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Mattel transforms ocean-bound plastics into Barbies

Barbie Loves the Ocean by Mattel, US

California – In its latest sustainability push, toy brand Mattel has introduced a line of Barbie dolls made from recycled ocean-based plastic.

The brand’s Barbie Loves the Ocean collection includes three dolls whose bodies are made from 90% recycled plastic parts. The accompanying accessories and play set are also created using plastics that would ordinarily be polluting the ocean. To promote the line, Mattel has also launched a campaign, The Future of Pink is Green, using the brand’s association with the colour pink along with the sustainable connotations of green.

Through this initiative, the brand is both supporting parents with greener toy options and educating children about environmental issues. Richard Dickson, president and chief operating officer at Mattel, says: ‘This Barbie launch is another addition to Mattel’s growing portfolio of purpose-driven brands that inspire environmental consciousness with our consumer as a key focus.’

With Millennial parents hyper-aware of the impact of plastic waste – the material typically used in toy manufacturing – brands are stepping up to provide eco-friendly alternatives, something we explore in Conscious Play.

Finance app Nude motivates aspiring home-buyers

Nude app, UK

UK – Recognising that saving for a house deposit can feel like an overwhelming task, money-saving app Nude is stepping in to motivate aspiring home-owners.

Designed to help people save a deposit for a house, the app uses time as a motivator – featuring an in-app countdown for tracking financial progress. Once users input how much they need to save for a deposit, Nude will give them a time estimate of how long it will take to raise that amount. To incentivise users, the app also provides personalised ideas and habit-building challenges to help reduce their predicted saving time.

‘By transforming ‘how much you need’ into ‘when you’ll buy your home’ we’re making it real,’ explains Crawford Taylor, co-founder of Nude. ‘The design of the app also creates a more accessible approach to mortgage saving, avoiding conventional fintech cues and instead taking inspiration from lifestyle brands.’

Fintech brands are increasingly borrowing cues from the lifestyle industries to engage consumers. Previously, we identified how mortgage broker Habito is using unexpected branding to reframe the home-buying experience.

Givaudan’s innovation lab creates fragrances in four weeks

Pur Oud by Louis Vuitton, France

China – Scent manufacturer Givaudan has teamed up with retailer Tmall to create an innovation laboratory boosting fragrance creation opportunities in China.

The laboratory, called T-Lab, will combine Givaudan’s fragrance solutions and production capabilities in China with Tmall’s expansive consumer data. Through the partnership, both companies aim to shorten end-to-end product development timelines to just four weeks. At ideation stage, Givaudan will benefit from Tmall’s brand eco-system and customer insights to inform product formulations.

The first-of-its-kind collaboration has already produced a new series of fragrances inspired by the Chinese classic novel Journey to the West. ‘We have witnessed the fragrance market in China mature over the past 30 years to reach today's peak demand for locally tailored products,’ says Yaling Li, head of fragrances at Givaudan China and Korea. ‘Our T-Lab partnership enables us to pre-empt consumer trends by using behavioural data to innovate new, unique and timely product offerings.’

Through this partnership, Givaudan is decentralising its operations as a method of Reactive Relevance – allowing it to monitor market shifts and quickly respond. Explore this trend within Elastic Brands.

Stat: US shoppers change opinion on packaged fruit

Misfits Market by Garnish Studios

While canned food often has a bad reputation for being less nutritious than fresh produce, US shoppers are beginning to change their view as a result of the pandemic.

New data from Morning Consult finds that 39% of people who ate more packaged fruit during lockdown now consider it healthier than they did before the pandemic. This compares to 52% who say that their views of the item remain unchanged. More generally, 78% of Americans consider packaged fruit as just as healthy, while only 12% newly perceive these products as healthy.

This behavioural change seems to be related to increased product exposure among consumers, with canned and packaged produce brand Del Monte Foods reporting a 200% year-on-year increase in sales in March 2020. ‘We experienced a double-digit increase in demand for our products over the past year, and we continue to see positive demand,’ says Bibie Wu, chief marketing officer at Del Monte.

We’ve been tracking a change in attitude towards the nutritional value of frozen foods, and this data shows that a similar mindset may be emerging when it comes to canned produce.