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12.19.2007

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In a New Era of Quality, 8 Trends for 2008

The dawn of every New Year brings with it the marketplace’s favorite pastime: trends forecasting. The task to compile the list of trends typically relies on some combination of one’s insight, informed opinion, wisdom or “gut level” intuition to generate a series of predictions regarding the future trajectories of consumer behavior. As quickly as they are disseminated, they are devoured and debated.

While trend watching may be entertaining for those merely wanting to “keep pace” with the times, it is serious business for those with a keen desire to get an edge on competitors. We believe in the value of outlining trends so long as the observations are firmly grounded in everyday interactions with ordinary consumers. After all, it is the consumer—not the analyst or expert—who is going to be shaping and redefining the marketplace of the future.

Trends 2008»

What are the emerging trends for 2008?

The Tinderbox report: Artifacts from the (Near) Future takes you inside evolving consumer culture to uncover the leading edge trends that will impact the marketplace of today and beyond.

Looking ahead, there is one overarching trend that will continue to dominate the marketplace of 2008 and beyond: the consumer pursuit for brands, products, services and experiences of higher (i.e., premium) quality. With this playing in the background, here then are eight trends rooted in consumer culture that we believe will have significant impact in the marketplace of the near future.

Pursuit of Premium Experiences

Regardless of demographic, consumers will continue, in growing numbers, to pursue premium products and experiences far beyond the foreseeable future. Consumers no longer feel a need to justify premium, they expect it and feel they deserve it.

Example: Consumers are upgrading to premium on a regular basis. Many changes entail choosing higher quality, premium foods, such as those with distinctive flavors or unique ingredients. Nearly all consumers now eat special occasion foods everyday.

Balancing Extremes: Wellness as Quality Life Experiences

Today, in the context of wellness, consumers speak of balance as “negotiating extremes.” Balance now means allowing oneself to fully experience the “good” and the “bad,” and ensuring the pendulum does not get stuck at either polar extreme. Consumers are negotiating extremes in all arenas of life that have impacts on physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, and social and environmental wellness.

Example: Spending time with others is balanced by spending time alone, and spending time exercising is balanced by mental stimulation.

Ingredients to Treat Digestion, Sustained Energy and Immunity

Globalization continues to have a dramatic impact on wellness rituals and trends through the introduction of multicultural foods, beverages, supplements and practices. In the area of plant-based compounds used to treat health, formerly fringe ingredients like hemp, agave and kombucha are resonating with leading-edge wellness consumers (such as those in the “Core”). Core consumers are focused on these products because they believe such ingredients address key health and wellness issues focused on digestion, sustained energy and immunity.

Example: The consumption of hemp reflects today’s consumer concerns about getting enough fiber, protein, achieving satiety, getting a balance of essential fatty acids and reducing inflammation in the body.

New Approaches to Eating: Community, Consciousness, Increased Quality of Life

The rise of ethical considerations, a growing sustainability consciousness and increased focus on “unprocessed” foods is inspiring new approaches to eating. Notably, we see a growing interest among consumers in eating as “locavores,” in “free-from” eating, or in dining on “raw”— all of which address consumer interests in community, consciousness and an increased quality of life. Expect to see elements of these new approaches to eating increasingly capture the interest of mainstream consumers soon.

Example: “Free-From” eaters avoid foods that they view cause adverse food reactions or have undergone a particular process such as genetic modification or over-processing. Commonly avoided foods include wheat, gluten, corn, soy, dairy, potatoes and peanuts.

“Hiking Moms” and New Approaches to Movement and Exercise

In talking to consumers about new approaches to movement and exercise, we’re seeing a broad range of globally-sourced activities ranging from Capoeira (Brazilian fight dancing) to Budokon (Zen martial arts marries yoga) to new physical activities generated by Moms. While some of the activities we’ve seen are too fringe to be considered mainstream trends, we do find strong resonance on activities like yoga, triathlons, pilates and “hiking moms,” all of which are linked by emotional themes of community, connection, core inner strength and balance.

Example: While many new mothers are focused on regaining their pre-pregnancy shape, most traditional workout plans do not cater to the needs of a newborn. Communal exercises like group hiking help new moms get back in shape while developing a support network with other parents. Exercising with an understanding group of peers relieves stress and helps mothers achieve and maintain their fitness goals.

Consumers Finding Progressive New Ways to Prevent and Control Daily Health Issues

While they encounter and dwell on a wide diversity of health issues, consumers remain concerned about pragmatic daily health conditions related to weight management, blood sugar regulation and digestive health. Of interest are the progressive ways, new techniques and ideas that consumers are experimenting with to prevent and manage these health issues.

Examples: The following chart depicts that the most involved consumers in weight management believe that effective weight management is a life long commitment and involves behavior modification including portion control, healthful eating, and increased regular physical activity to manage their weight effectively. Using the glycemic index as a tool of blood sugar regulation, consumers are finding that they are also able to manage their weight, energy, and stress levels. The most active wellness consumers believe that a healthy digestive system helps them feel their best. They reach for foods loaded with probiotics, digestive enzymes and lots of fiber to assist and promote digestion.

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Supplementing Life: A Focus on Healthy Aging, Balanced Energy, Inflammation

We’ve been tracking the consumer fascination with dietary supplements for many years now, and while multi-vitamins, Vitamin C and calcium are likely to be top of mind for the average citizen, the most active wellness consumers are interested in those nutrition sources—both from unadulterated foods and dietary supplements—that they believe address key health and wellness issues focusing on healthy aging, balanced energy, or inflammation.

Example: The most active wellness consumers tend to prioritize balanced energy with an emphases on getting enough “quality” sleep, managing emotional ups and downs, and using whole foods and the latest vitamin, mineral and herbal dietary supplements in their quest for balancing mood, energy and sleep.

Democratization of the Family

Families are increasingly being run like democracies rather than fiefdoms, where each individual’s wants and desires are accommodated despite their age or position. Changes at the household level, in terms of everyday decision making, meal preparation and shopping decisions are influencing broad changes in how consumers live, shop, purchase and use products in the home.

Example: Increasingly, freedom of choice trumps traditional ways of living and thinking. The interplay of the broadened definition of the family juxtaposed on the behavioral details of how families negotiate their day-to-day existence in the context of "freedom of choice" can be well illustrated by the phenomenon of meal fragmentation and the increasingly prevalent practice of catering to children as picky eaters within families.

Consumers are increasingly freed from the vast and powerful constraints of traditional authority structures to pursue a life—and express themselves—in ways previously unimagined. More specifically, the evolution of these freedoms - especially over the past half century – informs trends such as these affecting today's marketplace. Consumer lifestyles will continue to evolve as they pursue new levels of interests and preferences that transcend products and brands. To keep pace with these rapidly changing consumers in the coming year, manufacturers, marketers and retailers need to adopt different metrics more closely aligned with how consumers live, shop and use products within the contexts of everyday life.

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