LSN : News : Ikea candles that capture the scent of forest bathing

Lizzo reclaims shapewear with body-positive brand

Yitty by Lizzo, US

Los Angeles – After years of being pressurised to change her body, musician and activist Lizzo is teaming up with Fabletics to release a line of body-positive shapewear that seeks to empower women of all sizes.

The brand, Yitty, uses shapewear to celebrate body diversity instead of as a tool to hide or minimise flaws. To this end, the brand is intended to be worn in the bedroom, at brunch or even at the club, blurring the boundaries between innerwear and outerwear.

With a broad range of sizes, from XS to 6X, the brand is aiming to make the shapewear category more inclusive. Instead of merely sizing up or down, the dimensions have been fit and developed according to real body types.

By reclaiming shapewear as a way to celebrate body diversity, Lizzo is helping drive the Femininity Rebranded movement forward. ‘Instead of thinking about size in this linear way, we’re thinking about it on a spectrum where everyone is included. Everyone’s size is just their size. It’s not high, it’s not low. It’s not big, it’s not small. It’s just your size,’ explains Lizzo.

Strategic opportunity

Instead of simply scaling sizes up, fashion brands should take note from Lizzo’s brand and create plus-sized dimensions that are derived from actual bodies

Ikea candles that capture the scent of forest bathing

Ikea in collaboration with Ilse Crawford, Sweden

UK – Taking inspiration from the wellbeing benefits of forest bathing, the homeware brand and interior designer Ilse Crawford are launching a collection of wellbeing-focused home fragrances.

The new range consists of eight scents, with notes ranging from smokey to citrus. Here, the collection recognises the importance of drawing on natural sources to bolster a sense of overall wellness for customers. ‘We wanted to bring the instinctive memory of nature – particularly of trees and forests – back into our homes, through scents... particularly for those of us around the world who live in dense cities and don’t have immediate access to the outdoors,' explains Crawford.

This sense of environmental awareness through fragrance is also reflected in the designer and Ikea’s decision to create fragrance vessels that can be re-used in a variety of ways. The collection also demonstrates the ongoing shift towards fragrances that elevate homebody lifestyles, democratising functional home fragrances for wider audiences.

Strategic opportunity

Fragrance brands can take inspiration from the food and drink sector to inform wellness-focused products, considering how mind-altering ingredients can also be an impactful addition to scents

A nootropic drink for next-gen sports

New York – In a bid to expand the sports drink category, Local Weather is a nootropic beverage developed by NFL football player Russel Wilson and Web3 entrepreneur AJ Vaynerchuck.

Available in four flavours – fruit punch, orange clementine, mango passionfruit, and wild berry –Local Weather is packed with ingredients said to boost mental focus, stamina and performance. The bright aluminium packaging features illustrations of pastimes that are gaining popularity among younger age groups, such as painting and skateboarding.

As Generation Z adopt new hobbies, they are challenging narrow definitions of sport, prompting conversations about what classifies as exercise. According to Jon Alagem, CEO of Local Weather, only 16% of consumers today consider themselves athletes, with a further 52% of Gen Z consumers saying they prefer non-traditional sports like pickleball, TikTok dancing and roller-skating.

By including unconventional pastimes in its branding, Local Weather is validating the hobbies popular in modern lifestyles, while also reframing nootropics for Generation Z.

Local Weather by Russell Wilson and AJ Vaynerchuk in collaboration with H+S Labs, New York

Strategic opportunity

Beverage companies should reconsider what comprises sport today, taking into account the rise of new hobbies that require high levels of focus, such as gaming, chess, or even knitting and embroidery

Stat: Gen Zalpha are unafraid of money talk

Photography by Anna Pou

While conversations about money may have been taboo among previous generations, Generation Zalpha are emerging as a group that are unafraid to talk about money. A US survey by Greenlight reveals that 67% of parents and teenagers rank money as one of their most talked about topics in the past six months, second only to the pandemic, at 78%.

This young generation are aligned with their parents on feelings about current financial issues, with parents and teenagers agreeing that gas prices (68%) and inflation (55%) are the biggest financial stressors right now. With this growing awareness of – and openness about – financial matters, Gen Alpha are also likely to feel confident about spending, investing and budgeting.

As we explore in our Gen Alpha Money Market, a number of fintech services are emerging to bolster financial literacy among young people.

Strategic opportunity

Digital platforms can gamify money conversations in a way that appeals to both young people and their parents. Ensure rewards-based systems increase motivation to save and invest money