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SXSW London 2025: Biological age, AI-powered abundance and Substack’s in-person future

The Ageing and Biohacking – The Science of Immortality panel, courtesy of SXSW London, UK

Sir Demis Hassabis, Nobel prize winner and CEO of Google DeepMind, courtesy of SXSW London, UK

Courtesy of SXSW London, UK

UK – The first edition of SXSW in London brought hundreds of visitors to Shoreditch for a mix of music, film, experiential workshops and forward-thinking talks.

On day one, the standout panel, Ageing and Biohacking – The Science of Immortality, explored the shift from lifespan to healthspan. Dr Nichola Conlon, scientist and founder of longevity supplement company Nuchido, said biological age will soon become the key wellness metric. ‘We have two ages – chronological and biological – and they often don’t match,’ she explained, highlighting that someone can be 50 but biologically 60. This focus on health optimisation echoes our Longevity Lifestyles macrotrend report from 2023.

On the main stage, Sir Demis Hassabis, Nobel prize winner and CEO of Google DeepMind, offered a bold timeline for artificial general intelligence (AGI), predicting it within five to 10 years. He likened the coming of AGI to a shift larger than the Industrial Revolution. In his vision, AGI would unlock breakthroughs in science, clean energy and universal AI assistants that ‘protect users’ attention from other algorithms’, eliminate repetitive tasks and spark a new era of ‘radical abundance’. Find more insights about the future of AI in our macrotrend report The Synthocene Era.

Later, a session at Rich Mix brought together top Substack creators to discuss what it means to truly own your audience. Farrah Storr, Substack's head of writer partnerships in the UK and Europe, noted that the platform offers a wake-up call to creators who, until joining the platform, were at the mercy of social media algorithms.

Emma Gannon, author and founder of The Hyphen newsletter, which has over 70,000 readers, said that growth should not be the primary goal on the platform. ‘What matters more to me is sustainability and continuity. On Substack, you can make a good living with 1,000 true fans who genuinely love your work,’ she said. Instead of chasing new followers, she cultivates superfans with in-person events. When Table For One, her novel about solitude and solo dining, was launched, she invited 40 of her readers to dinner and paid for it using her Substack earnings. The platform, she explained, enables meaningful connections and creative autonomy.

Keep an eye on our Global Events section for our upcoming round-up of top insights from SXSW London.

Strategic opportunity

As biological age overtakes chronological age as the key marker of health, early adopters have an opportunity to lead by integrating biological age metrics into wellness, insurance, fitness or consumer health products. Could you develop personalised plans, supplements or services linked to real-time biological age diagnostics?

QuiteLike unveils rebranding to inspire joyful home cooking

Australia – Meal kit brand QuiteLike has unveiled a striking rebranding designed to elevate dinnertime beyond mere convenience. Led by design studio Universal Favourite, the new identity marks a strategic move towards fostering deeper emotional connections through home cooking.

The rebranding encompasses a complete refresh of QuiteLike’s brand strategy, tone of voice and visual identity. Bold typography, playful illustrations and lifestyle photography work together to evoke the creativity, comfort and joy of preparing meals at home.

At the heart of the brand is a new promise: to create meaningful, ‘memorable moments through food’. With this transformation, QuiteLike positions its meal kits not just as practical solutions, but as tools for daily rituals that nourish the body and foster household connections.

We first started tracking this shift in our Frivolous Foods design direction, which explores how food branding is evolving to celebrate a less sterile approach that combines nostalgia, escapism and pleasure.

QuiteLike, Australia

Strategic opportunity

As consumers increasingly associate food with mood and mindfulness, brands should look to design products, packaging and retail experiences that support emotional wellbeing and nourish the mind as much as the body

Stat: US teen beauty spending soars to record high fuelled by fragrance boom

US – Teen beauty spending in the US has surged to record levels, according to Piper Sandler’s latest Taking Stock With Teens report. Female teenagers now spend an average of £277 ($374, €328) annually on beauty products, a 10% year-on-year rise and the highest figure since the survey began in spring 2007.

‘Piper Sandler is excited to highlight the results of our spring 2025 survey, which offers an inside look at how thousands of US teens are spending their money and its correlation to our economy,’ said Korinne Wolfmeyer, senior research analyst at Piper Sandler. Teens reported total annual spending of £1,769 ($2,388, €2,096), up from both spring and autumn 2024.

Fragrance emerged as the fastest-growing category, with spending up 22% year on year among girls and a striking 44% among boys. Daily use also rose: 78% of girls and 53% of boys now wear fragrance daily. Boys now outspend girls in the category, with annual spending up from £65 ($88, €77) to £94 ($127, €111) year on year.

In brand rankings, Sephora retained the top spot, with a 38% share, followed by Ulta Beauty at 26%, and Bath & Body Works re-entering the top three for the first time since 2018.

Discover Gen Alpha’s growing interest in skincare, hygiene and fragrance, and its impact on the Beauty sector in our Back-to-School Alphas report.

Strategic opportunity

Create gender-inclusive beauty and fragrance lines for Gen Alpha that use age-appropriate ingredients and utilise user-generated content (UGC) from teen micro-influencers on TikTok and Snapchat to establish brand trust and relevance