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Luxury label doppelgangers for four-legged friends

SSENSE dogwear

Montreal – Independent retailer SSENSE has collaborated with luxury fashion brands and streetwear labels on a collection of pet wear.

Specially designed for dogs, the apparel and accessories were developed for SSENSE by brands including Burberry, Ashley Williams, Marine Serre and Paul Smith. Aimed at young, affluent pet owners hoping to extend their style identity to their furry friends, with several designers creating matching pieces, such as dog collars, in the same fabric as their accessories collections. ‘Increasingly, Millennials are spending more on their pets, especially dogs. There is a growing interest to reflect their individual style and their dog’s personality through clothing,’ says Brigitte Chartrand, senior director of womenswear buying at SSENSE.

With almost 80% of SSENSE buyers aged between 18 and 34, the brand has responded to the desire among this audience to splurge on accessories both for themselves and their animal companions. For more on the brand opportunity, read our High-end Pets Market.

Remrise develops the sleep supplement market

Remrise

US – The direct-to-consumer brand is combatting insomnia with a subscription service to natural supplements.

Remrise combines Eastern and Western traditions with technology, customising the £41.80 ($55, €49.60) monthly subscriptions to each consumer. To target behavioural, age-related or constitutional issues – including exercise frequency and coffee consumption – the brand requests that customers complete a lifestyle quiz to create personalised recommendations.

The brand offers an ongoing service to ensure its supplements remain effective, including a sleep tracker and host of meditation and sleep tips available via the Remrise app. To evolve with the sleep quality of its users, Remrise varies its supplement ingredients to help customers avoid building up tolerance.

As savvy consumers begin challenging supplements brands to provide science-backed product information, a new wave of innovation is sweeping through the industry, targeting everything from insomnia to eye health.

BMW is trialling in-car food ordering

New York – The car-maker is working with restaurant technology firm Olo to improve convenience for US consumers.

Together, they are exploring how to speed up access to fast food, with BMW drivers able to use a touchscreen dashboard in their car to order from a curated menu of meals from two US restaurant partners – Nekter Juice Bar and Portillo’s Hot Dogs. Using the vehicle’s in-built navigation system, drivers are guided to brands’ drive-through locations to collect their order.

Jackie Berg, vice-president of marketing at Olo, considers the trial as an indication of the future, friction-free opportunities for food brands: ‘The convergence of commerce and convenience is opening up exciting potential for restaurants and we are thrilled to work with BMW and our pilot brands to experiment with how in-car ordering will evolve and shape how consumers order.’

This innovation is a reminder that connected cars are fast becoming a powerful channel – and new environment – for brands to reach consumers. For more, read our Subconscious Commerce macrotrend.

BMW in-car food ordering

Stat: Cities are failing to reduce their carbon emissions

Cities all over the world are struggling to reach their 2020 targets in their fight against climate change, according to numbers by CDP analysed by Quartz. Using self-reported data on cities’ environment goals, the media company found 130 cities with more than 160 individual emissions-reduction goals for 2020. However, just 20% of those targets have been completed or are more than half-way towards their goal.

With many cities failing to disclose data or post emission-reduction goals for 2020, several stood out as being ahead of their deadlines. Toronto, for example, has already achieved a 30% overall reduction in emissions, with further targets to reach an overall drop of 80% by 2050.

In the fight against a climate emergency, cities are a powerful force in reducing carbon emissions. Explore our Smog Life series to see how brands can help governments in this race against time.