LSN : Daily Signals : Stat: Health drives brand-switching in South Africa

Nike and Palace build a new playground for London’s creative youth

Manor Place by Nike and Palace Skateboards, London, UK

UK – Nike and Palace have joined forces to launch Manor Place, a free cultural and sporting hub in South London that brings skateboarding, football and art under one roof.

Opening on 11 November 2025, the space re-imagines a historic 1895 building as a community playground designed to inspire the next generation of London’s creatives and athletes.

Divided into three zones – The Park and The Cage, The Front Room, and The Residency – Manor Place offers a polished concrete skatepark above an underground football cage, a gallery and shop showcasing London artists, and rotating studio spaces for emerging talent. With free access six days a week, Manor Place embodies Palace’s street DNA and Nike’s mission to democratise sport and creativity.

The cultural placemaking initiative echoes insights from the social sports spaces section of our Third Space Retail report, which unpacked how innovative brands are creating community hubs and immersive spaces that offer consumers a way to engage beyond products, driving positive brand associations and long-term loyalty.

Strategic opportunity

Brands that co-create spaces with local communities can turn physical presence into cultural capital. By shifting from sponsorship to stewardship, they embed themselves in the fabric of city life and build lasting emotional equity

Instagram tests algorithm hyper-personalisation to give users more control

Global – Instagram is experimenting with a new feature that lets users fine-tune what appears in their Reels and Explore feeds by selecting specific topics of interest. The test, announced by Instagram head Adam Mosseri on Threads, allows people to add or remove subjects – from niche areas such as Japanese artisan menswear to popular categories such as travel or tech – to personalise their recommendations.

‘Today we’re starting to test a way for you to tune your algorithm on Instagram by adding and removing topics based on your interests,’ said Mosseri. ‘We’re launching this feature on Reels first, with plans to expand to Explore soon. We’re also exploring what a version of this would look like on Threads. We want people to have more control over their Instagram experience and hope this will be a meaningful new way to shape what you see. Test it out and let me know what you think.’

The feature is currently limited to a small group of users. It reflects Instagram’s broader push towards transparency and user control, following updates that let people limit sensitive content, manage parental controls and hide irrelevant posts.

This development builds on themes explored in The Synthocene Era: Merging Human and Machine Intelligence, where human agency and algorithmic systems increasingly intertwine to shape new modes of digital self-determination.

Photography by Anastasia Shuraeva, Japan

Strategic opportunity

By putting consumers in the driver’s seat, brands can give audiences greater control over what they view, hyper-tailoring experiences to their specific interests and deepening engagement and loyalty

Stat: Health drives brand-switching in South Africa

Wholesome, Australia

South Africa – South African consumers are increasingly health-conscious, with 42% of respondents in PwC’s 2025 Voice of the Consumer report citing health benefits as a key reason to switch food brands. But rising living costs continue to influence purchasing decisions, highlighting the tension between wellness motivation and price sensitivity.

Affordability remains a decisive filter, with 54% of consumers adopting cost-saving strategies to stretch their budgets. At the same time, health and environmental factors are increasingly expected as baseline requirements. The survey found that 75% are concerned about ultra-processed ingredients and pesticide use, while 70% plan to eat more fresh produce, reflecting a clear shift towards whole foods and proactive health management.

Technology is also shaping habits, with 76% using health apps or wearable devices to monitor diet and activity.

In South Africa – and globally – wellness is shifting from aspiration to everyday utility. The willingness of health-focused shoppers to switch brands for these credentials represents a clear threat to loyalty. Brands that fail to deliver wellness value and affordability in tandem risk losing even their most committed customers.

Explore how these shifts are reshaping consumer expectations in our New Codes of Value framework.

Strategic opportunity

Providing proof of wellness value through clear labelling, certifications or digital tools can meet consumers’ health expectations while remaining accessible