Food & Drink

From the latest openings to new ingredients, a deep-dive into the landscape of food and drink.

News 24.09.2021

Need to Know

CALM refreshes its identity to balance empathy with positivity, a mind-mellowing CBD ‘spirit’ and PE lessons would benefit from a technology update.

CALM’s rebranding speaks up about suicide prevention

CALM charity rebranded by Output Studio, UK
CALM Charity rebranded by Output Studio, UK
CALM charity rebranded by Output Studio, UK
CALM charity rebranded by Output Studio, UK

UK – In a bid to align with modern audiences while cutting through the noise surrounding mental health conversations, charity Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) has undergone a colourful rebranding. Created by London design agency Output and verbal branding agency Reed Words, its visual refresh includes updated messaging for audiences of all ages and backgrounds. Statements such as On your side, no matter whatand Feeling shit? are presented in bold fonts against vibrant backgrounds – balancing positivity and empathy with eye-catching design.

CALM's social media content, posters and billboard images will feature eclectic illustrations alongside portrait photography of people with real-life mental health stories. By reaching its audience in this way, CALM recognises the need to engage people through energetic graphic design that challenges tired or harrowing aesthetics relating to mental health. CALM don't ever want to feel like a corporation they're a group of people speaking directly to other people,’ says Johanna Drewe, creative director and partner at Output.

Such visual identities reflect an ongoing shift in the wider therapy sector, as organisations continue to diversify their communications to meet the needs of the next generation.

Strategic opportunity

When addressing mental health topics, aim to balance emotional understanding with positive engagement. Avoid overused language to instead prioritise people’s real experiences of confronting issues like suicide prevention

Amass fuses alcohol-free spirits with CBD and THC

Amass Afterdream Amass Afterdream
Amass Afterdream Amass Afterdream

US – With ongoing exploration into the psychoactive effects of plants and botanicals in food and drink, beverage brand Amass has created a drink that it describes as mirroring the effect of a ‘strong cocktail’. Embracing the benefits of cannabis infusions, its new non-alcoholic spirit Afterdream combines CBD, THC and Delta-8 with eight terpenes and 14 botanicals including sumac, mint and rosemary.

By using CBD – an ingredient typically associated with the health and wellness sector – Amass is expanding its efforts to bridge the gap between self-care and social rituals. Morgan McLachlan, master distiller at Amass, says: With Afterdream, we wanted to treat cannabis as yet another botanical in our universe, diving deep into cannabis culture and striving to understand the nuances of the plant: its effects, strains, terpenes.

While the CBD category has been on the rise for a few years, filtering into food, drink and even beauty products, recent research proves its ongoing effectiveness in driving consumer sales – with notable growth in the hard seltzer alcohol category.

Strategic opportunity

The CBD category continues to present new opportunities for brands – especially those with a focus on wellness. Reflect on the positioning of Afterdream and consider how botanical formulations can elevate products' appeal

This sustainability coalition is future-proofing wineries

Global – The global wine community is uniting to accelerate sustainability efforts in the sector. Through a newly launched coalition called Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR), wine brands, small producers, distributors, retailers and environmental organisations will work together to create a global standard on sustainable industry practices.

Building on existing regional initiatives, the organisation will promote best practice for a future in which Climate-adaptive Wineries will become the norm. There are many innovative programmes and projects to make vineyards and wineries more environmentally friendly and socially just,’ says Richard Bampfield MW, the roundtable’s initial chair. ‘Our goal is to bring them together to generate the clarity, cohesion and collaboration necessary for the wine sector to establish itself as a leader on the world sustainability stage.’

Such movements should provide inspiration to the wider food and drinks industry – as well as other sectors – to work towards more equitable and environmentally friendly practices, regardless of brand competition.

Le Dôme by Fosters + Partners

Strategic opportunity

Industries such as beauty and fashion would similarly benefit from such collective action. Take cues from this coalition and consider how your industry can come together to address climate change and social inequalities

Stat: New technology could bolster interest in PE lessons

So Perf Kids, UK So Perf Kids, UK

There is growing concern that young people in the UK are becoming disengaged from physical activity and school sports. A study commissioned by the Youth Sport Trust – and carried out by Foresight Factory – reveals the need for improved communication and innovation in this area.

According to the research, almost half (45%) of young people would like to see greater use of new technology in physical education (PE) lessons. Meanwhile, young people’s awareness of the benefits they could get from PE and physical activity is in decline. Compared with its first study in 2015, the Youth Sport Trust reports fewer children agree that PE and physical activity help them to be healthy, falling from 78% to 72% in 2021.

With these figures in mind, there is a clear need for media, entertainment and technology brands to step in to better engage young people in physical activity. For more innovations in this area, delve into Tweenage Fitness.

Strategic opportunity

Beyond school environments, health and wellness brands can also engage young people through appealing at-home and studio-based workouts. Consider the potential of fusing techniques like gamification with traditional sports

Five Champagne and Wine Brands Exploring Provenance Retail

Big Ideas

Five Champagne and Wine Brands Exploring Provenance Retail

Moving away from the traditional store experience, champagne and wine brands are using authentic storytelling to disrupt how and where consumers vi...
Wine : Retail : Champagne
Comfort Cuvées

Micro Trends

Comfort Cuvées

Forward-thinking vintners are swapping esotericism for accessible pairings, sustainable packaging and a ‘deluxified’ approach to wine, ushering in ...
Youth : Food & Drink : Society
Creating a Metaverse Wine Community

Viewpoints

Creating a Metaverse Wine Community

Crurated is re-inventing the way collectors buy, store and enjoy wine – offering lessons in neo-collectorship for other sectors. Founder and CEO Al...
Wine : Crurated : NFT
Emotional Support Sips

Micro Trends

Emotional Support Sips

Alongside health benefits like improved cognition, better digestion and increased energy, a new host of functional drinks focus on supporting emoti...
Food & Drink : Society : Health & Wellness
The Rise of the C-Store

Micro Trends

The Rise of the C-Store

Brands are re-appraising the convenience store sector, viewing this once low-key retail channel as a valuable, authentic backdrop for launches, bra...
Retail : Food & Drink : Fashion
Luxury’s Food Strategies

Big Ideas

Luxury’s Food Strategies

From high fashion embracing high flavours to pantry staples becoming status symbols, brands are getting creative about turning eating into a luxury...
Luxury : Food & Drink : Retail
Spirits Innovations

Markets

Spirits Innovations

From glassless packaging to raicilla, sotol and aquavit, we are likely to see a variety of innovations in the spirits market in 2024 as it weathers...
Sustainability : Food & Drink : Technology
Future Forecast 2024: Food & Drink

Micro Trends

Future Forecast 2024: Food & Drink

The food and beverage industry has witnessed significant developments in the past year, marked by notable influences such as the rising cost of liv...
Food & Drink
Weight Loss Market Futures

Markets

Weight Loss Market Futures

As semaglutide injections and pills become the new normal, the weight loss market is entering a new era in which appetite suppressant treatments, d...
Weight Loss : Ozempic : Wearable Tech
Six Innovators Revolutionising the Ice Cream Aisle

Big Ideas

Six Innovators Revolutionising the Ice Cream Aisle

Channelling lactose intolerance and conscious consumers’ demands, meet the innovators crafting dairy-free and unconventional ice cream.
Food : Indulgence : Sustainability
Kids’ Snack Market

Markets

Kids’ Snack Market

Functional ingredients, re-imagined childhood classics and gastro gaming innovations are shaping the future of the kids’ snack aisle.
Youth : Food&Drink : Indulgence
Hype Bakes

Micro Trends

Hype Bakes

From exclusive drops to A-lister endorsements and cult social media followings, bakeries have entered their hype bake era.
Food : Fashion : Hypebakes
You have 2 free News articles remaining. Sign up to LS:N Global to get unlimited access to all articles.
BECOME A MEMBER
SIGN IN

What do we use cookies for?

We use cookies to enable the use of our platform’s paid features and to analyse our traffic. No personal data, including your IP address, is stored and we do not sell data to third parties.

Learn more