LSN : News : Thought-starter: Should finance brands move into wellness?

Space10 introduces its first cookbook

Future Food Today cookbook by Space10

Copenhagen – Ikea’s research and design laboratory, Space10, has unveiled a collection of sustainable, future-facing recipes.

Dubbed a ‘cookbook with a mission’, Future Food Today focuses on the positive future of food by reinventing familiar dishes with alternative sources of protein, such as micro-algae and insects. The book will feature a variety of recipes from the Space10 kitchen, including the Dogless Hotdog, the Bug Burger and the Holy Mole Fish Taco.

‘Ultimately, we created Future Food Today to inspire ourselves and others to get curious in the kitchen, and to motivate us to take action through our food choices,’ explains editor Polina Bachlakova. ‘Future Food Today gives its readers the tools they need to experiment with sustainable, healthy and delicious recipes in their own kitchens.’

As we explore in our Uprooted Diets macrotrend, what we eat and where it comes from is changing as supply chains come under increasing threat.

The Tide is a wellness-led public space for London

The Tide at Greenwich Peninsula, designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, London

London – The architects behind New York City’s public park The High Line are bringing a similar concept to London with The Tide at Greenwich Peninsula.

Created by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, the 5km network of public gardens centres on the daily rhythms and wellbeing of local residents and visitors, who can linger or explore the nuances of its various levels depending on their mood or activity.

Opening in July 2019, The Tide will feature various walkways, with programming split across levels to provide a layered network of recreation, culture, and wellness. Its pathways point north to south and east to west, connecting local businesses and cultural institutions with the peninsula’s budding residential neighbourhoods and the Thames river.

With a focus on urban wellness, The Tide will invite visitors ‘to slow down, linger, and overlook the life of the Peninsula,’ with areas defined by trees and planting, and their surrounding views and sounds. As architects and city planners work to create positive spaces and tenements for future citizens, we’re witnessing a global shift towards Wellness Architecture.

Cleanyst creates micro batches of home and personal care products

New York – The countertop appliance allows consumers to create a variety of products using concentrated ingredients and water from their own taps.

Available for pre-sale on Kickstarter, Cleanyst minimises plastic and carbon emissions from home and body care products. The at-home system provides concentrated formulas and reusable packaging for a range of products, such as shampoo, body wash, dish soap and all-purpose cleaner. Users simply load a reusable bottle and ingredients pouch into the appliance, add water and select the relevant mixing programme.

With its micro batches of everyday necessities, the company estimates that it can reduce single-use plastic waste in the home and body care category by 80% and save consumers an average of £117 ($150, €134) a year. ‘Consumers have become increasingly discerning about the quality, safety and environmental impact of everyday products they use on themselves and their families,’ says Nick Gunia, Cleanyst’s co-founder and CEO. For more on this shift in consumer demand, read our Home Cleaning Market.

Cleanyst

Home furnishings for the co-living generation

Corridor Society by Seray Özdemir

London – Created by architect and product designer Seray Ozdemir, Corridor Society is a new company and collection of furniture created for people living in flat or house shares.

The pieces are created to transform overlooked spaces such as hallways into social spots where residents can chat, dine or chill. They include a shelving unit, the Spreading Hub, which unpacks into a table and two stools, and the Multi-level Lounger – an elevated chair, coat rack and shoe storage unit.

According to Ozdemir, co-living is becoming exceedingly common among mega-city dwellers, driving forth questions around the layout and use of space in such residences that have traditionally been designed for families. ‘The corridor is transformed into an intermediary zone that works as a mechanism that brings tenants together and facilitates more social interaction, while still allowing the levels of privacy to be actively mediated by the tenants.’

As being in a couple or forming a nuclear family becomes less prevalent in society, brands are having to rethink the home, its layout and furnishings. Subscribers can find out more about modern cohabitation in our macrotrend Uncoupled Living.

Stat: Fish farming presents promising opportunities

Aquaculture has emerged as the fastest-growing global food segment over the past four decades, according to a report entitled Towards a Blue Revolution from The Nature Conservancy and Encourage Capital. The sector, which is already valued at £190.2bn ($243.5bn, €217.6bn), continues to grow at a rate of around 6% annually and presents significant market opportunities.

While the commercial production of fish, shellfish and seaweed has created some environmental challenges – including habitat degradation, water pollution and impacts on wild stocks – the report highlights the potential for innovative aquaculture systems to help meet growing demand for more sustainable forms of protein, while still supporting conservation.

In our recent interview with the CEO of Edenworks, we discuss how aquaponics enables the urban farming company to achieve high yields.

Thought-starter: Should finance brands move into wellness?

Mental and physical health is being improved through money advice and services focused on wellbeing, marking a new direction for the wellness sector.

When it comes to common causes of anxiety and stress among modern consumers, financial stability and money matters remain crucial concerns.

According to a study by the American Psychological Association, among Generation Z consumers aged 18-21, four out of five say money is a leading source of stress. In response to this anxiety, financial firms are launching products and services with positive side-effects. Vestpod, an online and offline community that empowers women financially, hosts workshops such as Money & Mindfulness, where attendees analyse concepts such as self worth and net worth, and how to heal their emotional relationship with money.

Elsewhere, Chase bank is helping financially unstable customers achieve financial wellness in both the monetary and physical and emotional sense. Its Secure Banking initiative offers no minimum deposits, no overdraft fees and will see 30% of its new branches opened in low-income areas to help those struggling to access bank accounts.

For more, subscribers can read our microtrend, Financial Wellness.