LSN : News : L’Oréal’s neurotech device augments fragrance retail

Bawi’s fresh take on aguas frescas

Bawi, US

Mexico – As consumers swap sugary sodas for healthier alternatives, drinks brand Bawi is updating classic Mexican beverages for health-conscious clientele.

One of Bawi’s key goals is to modernise aguas frescas – sparkling, non-alcoholic beverages that are popular in the country. To this end, the company has released three naturally sweetened drinks with Latin-inspired flavours like pineapple, lime and passionfruit.

While Bawi seeks to modernise Mexico's traditional drink, it didn't want to lose sight of its historical roots. As such, it has enlisted agency The Working Assembly to create a vibrant visual identity that draws from Mexican street art and fruit stands. A traditional card game called Lotería, which has a vintage, watercolour aesthetic, has also informed the packaging.

As companies across the world reclaim historic dishes and products, Bawi is demonstrating how vibrant branding can elevate global cuisine. ‘I've always noticed inauthentic Mexican branded CPG products that poorly represented the diversity that Mexican cuisine offers,’ explains Victor Guardiola, co-founder of Bawi.

Strategic opportunity

Food and drink companies should consider collaborating with smaller producers or local creatives to celebrate historic dishes and overlooked foods in ways that are sensitive and authentic

A queer wellness brand informed by nature

For Them rebranding, US

US – Ditching the popular rainbow and pastel colours that have saturated the queer community, LGBTQ+ wellness brand For Them is looking to the future with a nature-inspired visual identity.

Known for its range of chest binders, For Them is drawing inspiration from nature's myriad colours and textures with a branding update that mirrors the diverse community that forms its audience. The company has identified nine dimensions of wellness – ranging from nourish to dwell and bloom – that it lists as integral to personal flourishing. Each dimension is represented by a natural motif, such as flowers, clouds or water. ‘We believe that there is nothing more powerful or more beautiful than human beings existing as their most expansive and authentic selves. To us, this is nature in full bloom,’ explains Chloe Freeman, founder of For Them.

As individuals and consumers place a renewed emphasis on their relationship with the natural world, wellness companies are finding ways to bring to the fore the concept of growth and renewal, something explored in our macrotrend Synchronised Care.

Strategic opportunity

Given the growing body of evidence that spending time outside is good for one's health, wellness companies can consider ways to integrate natural locations into brand experiences or marketing

L’Oréal’s neurotech device augments fragrance retail

France – Beauty group L’Oréal is launching a neurotechnology device that will help shoppers choose a fragrance according to their subconscious desires and preferences.

Created in collaboration with neurotech company Emotiv, the wearable headset is a multi-sensor EEG-based wearable that links neurological responses to people's fragrance preferences. Shoppers wearing the headset, which is being launched in Yves Saint Laurent flagship stores, will be presented with a variety of scents, with the device evaluating their reactions using machine learning algorithms. According to the company, 77% of consumers want a perfume that brings emotional benefits, and the device helps to narrow shoppers' search based on subconscious neurological reactions.

Expanding the meaning of Algorithmic Beauty, L’Oréal is bringing fragrance retail into the future with customer-facing technology. ‘This partnership promises innovation for the entire beauty industry as this is truly the first time that consumers will have access to a state-of-the-art, in-store experience that uses neuroscience to provide personalised, precise fragrance advice,’ explains Guive Balooch, head of L’Oréal’s Technology Incubator.

L'Oréal in partnership with Emotiv, US

Strategic opportunity

As the boundaries between science and beauty blur further, brands can explore how in-store technological activations can enlighten and inform shoppers, while hyper-personalising customer service

Stat: Brand marketing fails to get personal

Zalando and Adidas

Despite companies' widespread access to people's data and personal information, customers remain unsatisfied with brands' generic communications. Instead, they are seeking more nuanced and personal interactions with brands.

According to research by Cheetah Digital, while companies have never been in a better position to meet these demands, global consumer sentiment suggests that they are falling short. Around the world, there has been a 52% increase in 'disappointment in brand personalisation'.

In particular, consumer dissatisfaction with brand personalisation has increased by 82% in France, while more than half of British consumers say they would be willing to provide personal information and data to feel part of a brand’s community.

To maximise on this opportunity, brands can draw from Feedback Frontiers, using data to build more robust and emotive marketing strategies. ‘Marketers need to create a strategy that involves getting closer to their customers. Customers are saying: ‘We’re happy to provide our data and sign up to your marketing programme in exchange for offers sent directly to me that are relevant’,’ explains Nick Watson, vice-president of customer success at Cheetah Digital.

Strategic opportunity

Consider collaborating with a company in a completely different sector to offer personalised and more engaging recommendations that cross industries. A style of clothing, for example, could come with a suggested playlist