LSN : News : Stat: Experiential dining surges in America

These mixers pack a vitamin D punch

Punchy, UK

UK – Non-alcoholic canned beverage brand Punchy is disrupting the mixer category with a line of drinks that contain 50% of the recommended daily intake of vitamin D. Featuring vegan, natural and low-sugar ingredients, Punchy offers a health-conscious alternative to conventional mixers.

With playful packaging and innovative flavour combinations – including cucumber, yuzu and rosemary – the drinks reflect a growing desire to prioritise wellness without sacrificing convenience or taste. ‘Vitamin D keeps your immune system rolling with the punches – but for half the year during winter we don’t get enough from sunlight,’ explains Paddy Cavanagh-Butler, founder of Punchy. ‘That’s why we’ve charged every can of Punchy with 200 IU vitamin D (50% RI) – just enough to give a balanced diet an extra boost.’

With this product, the brand is looking to achieve a healthy balance between functional benefits and desirable drinks. Punchy also supports the evolution of the Food-as-medicine Movement.

Strategic opportunity

How can brands adapt existing products to prioritise health and wellbeing, without drastically altering people’s lifestyle preferences and dietary habits?

Tinder taps LGBTQ+ artists to re-imagine Pride memes

Meme-ingful Connections by Tinder, US

London – Tinder has partnered with LGBTQ+ artists to recreate a series of memes into GIFs that singles can use to spark new connections throughout Pride month and beyond. With 84% of people in the queer community saying humour is key when making the first move, according to OnePoll, and GIFs acting as a linchpin of chat conversations on the platform, the memes tap into queer love in a playful way.

The dating platform collaborated with five artists – Dom&Ink, Ashton Attzs, Andrew Ahern, Artist Named Nobody and Kxmolo – to create the work, while the memes were selected by Tinder’s meme panel, which included influential members of the LGBTQ+ community. This ensured the GIFs authentically represented the hyper-specific references used by the community, helping to boost user engagement by making them feel timely, relevant – and most of all – funny. Tinder also pledged to make a donation to Raze, an NGO focused on creating cultural opportunities for LGBTQ+ artists and creators.

The launch taps into changing attitudes to online dating, including a shift towards community-orientated platforms identified in our Big Idea piece, Generation Z Are Ready to Reboot Dating.

Strategic opportunity

When creating content and campaigns for specific communities – especially marginalised groups – work directly with creators and experts from within those communities to ensure it speaks to them in an authentic way and fulfils their needs

Google streamlines environmental impact-tracking

Global – The technology giant is diversifying its Google Cloud capabilities to prioritise sustainable data-tracking. Part of the update includes a new version of Google Earth Engine – a tool previously only available to scientists and NGOs – which enables companies and governments to set goals, compare against publicly available data and visualise their sustainability goals.

By doing this, Google aims to give clients the tools needed to understand their current environmental impact, including the ways in which raw materials usage can harm particular areas across the planet. ‘[Google Earth Engine] combines data from hundreds of satellites and other sources...’ explains Rebecca Moore, director of Google’s geospatial initiatives. ‘This data is then combined with massive geospatial cloud computing resources, which enables transformation of this raw data into timely, accurate, high-resolution, decision-relevant insights about the state of the world.’

Through these insights, companies can gain insight into the ways that forests, water, eco-systems and agriculture are changing over time. Here, Google leans into its existing processes to empower companies to make more eco-friendly decisions. Elsewhere, we’ve explored the ways in which technology companies are adapting harmful data centres into climate-positive hubs.

The WiLD Network by Guy Mills, London

Strategic opportunity

Social media brands should take inspiration from this innovation and similarly find ways to harness their data and insights to align with environmental progress

Stat: Experiential dining surges in America

Gohar World, US

Even with the global pandemic and high inflation, more consumers are dining out and investing in experiences. According to research by Yelp, experiential dining options such as conveyor belt sushi and dinner theatres increased by 500% and 240%, respectively, in the US from January to April 2022 compared with the previous year.

Consumers are looking for an opportunity to share new experiences and are willing to invest in businesses that create vibrant opportunities, despite seemingly inevitable price increases. Anthony Cross, vice-president of product at Yelp, says: ‘After two years of lockdowns and restrictions, consumers are eager to return to celebrating special events with friends and family at restaurants where they know they will be well taken care of.’ But although there has been a 48% rise in diners seated via Yelp in Q1 2022, inflation remains a prominent concern, with mentions of price increases in reviews up 25% in the first quarter.

While inflation continues to soar, this research shows that quality experiences still have appeal. Previously, we have seen restaurants explore extreme strategies to create memorable and emotional experiences for diners.

Strategic opportunity

With consumers leaning towards novel experiential dining concepts, restaurants should focus on creating more impactful experiences that embrace storytelling tactics