LSN : News : 07 : 02 : 24

Pluri wants you to drink lab-grown Arabica coffee

Pluri, Israel

Israel – Biotech start-up Pluri is venturing into the coffee industry with the launch of a cell-based coffee business that aims to combat the climate challenges associated with traditional coffee production. The new venture, established under the PluriAgtech business vertical, uses breakthrough cell technology to create eco-friendly alternatives to carbon-intensive foods.

Pluri’s innovative process involves extracting cells from the coffee plant, creating a cell bank and then utilising a patented 3D bioreactor to expand the cells significantly. The final product, which resembles coffee grains, is a cell-based version of Arabica, a species at risk of extinction by 2050.

The technology not only addresses environmental concerns but also promises economic benefits, using 98% less water and 95% less land compared to conventional coffee crops. Pluri’s spokesperson confirmed that the product would demonstrate cost parity, ensuring stability in coffee prices.

Pluri plans to spin out the cell-based coffee project into a subsidiary to bring this innovation to market, focusing on a B2B model. Regulatory approval is a crucial step, with Pluri targeting the US Food and Drug Administration’s GRAS pathway. While consumer acceptance remains uncertain, Pluri CEO Yaky Yanay believes in the potential of cell technology to make farming and food cultivation more sustainable.

In Brewing Coffee Futures, we highlighted the coffee brands shifting their focus on quality, sustainability and alternative brews.

Strategic opportunity

As supply chains drive the market for coffee alternatives due to an upcoming global bean shortage, players in the food and drink and hospitality industries should review their existing coffee offers to include more alternatives – from matcha to no-bean and lab-grown bean drinks

Elf Cosmetics Launches its First Beauty Shopping Experience for Apple Vision Pro

Global – Elf Cosmetics has unveiled a ground-breaking beauty shopping app designed specifically for the Apple Vision Pro, Apple’s innovative new spatial computer. The ‘your best Elf’ visionOS app takes full advantage of the device’s unique three-dimensional (3D) interface, which users can navigate using intuitive hand and eye movements.

This immersive experience encourages users to discover their best selves within captivating virtual environments that showcase a diverse range of 3D Elf products. Beyond shopping securely via Apple Pay, the app offers users the opportunity to engage in self-improvement activities such as guided meditations, rejuvenating stretching exercises and interactive games. Developed in partnership with Obsess, an immersive shopping platform and visionOS developer, ‘your best Elf’ confirms Elf’s commitment to implementing digital-first strategies, as revealed in our Elf Beauty Brand Innovation Debrief.

Users can explore three distinct virtual environments – Camo Cove, Big Mood and Halo Glow – each inspired by a featured Elf product available for purchase within the app. All in-app products and scenes are meticulously rendered in high-quality 3D and are displayed in stunning 4K resolution, delivering a truly captivating experience for Apple Vision Pro users.

Your best Elf visionOS app, US

Strategic opportunity

Consider where your audiences spend most of their time. Are you incorrectly allocating resources to social media when you should focus on Roblox, the metaverse or VR headsets like Apple Vision Pro?

Meet Dazed Club, a social networking app for young creatives

Dazed Club app, UK

Global – Independent youth culture publication Dazed has created a platform connecting its community of creatives. Dazed Club is a free app serving as a networking hub and social media platform, promoting creative expression and collaborative working.

After downloading the Dazed Club mobile app, users can upload their portfolio, browse through the work of peers, publish project briefs and seek collaborators. They can also join groups and ask global experts from creative industries questions. For a £5 ($6.29, €5.85) monthly fee, members can get access to Dazed events and receive copies of the magazine. Besides providing a space for young creatives to network and find their crowd, creative and editorial teams of the publication will use the app to scour talent. Dazed Media will also be featuring selected projects across print, digital and social media – proving to be an Elastic Brand, seamlessly evolving to meet its audience on their turf.

‘Dazed Club is all about connection,’ the magazine’s editor-in-chief Ib Kamara said in a statement. ‘Me and my team want to celebrate and help and support young people from all backgrounds and hopefully this platform will be another way we can continue to do this.’

Strategic opportunity

Taking inspiration from the Dazed Club initiative, consider how your business can best support and attract emerging talent in a way that is mutually beneficial

Stat: Plus-size representation is declining on menswear catwalks

Photography by Polina Tankilevitch, Russia

Global – The autumn/winter 2024 menswear season in Milan and Paris has shown a concerning decline in size inclusivity, according to a report by Vogue Business released in January 2024. Out of 66 shows and 2,855 looks analysed, 98.3% featured straight-size models (under EU48), a notable increase from the previous season. Mid-size representation dropped to 1.5%, down from 7.7% in the previous season, while plus-size looks comprised a mere 0.2%, down from 0.4% the season before.

Paris featured only two plus-size models across Louis Gabriel Nouchi and Doublet, signalling a stark contrast from the six shows in spring/summer 2024. Milan, on the other hand, witnessed no mid- or plus-size models on the runway. The fragility of size representation highlights the sector’s dependence on a handful of independent designers.

Despite continuing conversations about size inclusivity, brands show a lack of impetus to change. ‘A lot of brands are fickle with the casting,’ mid-size model James Sennen Cooper told Vogue Business. ‘They can get some short-term publicity but they’re not ready to take [mid- and plus-size] models seriously and invest in them as much.’ In our analysis of the Inclusive Fashion Market, we examined how consumers are the ones pushing for more size and gender inclusivity, while only a small number of independent brands meet that demand.

Strategic opportunity

Use consumer feedback and preferences to design and produce clothing lines that cater for a broader range of sizes. The male plus-size fashion market represents swathes of opportunities for fashion designers bold enough to design for all bodies