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Need to Know
09 : 04 : 18

By Rhiannon McGregor, Holly Friend and Olivia Houghton 06.04.2018 Retail : Wellness : Food

The North Face demonstrates diversity in outdoor sports, Bobbi Brown rethinks healthy edibles, Lunya develops performance sleepwear.

1. The North Face celebrates female adventurers

Move Mountains by The North Face

Global – The outdoor apparel company has launched a new global initiative, Moves Mountains, designed to help promote the next generation of women explorers. The scheme comprises a multiyear collaboration with Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) as well as a series of short films profiling women who are pushing the boundaries in outdoor sport.

The films and print campaign include some of the brand’s female athletes, such as Ashima Shiraishi and Margo Hayes, who are both professional rock climbers. It also features women who exemplify the idea of discovery and exploring, such as NASA scientist Tiera Guinn Fletcher.

The GSUSA partnership aims to give young girls new role models. Part of the partnership is the launch of a new range of adventure badges to empower the next generation to become involved in outdoor activities.

The campaign is a long-standing commitment to showing more diversity in an area that rarely represents women.

2. Bobbi Brown moves into the wellness space

Evolution 18

US – Launching later this month, Evolution_18 is a new range of edibles designed to promote beauty both internally and externally. The range consists of a chocolate whey protein powder; a collagen, hyaluronic acid and coconut oil powder blend; a probiotic; and a supplement designed to promote hair, skin and nail strength. According to Brown ‘they’re not supplements, they’re wellness products’.

‘The chocolate is not really a supplement and it’s not really just a protein powder – it’s a blend, it’s a mix, it’s an infusion,’ she explains. As explored in our Total Beauty Market, the wellness and beauty markets are continuing to converge as consumers demand a more holistic approach to looking and feeling good.

3. Gene edited crops to become commonplace

US – The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced that it will no longer regulate genetically edited crops.

The announcement, by US Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perduet, permits researchers and farmers alike to use techniques such as Crispr to remove, add or alter sections of a plant’s DNA.

The decision is a consolidation of the USDA’s previously unofficial stance that gene-editing is as safe as conventional breeding practices, and therefore as long as a genetic modification could have been introduced to a crop, there is no need for regulation as it merely speeds up the process.

The move opens up innumerable opportunities when it comes to producing crops tailored to specific consumer needs, encouraging competition from less established brands in the food and drink sector.

For more on how new scientific processes are being used to revolutionise the future of food, read our Q&A with Michael Selden.

Row 7 seed company, US

4. Pyjamas that enhance post-workout recovery

Restore by Lunya

Santa Monica – Sleepwear label, Lunya has developed a new collection that is designed to help a person’s muscles recover during sleep.

Known for its performance products, the brand has utilised the fabric, Celliant to promote restful sleep and thermoregulation. The responsive material is made up of minerals that absorb body heat and convert it into infrared energy. The energy is then reabsorbed into the skin, increasing the speed of recovery.

Similar technologies have been employed by brands such as Under Armour but are woven into synthetic fabrics. Lunya, however, incorporates Celliant into the natural fibre, cotton. ‘We believe that these fibres breathe better and feel more comfortable against the skin,’ explains Ashley Merrill, the brand’s founder.

As brands look to recovery as the next frontier of performance technology, sleep also continues to become a subset of the expanding wellness market.

5. US consumers adjust to preserved products

A new report from RBC Capital Markets highlights positive growth for the frozen category for the first time in five years. With meals and appetizers accounting for 35% of the frozen food market, the category has experienced a 3% increase in sales.

Analysts suggest market growth has been obstructed by the negative stigma around preserving foods. As freezing technologies improve by retaining nutrients and flavours, consumers are beginning to see frozen food products not only as more convenient but as healthy as well.

6. Thought-starter: What do bundle pieces mean for luxury?

From helping consumers navigate a seasonless fashion model to combating the resale market, luxury fashion brands are exploring the benefits of selling their pieces in bundles.

The Kit is a sustainable fast fashion label created as a solution to the concerns associated with the traditional structure of seasonal fashion. As the name suggests, the idea behind The Kit is to create pieces that, although available to buy and wear as separates, function together as entire outfits, or kits.

With a production time that has been shortened to two to three weeks, the brand prides itself on creating products in response to changing consumer tastes, and aims to create kits that prepare consumers for those shifts.

In an interview with Fashionista soon after the brand’s launch in 2017, Vosovic spoke about the possibility of potential future kits, such as a beach kit, first date kit and maybe even a meeting your mother-in-law for the first time kit, but also talked about tailoring them to a particular colour or iconic pop culture moment.

Look out for the full Bundled Buys microtrend here.