Luxury

An exploration of the luxury market through trends, insights and expert opinions.

News 27.09.2023

Need to Know

elf cosmetics targets Gen Z with new campaign, Pizza Hut begins a new world in the metaverse and why agrifood firms aren’t committing to regenerative agriculture just yet.

Beauty brand elf champions individuality in new campaign

Express Your Elf by elf, UK

UK – Generation Z are known to be individualistic, and elf got the memo. The brand, which stands for ‘eyes. lips. face.’, invited the audience to re-imagine the acronym and its definition of beauty in a new creative campaign.

The elf commercial, developed with the strategic creative agency Southpaw and Irresistible Studios, serves up self-expression galore. The video playfully re-interprets the meaning of elf by means of spoken word performances. It features a range of diverse and fashion-forward characters giving their take on the ‘express your elf’ challenge, from ‘euphoric.luminous.fierce’ to ‘every.’life.free’.

At a time when beauty is being refined for Generation Z, the campaign sets out to connect the American brand with a new, younger and UK-based customer demographic. ‘We’re speaking to an audience that reject stereotypes and make-up is an important way to express the fluidity of their identity,’ says Glenn Smith, creative director of Southpaw. ‘This is their story, with elf being this supportive friend rather than a brand just trying to sell product.’

Strategic opportunity

To resonate with young consumers on the fringes, take cues from elf’s creatively unhinged messaging. How can anti-aspirational, more gritty interpretations of beauty align with your brand?

Pringles begins TikTok-approved caviar collection

US – In a ground-breaking fusion of social media trends and gourmet snacking, Pringles has teamed up with The Caviar Co to introduce a limited-edition Crisps and Caviar Collection from 19 September. The pairing gained recognition on TikTok in 2022 when content-creators would use different types of crisps to dip in caviar. Pringles smartly jumped on the trend by releasing this chips and caviar combination embodying upmarket snacking.

This innovative collection pairs Pringles’ Original, Sour Cream & Onion and BBQ flavours with The Caviar Co’s Classic White Sturgeon Caviar and Smoked Trout Roe. The kits also come with a gold collectable caviar keychain, tin openers and spoons for indulgent snacking anywhere.

Options include the Smoky Shores kit (£40, $49, €46), blending Sour Cream & Onion Pringles with Smoked Trout Roe, and the Salt of The Sea (£90, $110, €104), combining Original Pringles with Classic White Sturgeon Caviar. For variety, the Crisps and Caviar Flight (£115, $140, €132) offers all six flavour combinations.

In our TikTok Tastes microtrend report, we analyse how TikTok’s influence on food and drink trends is crossing over into the real world, inspiring new brands and products, as well as menu and marketing concepts.

Pringles Caviar Collection, US

Strategic opportunity

As TikTok trends evolve rapidly, consider how to harness the platform’s viral potential without ostracising consumers who have never heard of such food challenges. Pringles’ limited edition is a smart homage to a previous trend but will also appeal to food enthusiasts of all kinds

Pizza Hut creates pizza-themed world in the metaverse

TMNT: Mutant Mayhem Pizza-Scented Controller by Xbox, US TMNT: Mutant Mayhem Pizza-Scented Controller by Xbox, US

Middle East – Publicis Middle East and Pizza Hut have collaborated on the restaurant giant’s first venture into the metaverse.

Inspired by fans creating their own pizza-themed experiences on the app, The Hut is a virtual Pizza Hut world on Roblox. Fans can play mini-games and hunt for their favourite pizza toppings and earn badges and prizes, all while kitting out their Roblox avatars in pizza-themed costumes and accessories, such as cheese and tomato onesies, tomato helmets and pepperoni glasses.

The new Roblox world is accompanied by a Fun 4 All family pizza and sides deal from Pizza Hut.

‘With the launch of The Hut into Roblox, we want to honour the efforts of our superfans and deliver what they have been hoping for, giving them a chance to virtually experience the Pizza Hut world and share their love for pizza,’ Ahmed Sabri, marketing lead at Pizza Hut Middle East and Pakistan, told Campaign.

Pizza Hut’s new campaign follows in the footsteps of other retailers such as Chipotle, Coca-Cola and Kellogg’s that have entered into the Gastro Gaming Market in an attempt to appeal to families and young gaming communities.

Strategic opportunity

Consider how you can appeal to both Gen Alpha and their parents through immersive experiences on the metaverse paired with real-life incentives, such as Pizza Hut’s Fun 4 All meal deal

Stat: Agrifood firms believe in regenerative agriculture but adoption is low

Black Urban Growers and the National Black Food and Justice Alliance at Norman’s farm by Nydia Blas, Atlanta Black Urban Growers and the National Black Food and Justice Alliance at Norman’s farm by Nydia Blas, Atlanta

Global – A September 2023 study by investor network FAIRR reveals that while most food and retail sector giants view regenerative agriculture as a climate crisis solution, concrete actions are lagging behind. For The Four Labours of Regenerative Agriculture report, some 79 major agrifood firms were surveyed, worth a combined £2.5 trillion ($3 trillion, €2.8 trillion) and representing one-third of the sector.

Of the 50 firms that recognise regenerative agriculture as vital for climate change and biodiversity, 64% have not outlined company-wide targets. Companies that have yet to do so include Chipotle, Domino’s and Bunge. Only 8% of the firms surveyed have pledged financial support to incentivise farmers to adopt regenerative practices. Notable exceptions are Nestlé, PepsiCo, JBS and Sodexo, with Nestlé committing £985m ($1.2bn, €1.1bn) to these practices.

Some companies are taking positive steps. Danone aims to source 30% of key ingredients from regenerative farms by 2025, while General Mills plans to implement regenerative agriculture on one million acres by 2030. Walmart and PepsiCo are collaborating on a regenerative agriculture programme to eliminate four million tons of greenhouse gas emissions.

In our previous coverage of Adaptive Appetites and How Soil is Inspiring Food Futures, we analysed how regenerative agriculture is crucial to the survival of the food and drink industry given climate change could lead to resource scarcity.

Strategic opportunity

To avoid greenwashing accusations, agrifood professionals must allocate resources to support farmers in adopting regenerative agriculture techniques. This can include financial incentives, training and partnerships with agricultural communities

Five Airlines Uplifting In-flight Wellness

Big Ideas

Five Airlines Uplifting In-flight Wellness

Airlines are reviving luxury air travel, transforming the in-flight experience from exhausting to enriching and bringing wellness to 40,000 feet.
Travel : Hospitality : Wellness
Emerging Youth: UAE

Markets

Emerging Youth: UAE

The UAE’s Gen Z are leading the nation’s evolution by redefining tradition to mirror their own values and vision.
Youth : UAE : Gen Z
Travel with Purpose: TTG Luxury Travel Summit

Big Ideas

Travel with Purpose: TTG Luxury Travel Summit

Sustainable corporate culture, slow travel and luxury traveller experiences were key topics on the agenda at 2023’s TTG Luxury Travel Summit.
Travel : Hospitality : Luxury
Belmond: Luxury Travel’s Responsible Future

Viewpoints

Belmond: Luxury Travel’s Responsible Future

Belmond is setting high standards for responsible luxury hospitality. Celia Geyer, the group’s senior vice-president of design and project developm...
Luxury : Travel & Hospitality : Society
Six Indian Jewellery Brands Combining Heritage and Innovation

Big Ideas

Six Indian Jewellery Brands Combining Heritage and Innovation

India’s jewellery innovators are redefining tradition with technology and sustainability to shape the future of this timeless market.
Jewellery : India : Biological Jewellery
Five Luxury Brands Recrafting Heritage In-Store

Big Ideas

Five Luxury Brands Recrafting Heritage In-Store

Luxury brands are opening flagship and pop-up stores with new codes of craft and heritage embedded into the physical destination.
Luxury : Retail : Heritage
Luxury Recrafted

Macro Trends

Luxury Recrafted

The consumers – or rather the collectors – of tomorrow will expect luxury to signal status not through excess, but by acting as a guardian of craft...
Luxury : Society : Fashion
Seductive Opulence

Design Directions

Seductive Opulence

As wellness takes centre stage in luxury, brands are captivating discerning consumers with a provocative twist, using seductive imagery to craft al...
Wellness : Luxury : Seduction
AOI’s Ocean of Ideas Crafted to be Collected

Viewpoints

AOI’s Ocean of Ideas Crafted to be Collected

Farah Marafie discusses how her luxury label AOI is not catering for clients or consumers but for collectors of wearable artworks.
Luxury : Fashion : Art And Design
Dining Deluxe

Viewpoints

Dining Deluxe

LS:N Global speaks exclusively to creative agency Construct about crafting experience design for a new era of luxury dining.
Luxury : Dining Experience : Hotel Experience
State of Luxury: India

Markets

State of Luxury: India

A booming middle class of premium aspirers and the consistent increase of UHNWIs’ wealth strongly establish India as no longer an emerging destinat...
Luxury : India : Indian Luxury Market
Weaving Omani Heritage into Haute Parfumerie

Viewpoints

Weaving Omani Heritage into Haute Parfumerie

Amouage's chief creative officer Renaud Salmon talks to LS:N Global about embarking on a global retail expansion that creates a multisensory and a...
Luxury : Perfume : Middle East
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