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Tim Tam Tummy introduces kombucha for kids

Tim Tam Tummy, US

US – Functional beverages are a flourishing market brimming with alternatives to sugary fizzy drinks and sodas, yet few are geared towards children. Enter Tim Tam Tummy, allegedly the first kombucha drink crafted for little ones.

Children’s palates call for simple, sweet flavours encapsulated in fun and convenient products. Tim Tam Tummy set out to bridge the gap between unhealthy sugary drinks that kids tend to love and too sophisticated functional drinks currently available on the market. The kid-centric kombucha packs 3bn gut-loving prebiotics while boasting a short ingredient list free from artificial additives and sweeteners. It is also designed to appeal to the young target audience, with four lightly carbonated fruity flavours packaged in kid-sized self-stable cans easy to pack and drink on the go.

‘When it comes to better-for-you beverages, the kids' aisle has been largely left behind,’ adds Mary Alice Greco, the company’s chief marketing officer. ‘Tim Tam Tummy addresses parents' and kids' priorities – digestive health, immune function, convenience and fun.’

Generations Alpha and Zalpha are wise beyond their years, and such products that combine fun and function are sure to appeal to this individualistic and opinionated group.

Strategic opportunity

If health-conscious alternatives to indulgent snacks and beverages have become a competitive market, consider the untapped opportunities of nutritionally enhanced kids’ comfort food and drinks

Gaming YouTuber creates an AI version of himself to run his channel

Kwebbelkop AI V-tuber, Global

The Netherlands – Kwebbelkop, a Dutch gamer with a 15m strong YouTube fan base, is living many people’s dream – letting his digital double do the work while the content creator steps out of the limelight and retires.

Rather than fearing becoming obsolete in the face of generative AI, YouTube superstar Jordi van den Bussche saw the technology as an early retirement opportunity and developed an AI-powered digital persona, dubbed The Digital Kwebbelkop, that looks, sounds and plays video games just like him. This virtual creator, or VTuber, is not only able to replace him in videos, but also to generate countless new content ideas and scripts, leaving the real Jordi van den Bussche with a fraction of the workload, acting as creative director of his own mirror persona, curating the content he wants instead of carrying out video production from start to finish.

Whether machines will take our jobs is an age-old question, yet it is becoming more relevant than ever with the ongoing artificial intelligence revolution. We expect more creative uses of generative AI to free us from some of our daily tasks like Kwebbelkop’s VTube debut.

Strategic opportunity

While many creatives and content creators feel threatened by generative AI, take cues from Kwebbelkop’s approach, which shows the benefits of AI as an enabler of free time rather than competition

Stat: UK employers to boost wages in bid to retain staff

Photography by Antoni Shkraba, Poland

UK – The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has found that UK employers intend to implement a median pay increase of 5% within the next year in an effort to retain staff amid a rising trend of counter-offers.

CIPD’s labour market report revealed that 40% of employers have countered rival jobs with higher wages. Among those offering counter-offers, 38% matched the new job offer’s salary, while 40% provided even higher compensation. But nearly a third of employers believe counter-offers are ineffective at holding on to staff. Public sector pay is also expected to increase by 4%, the highest recorded by the CIPD’s survey.

While these increases may add to concerns about inflation and its impact on the economy, they also show how post-pandemic workers – amid the great reshuffle and the great resignation – are unwilling to compromise on their compensation. We previously analysed this behaviour shift and other related social and wellness trends in our Work States Futures macrotrend report.

Strategic opportunity

Employers should ask themselves why employees are looking for opportunities elsewhere. Are you offering fair compensation? Do you have policies in place to offer pastoral, social and emotional care for your employees? Are you gauging their overall wellbeing?