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The Trend: Coffee Shop Raves

Coffee Shop Pop-up by IKEA and Lab54, London, UK

Coffee shops are emerging as the new hubs for daytime raves, driven by a generation of sober-conscious consumers seeking real-life connection and fun. Between March 2020 and December 2023, over 3,000 London nightclubs, bars and pubs closed, according to the Night Time Industries Association, leaving a gap in social spaces. Meanwhile, movements like Mass Movement, Fitness Fan Clubs and the Sober Social Fix reflect the desire for socialising without alcohol.

Coffee shops now provide the perfect mix of sobriety, connection and affordability. From London to Mumbai, these venues host live DJ sets and pop-up parties, transforming traditional café spaces into immersive, alcohol-free experiences. Notable examples include Lab54 and Ikea UK’s coffee shop series in London, DJ Tanishq’s More Coffee, More Rave tour in India and Houston’s matcha raves at Matcha Mia. These events cater for diverse audiences, from introverts to young adults, promoting mindful, inclusive socialising.

The rise of coffee raves signals a broader cultural shift: health-conscious living, community engagement and meaningful interaction are replacing conventional nightlife. Brands and venues can capitalise on this trend by creating spaces that prioritise connection, sober fun and accessibility, proving that partying need not rely on alcohol to deliver memorable experiences.

Explore the venues leading the way in the coffee shop rave culture in the full microtrend report.

The Big Idea: Future Food Tech 2025: Resilience by Design

Future Food-Tech London (24–25 September) highlighted the urgent need for resilient, inclusive and innovation-driven food systems. Speakers emphasised that resilience relies on diversity across crops, diets and global collaborations, rather than purely technology-led solutions. In an opening discussion, Christine Gould, founder and CEO of food innovation consultancy GIGA Futures, stressed the importance of supporting smallholder farmers, while Dr Vincent Martin, director of the office of innovation at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, warned that technological fixes alone cannot ensure stability.

Major food companies are embedding sustainability and resilience into their strategies. Mars has introduced climate-resilient grains in ready meals, while Bel Group is exploring alternative proteins and fermentation-based solutions, including hybrid products that balance science, taste and climate action.

Ingredient innovation is now a strategic tool: examples include precision-fermented egg whites, cocoa-free chocolate and upcycled coffee alternatives, all designed to deliver ecological benefits while retaining familiarity for consumers. These solutions align with the principles in our New Codes of Value report, moving beyond transactional relationships to create regenerative systems focused on sustainability, resilience and long-term care.

Health and nutrition remain central, with functional, nutrient-dense foods and sugar-reduction solutions responding to changing metabolic needs and GLP-1 use. Meanwhile, the experience economy encourages mindful, sensory-led dining that connects biodiversity, creativity and ecological stewardship.

Speakers also stressed scalable production, cost-efficiency and consumer acceptance as critical to long-term impact. Across the discussions, the consensus was clear: resilience in food systems must be intentionally designed, blending technology, human-centred innovation and collaborative partnerships to create sustainable, inclusive and future-proof food landscapes. Unpack the full event debrief here.

Koppie, local legumes, fermented and roasted coffee alternative, Belgium

The Campaign: AG1’s new campaign is an ode to morning people

AG1, US

Supplements company AG1 has launched a campaign that frames the morning as a sacred window for intention-setting and self-regulation.

Inspired by the classic bedtime story Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown, the short film Good Morning, Moon was created in collaboration with legendary music producer Rick Rubin and positions the sunrise as a time for wellness rituals.

The video follows athletes including tennis champion Sloane Stephens, surfer Mick Fanning, mountain climber Hari Budha Magar and skier Christina Lustenberger as they engage in their personal dawn routines – from breath work and movement to quiet contemplation before the day accelerates.

The campaign taps into the growing cultural importance of morning rituals as grounding practices that help regulate mood, performance and cognitive readiness. It also reflects a wider shift in the time economy, where brands are designing products, services and communications around biological and emotional states across the day.

As explored in our Chronodiets report, different cities foster distinct daily rhythms, shaping how people eat, move and socialise across time.

The Viewpoint: Inventing the Aged Spirits of Tomorrow

Sylva, UK

In less than a decade, non-alcoholic spirits have become a familiar feature in bars and homes, yet dark non-alcoholic spirits remain largely unexplored. Enter Sylva, the latest venture from Ben Branson, the creator of Seedlip, the world’s first distilled non-alcoholic spirit, launched in 2015. Named after the Old English word for ‘of the forest’, Sylva celebrates trees and the complex flavours wood can impart, creating sip-worthy alternatives to traditional dark spirits. 

The brand’s debut, Sylva Padauk (<0.5% abv), uses a blend of four woods, sonic ageing and select rye grain to achieve depth, warmth and complexity. Sustainability is central: packaging is plastic-free, stoppers and labels are made from waste wood and barley, and production repurposes discarded whisky barrels. Sylva’s global-local model sources regional ingredients to create terroir-driven drinks while embracing biodiversity.

Branson aims to pioneer the second wave of non-alcoholic spirits, targeting discerning consumers who value craftsmanship and mindful drinking. Sylva’s approach emphasises slow, reflective sipping, innovation in maturation and a premium, small-batch ethos that distinguishes it from mass-market alternatives.

In February 2025, the team at LS:N Global sat down with Ben Branson, the founder of Sylva – read the full interview here.

The Space: Dubai opens the first restaurant led by an AI chef

Photo by Ayrat via pexels

Opened in July 2025, Dubai’s Woohoo features menus created by an AI system rather than a traditional chef. The concept emerged after restaurateur Ahmet Oytun Cakir used ChatGPT to develop a lamb dish that became a best-seller, prompting him to explore a fully AI-driven model.

Woohoo is powered by Chef Aiman, a large language model trained on thousands of recipes and flavour datasets by UAE-based Vivid Studios. Aiman generates dishes that human chefs refine, resulting in a menu that mixes familiar crowd-pleasers with experimental offerings such as the pulsing Dinosaur Heart tartare and Molecular Burrata dotted with yuzu and tomato spheres.

Situated in Dubai’s futuristic downtown urban development, the restaurant’s cyberpunk-style space uses immersive audio, video and a central quantum computer to shape the experience.

Beyond creativity, Aiman acts as a tool for kitchen efficiency, waste reduction and marketing, signalling how AI may soon influence both back- and front-of-house operations across hospitality.

In our AI Nourished Foodscapes report, we analysed how AI-enhanced food and hospitality experiences tap into consumers’ growing appetite for multi-sensory and interactive experiences and novelty foods.