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Byredo bottles up Brazilian culture with new Alto Astral scent

Alto Astral, Byredo, Global

Brazil – Fragrance brand Byredo is tapping into the emotional power of place with its latest scent, Alto Astral. Created by perfumer Jérôme Epinette, the eau de parfum draws on Brazil’s vibrant cultural identity and lush natural landscapes.

The name takes inspiration from the Brazilian Portuguese phrase for an elevated state of mind. According to the Byredo website, ‘Alto astral is the feeling of joy, optimism and good vibes that uplift everyone around, a higher frequency that weaves its way through nature and culture.’

Brazilian photographer Rafael Maura shot the campaign, capturing intimate portraits of everyday Brazilians, reinforcing the fragrance’s positioning as a sensorial tribute to cultural identity.

An ‘embodiment of positive energy’, Alto Astral opens with coconut before revealing jasmine petals and musk, then settles into sandalwood, cashmere wood and salted amber. The fragrance aligns with insights from our Future Forecast 2025: Beauty report, which identified spirit-stimulating scents as a key beauty trend for this year – with brands creating fragrances designed to shift mood and elevate consciousness.

Strategic opportunity

Harness the emotional power of place by embedding regional storytelling into product design. Use scent, texture and campaign imagery to translate local culture into sensory experiences that resonate globally

Grind and Beauty Pie launch limited-edition morning ritual bundle

UK – Cult coffee brand Grind has teamed up with beauty subscription service Beauty Pie on a limited-edition collaboration designed to elevate the everyday.

The Grind x Beauty Pie bundle, available exclusively at grind.co.uk for £45 ($61, €52), includes an exclusive pink Grind coffee tin with a choice of whole beans, ground coffee or home-compostable pods in Grind’s signature House Blend, alongside Beauty Pie’s Depuffing Under-Eye Gel Pads and a three-month Beauty Pie+ membership.

David Abrahamovitch, founder and CEO of Grind, said: ‘We’re big on elevating the everyday at Grind, whether that’s through a great flat white in one of our cafés or a café-quality coffee at home, and that’s exactly what this collaboration with Beauty Pie does.’

Beauty Pie CEO Kevin Cornils added: ‘The iconic pink coffee brand meets the iconic pink beauty brand… Great coffee and great skincare are two things that can get your day off to the best start – and as our limited-edition tin says, they’re two things you never want to run out of.’

The Grind x Beauty Pie collaboration reflects insights outlined in our Collaboration Culture report, which unpacked brands leaning into cross-sector collaborations to co-create experiences that resonate with fluid communities and shifting cultural codes.

Grind x Beauty Pie. Photography by Rebecca Hope

Strategic opportunity

Know your audience well enough to identify the adjacent categories that shape their daily rituals. Explore cross-sector collaborations with brands that overlap in mindset, not just market, to build deeper lifestyle relevance

Stat: Gen Z and Millennials intentionally miss major social events due to cost

Quiet Glamour by Fanette Guilloud, Paris, France

US – In a report entitled The Friendship Tab, research commissioned by Ally Bank found that young adults in the US frequently miss out on social events due to cost, highlighting the financial toll of maintaining friendships.

While the financial burden can be challenging to manage, the desire to stay connected remains fervent. According to the findings, 52% of young adults see their friends regularly, with the most common activities being dining at a restaurant (72%), spending time outdoors (56%) and attending birthday celebrations (50%).

With the rising costs of social events, the strain extends beyond finances, placing added pressure on friendships. One in five young adults reports that financial or lifestyle differences have led to the loss of a friendship. Many also feel unable to be transparent with their friends about money, often resulting in overspending. Gender differences emerged too: 30% of women said that managing a social budget made it difficult to build savings, compared with 22% of men.

Overspending proved to be the norm rather than the exception, with 42% of respondents admitting to exceeding their social budgets during several months throughout the year.

Our Third Space Retail report unpacked how brands can provide social sanctuaries to drive community, culture and brand awareness. Meanwhile, in The New Youth Club, we interviewed the founders of Moot, a membership-based third space redefining UK youth clubs for Zalphas.

Strategic opportunity

Redesign brand experiences for Gen Z as cost-conscious social hubs. From late night pop-ups to running clubs, help young consumers maintain friendships without financial strain, positioning your brand as both a community-builder and an economic ally