Global – A recent Qualtrics survey states that more than half of US employees would be willing to take a pay cut to work at a company that shares their values. There have been rapid changes in workplaces in the past two years, with workers re-evaluating their priorities and feeling newly empowered to seek flexibility and fulfilment in employment. Is this a sign that workers cannot focus only on their work but on the state of work and what makes it meaningful?

Join us on 28 March from 2:00pm to 2:40pm BST for an exclusive free webinar in which we will investigate the emergence of a new state-focused future of work.

We will look at the spaces built in response to workers’ burgeoning ideals and explore how businesses can create inspiring, creative and productive workplaces. The webinar will include a live Q&A with our experts and unveil Work States Futures, our first 2023 macrotrend.

US – Chef-made meal delivery service Entrée has enlisted Saint Urbain for a branding and packaging refresh, aiming to make the food start-up stand out in an increasingly saturated market.

Lockdowns have redefined many people’s relationship with takeaway food and helped propel meal kits into the mainstream. Established in 2016, Entrée, a food box start-up offering heat at-home fine dining meals, joined forces with Saint-Urbain studio to revisit its branding.

Rather than focusing on convenience, as many meal delivery services do, the updated Entrée is centred around setting the table, putting on a big spread and sitting down together to enjoy a meal – without the fuss of cooking. Entrée’s chef-created meals are delivered with heating and plating instructions and wine and music pairing recommendations. Laying the table also inspired the branding, with shapes and frames echoing the shapes of tablecloths, napkins, plates and dinner mats.

The new direction taken by Entrée taps into what we call Home Eatertainment, and the rising popularity of dinner parties and elevated tableware.

China – A report released on 1 March by The Hurun Research Institute based on its Chinese Luxury Consumer Survey 2023 has found that 56% of China’s high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) plan to increase spending on personal luxuries over the next three years, a three percentage point rise over 2022.

The survey questioned 750 HNWIs: defined as those with average family assets of £5.3m ($6.5m, €6m) and investable wealth of £1.5m ($1.9m, €1.7m). Some 73% of those surveyed said they would increase spending on jewellery, with 67% saying they would spend more on watches and 64% on fashion. Favourite brands for men and women across gifting, jewellery, watches and fashion include Chanel, Gucci, Bulgari, Rolex, Hermès, Louis Vuitton and Cartier.

The research also revealed that respondents thought the pursuit of fashion, satisfying daily demands and gifting were the three most important motivations to buy luxury goods. China’s domestic luxury sales boomed during the pandemic and a surge in post-lockdown shopping is expected to lead to a recovery in the luxury market, as discussed in our State of Luxury: Post-lockdown China report.