The Culture Matters newsletter is now FoodStuff! As the newsletter has gotten bigger, I’ve recognized that the name Culture Matters (meant to indicate ‘matters in food culture’ as well as the ‘culture of food innovation’) was not intuitive for new readers. Therefore, the name change is meant to reflect a clearer, more telegraphic focus—news and insights about the food and beverage industry, specifically innovation and strategy. In other words, a fun play on “stuff about food” (thanks to everyone that helped me brainstorm the new name!)
Here is last week’s newsletter, in case you missed it.
In this week’s newsletter:
Wellness CSR: Brands find their new rallying point
Liquid Deathification: Why brands are so edgy now
The Open Window: Culture is more accepting of innovation
AI comes for CatMan: There is a new game in town
TIDBITS: Fun and interesting news from the world of food and the food industry
Robert Downey Jr. has launched a new coffee brand along with serial entrepreneur Craig Dubitsky (the creator/investor behind brands like Hello oral care, Method cleaning products, and Eos lip and skin-care). Hello Coffee, which launched online last week, at Target, and Sprouts, combines environmentalism with mental health activism. The brand claims they use only responsibly grown and sustainably sourced coffee via a vertically integrated bean supplier. Additionally, the brand has partnered with the National Alliance on Mental Illness to help provide advocacy and education on mental health. The coffee also combines descriptions of their coffee roasts with upbeat messaging (e.g., “Magnificent medium roast with notes of berries and optimism”). Available in whole bean, ground, instant, and coffee pods.
To support consumers in their Dry January quest, non-alcoholic beer company Kit NA Brewing launched a limited edition starter pack to help people “Get Their K*t Together.” Proceeds from the purchase of the kit, which includes American blonde, an IPA and a hazy IPA, go to support Kit NA's mental health organization partner, Sound Mind Live.
Iconic UK hot beverage brand Horlick’s has partnered with self-care brand Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place to offer on-pack promotion of its mindfulness app and a chance to win one of 10 “Wellness Weekends.” Previously, Horlick’s has been a sponsor of Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place festivals. The new promotion is part of Horlick’s extension of its “Find your Happy Place” campaign.
Chipotle announced last week that they will begin to offer additional financial wellness and mental well-being support for more than 110,000 employees through a new Employee Assistance Program and enhanced benefits. In addition to student loan payoff programs and credit building assistance, the company offers CuraLinc Healthcare, which offers six free sessions with a licensed counselor or mental health coach.
Men’s grooming brand Dr. Squatch is introducing its new Mega Bricc soap product with some humor and help. The brand has started a campaign around “Big Bricc Energy” showing off the new bricc in surprising places. Additionally, the brand is using videos in the campaign to help improve young men’s self-confidence, hygiene, and concern about sexual performance. Recently, John Ludeke, senior director of brand marketing at Dr. Squatch told Marketing Dive, “Four out of five millennial men feel insecure about their looks and struggle with self-confidence, and for us, that really resonates and hits home…”
A Safe Space: CPG and Mental Health
Last week, Sesame Street’s beloved Elmo asked people on Twitter “How’s everyone doing?”, and the overwhelming response was ‘not good.’ From celebrities to other Sesame Street regulars, people opened up about their stress and struggles. Actress Rachel Zegler said she was "resisting the urge to tell Elmo that I am kinda sad” and the Cookie Monster posted, “Me here to talk it out whenever you want. Me will also supply cookies. #EmotionalWellBeing"
In the past decade, mental health has moved from a whispered conversation to a public discourse. However, in a more recent trend, brands have started to adopt mental health causes as reasons to believe. For example, back in November, Pringles UK used the Movember movement and a QR code in their mascot’s iconic stache, to bring awareness to men’s mental health with the “Scan my Mo to Help a Bro” campaign.
Why have we seen brands align their messaging with mental health and why will it likely grow more common?
1. Generational Openness: Mental health spending in the US has skyrocketed since the pandemic. While older adults spend the most on overall healthcare, people under 25 are behind a wave of new spending on mental health and addiction care. Additionally, younger adults, especially Gen Z, are much more likely to see mental health discussions as normal, without the stigma that previous generations have had on the topic.
2. Non-political CSR: Brands know that building a strong relationship with a consumer can lead to brand loyalty. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has consistently been used to show consumers that the brand has motives beyond just the bottom line. However, brands have recently come under fire for the topics they align with. The recent polarization and backlash toward some brand efforts (e.g., Bud Light and Target and LGBTQ causes) have some brands dialing back their CSR efforts. However, at least for the moment, mental health awareness appears to be a universally acceptable topic for brands to support.
3. Brand Differentiation (for now): At the moment, brands that are upfront with their mental health commitments are unique in the mainstream. This is proving to be a differentiator, which will cause even more brands to jump on the bandwagon. Of course, there will be saturation and complaints that some brands are cashing in on this sensitive topic, but for at least the next year, mental health messaging will be everywhere.
Startup brand DinnerDrug has announced that they will be launching their new olive oil brand in March. The single-origin olive oil, sourced from cold-pressed koroneiki olives grown in Crete, comes packaged in a heavy metal can (to avoid oxidation). Messaged as “This is simply an olive oil worth trading your soul for,” “Dine like there’s no tomorrow,” and “Illegally tasty.” The oil will be available via subscription.
Boulder, CO-based Mortal Kombucha has launched a new line of 16oz sustainable aluminum bottles in collaboration with Sprouts Market to replace their glass bottle beverages. This innovation makes Mortal Kombucha the first kombucha to be packaged in aluminum, which is “infinitely recyclable, resealable, and lighter.” The beverage will be available in its original flavors (Basillion Strawberries, Black Sage, Black Magic, and Marg Simpson) as well as a Sprouts exclusive (Peaches Be Crazy).
Water brand Liquid Death has launched three new sparkling water varieties: Cherry Obituary, Grave Fruit, and Squeezed to Death. The beverages have 20 calories and 4 grams of sugar (from agave syrup). Available at major retailers.
The ‘Liquid Death-ification’ of CPG
Back in 2010, Toyota decided they wanted to try something new for the launch of their Sienna SE minivan. After consumer research showed that young parents (Gen X/older Millennials) saw minivans as ‘uncool’ the company decided to lean into it and launched a new campaign. The center of this campaign featured the Swagger Wagon, a SNL-like skit with rapping suburban parents showing how cool they were for owning a Sienna minivan.
To say that the campaign was successful was an understatement. Toyota credits the campaign with sling-shotting them into the minivan market and eventually dominating the field. Toyota said the quiet part out loud and broke the tension that existed for young consumers. It’s important to note that the brand didn’t change the vehicle (i.e., there is no spoiler or NOS canister on the Sienna) just a surface level of smart marketing.
I think we are seeing something similar with these new CPG products and brands. Liquid Death was the first to test this concept. Take an innocuous staple (in their case water) that consumers may be tempted to abandon for ‘cooler’ alternatives and make it so over-the-top ‘cool’ that the consumer realizes the in-joke (thus lessening the stigma).
Being into olive oil and kombucha is such a bougie adult thing. However, dialing up the edginess of each allows consumers to move pass their intial apprehensions.
There are so many categories that really need this treatment! I can see high-fiber cereal doing this or herbal tea (the concepts just write themselves). Sometimes meeting a tension head-on is the best approach.
Wholly Guacamole, a Hormel brand, has launched their ‘Guacify Pizza’ campaign. The Wholly team found that 74% of people are likely to eat guacamole while watching the Big Game and 91% are likely to eat pizza. However, most (83%) have never tried the two together. So, the brand is offering suggestions for both dipping and topping pizza with guac.
To celebrate the annual National Ice Cream for Breakfast Day, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams is launching a new Banana French Toast ice cream. The new ice cream is added to Jeni’s existing ‘breakfast’ ice creams of Coffee Cream & Sugar, Maple-Soaked Pancakes, and Brambleberry Crisp. Available in select stores and at the brand’s site.
At the Winter Fancy Food Show, Randy’s Artisanal Pickles introduced Sideburns, a grilled pickle half brined in garlic, red pepper and spices. The brand recommends eating them straight, as a side, or partnered with a cocktail.
Also introduced at the Winter Fancy Food Show the new line of cashew-based dips from Millsie. The creamy dips are dairy-free, plant-based, gut-friendly and available in 6 varieties including: Chives & Garlic, Dill Pickle & Truffle, and Jalapeño & Lemon. Available at select retailers (e.g., Erewhon).
Oatly has partnered with ice cream chain Carvel to create their first line of oatmilk-based ice cream items. Carvel is featuring the following made with Oatly: Strawberry Soft Serve, Cookies and Cream Scooped, Chocolate Peanut Butter Scooped, Flying Saucer Sandwiches, and frozen Dessert Cakes. Available at Carvel’s 300 shops.
Tachiz Group, a Taiwan-based manufacturer of popping boba, has announced the launch of Crystal Boba. These new boba have embedded crystals which provide a crunch as well as a pop. The company says that the new product gives added sensation to the eating experience and opens up new occasions (e.g., salad topping). Available soon.
Lolly’s is a BFY startup that offers frozen grapes covered in chocolate and toppings. The dairy-free products are 50-70 calories per serving and come in three varieties: Dark Chocolate, Dark Chocolate+ Almond, and Dark Chocolate + Coconut.
Opening the Window: How TikTok and Alternatives are Changing Consumers
In politics there is a concept called the Overton Window. Basically, it is the idea that there is a window of acceptable topics for politicians to talk about in public. Anything inside the window is normal, anything outside is verboten.
The Overton Window of US politics used to be quite narrow—very mainstream and down the middle. However, then came the idea that, if you introduce an idea that is on the fringe into the discourse, even if it is rejected, it might widen the window. What was seen as radical now feels less so (sociologists call this normalization of deviance). In many ways this describes our current political enviroment.
Now, this is a food newsletter, and I’m not going to delve any deeper into politics. However, I want to lift this idea of the Overton Window—and its widening— and apply it to our industry.
Step back just 25 years and our Overton Window of ‘normal’ food was much smaller and less flexible. Sushi was ‘strange’ to Western palates and adding salt to sweet foods was seen as radical. However, today the food and beverage window is much wider. Much of this has to do with social media, especially TikTok. These platforms offer up unusual combinations and formats to draw attention and repeated viewing of things like PickleTok (and BBQ pickles specifically) pulls the radical closer into the normal range.
Social media has primed consumers to accept the potential for novelty and some brands are using this as an opening for innovation. While alternatives and plant-based products have seen a dip recently, their previous surge served the purpose of widening the acceptance window for the mainstream. Now, a classic brand like Carvel can make an oat milk ice cream and it will be accepted in rural towns across the nation without comment.
This willingness to rethink radical means that consumers are open to rethinking the use of your product. Wholly has the right idea in prompting consumers to dip their pizza in guac—imagine the incremental sales if only 5% of people take up the challenge! Net-net: be bold in prompting your consumer with radical, the window for today’s consumers is open.
The Last Days of CatMan?
Dollar General announced that they are now selling fresh produce at more than 5,000 of their stores. The company also announced that they were partnering with AI company Shelf Engine which optimizes fresh food forecasting and ordering. This partnership is meant to help DG keep prices of produce low but quality up.
Albertson’s announced last month that they were partnering with Capgemini to implement a new AI-based system for media planning, media operations and content creation. The new partnership would help Albertson’s automate, accelerate and personalize the creation of consumer-facing content in their omnichannel efforts.
So What? While AI in other realms of business gets all the press, the biggest strides in adoption appear to be in less flashy areas like forecasting, planning and inventory management. However, if you’ve spent any time in the food industry, you’ll know these are the areas that make everything else work. That’s why these recent developments are both prophetic and ominous.
I can envision a future in which selling-in to a retailer will be less a personal pitch in a bullpen and more like fine-tuning for SEO (i.e., digital optimization of product variables that the AI has been programmed to seek out and amplify). Smart brands will either be those that quickly adapt to the changing parameters OR those that help retailers set those parameters with best-in-class category research.
TIDBITS
“Please stop eating fried toothpicks”—warning from the South Korean Health Ministry
Gen Z apparently likes breakfast, smoothies and Boomer sitdown places: Nation’s Restaurant News finds Gen Z’s favorite restaurants
Chicken prices are trending down due to the rise of green fuel
Trader Joes announces their Customer Choice Awards for 2023
A two-year AP investigation finds prison labor being used to harvest food for major brands
Is our protein obsession leading to a ‘fiber gap?’
The $3,500 Apple Vision Pro’s killer feature? Cooking and kitchen timers
How insulin may be prematurely aging us
The rise of short-form, bite size soap operas: RealShort
An American professor suggested that tea would be better with a pinch of salt—and all hell broke loose
TikTok says the average age of its users is 30+
Walmart to add 150 more stores in US
Insomnia Cookie debuts a breakup box of cookies to help you end a relationship on a sweet note
WW tumbles on obesity-drug gains
AI bartender vs human bartender, which one wins?
US map of the most and least expensive places to buy a Big Mac
Young generations don’t think they will ever be able to save enough for the American Dream, so they are buying luxury goods instead
If you’ve ever thought, “Gee, I wish I could smell like a Thin Mint” your wish has been granted