CEO Mayssa Chehata chose to take a culinary-first approach by collaborating with celebrity chef Elizabeth Falkner to develop a product that contains only 3g of sugar and 90 calories per pouch.

As well as being gluten-free and naturally sweetened, the gummy bears are available in three flavours – lychee, passionfruit and raspberry – and sweet and sour variations.The packaging also challenges the associations people have with sugary foods, with transparent sugar and calorie labelling added to each pouch.

As Educated Eating becomes the norm among ingredient-conscious consumers, treat brands are finding playful ways to re-invent and relabel ingredients. In our interview with Stephanie Seege, creator of not-chocolate Kaakao bars, she examines the challenges that food innovators face around labelling products – and how to overcome them.

Avatar models get an inclusive makeover

Global – Three fresh faces on the digital modelling scene aim to break down diversity, individuality and inclusivity barriers.

A creative collaboration between virtual fashion laboratory Rendooo and digital fashion PR agency NAMESldn, HUM.AI.N is the name given to a virtual modelling agency comprising three avatar models known as Java, Unix and Mosi. Making their debut in NAMESldn’s digital showrooms and across the HUM.AI.N Instagram account, they have been created to represent more diverse characteristics and unique features among digital models, exemplified by Mosi’s hyperpigmentation and Java’s plus-size body shape.

‘Shunning the notion that one size fits all, their looks are disruptive to the outdated beauty system,’ reads a statement from Rendooo and NAMESldn. ‘HUM.AI.N’s virtual model utopia will usher in new solutions for remote photoshoots and product shots.’

In recent years, avatars of real-life employees have been used as financial advisers, newsreaders and as customer service assistants, yet HUM.AI.N points to a future of redefined beauty and fashion models that are more human in their traits yet entirely synthetic in their creation. For more, read our Avatar Employees microtrend.

HUM.AI.N by NAMESldn in collaboration with Rendooo

Stat: At-home socialising becomes the new normal

Off Hours, US

A new global study by Accenture highlights how, around the world, people are seeking brands that tailor their products and services to a more localised Homebody Economy.

As discomfort about visiting public spaces persists, the majority of the 8,800 survey participants said they will continue to engage with others from the comfort of their home. More precisely, 69% of respondents only expect to socialise over the next six months in either their own home, at a friend’s home or virtually.

‘Home is now the new frontier so companies must account for this reality,’ says Oliver Wright, managing director and head of Accenture’s global consumer goods practice.

Consequently, brands are expected to find creative and digitally enabled approaches to engage consumers on a more intimate level. According to Accenture, 35% of people have increased their use of digital services like virtual consultations during the pandemic, while looking ahead, 76% expect to sustain the use of such services.

While the home is fast becoming the new space for brands to infiltrate, before the pandemic Generation Z were already making themselves comfortable. For more, read the Generation Homebody market.