LSN : News : Need to Know 12 : 03 : 18

1. Row 7 develops seeds that are bred for flavour

Row 7 seed company, US

US – Co-founded by executive chef Dan Barber, ‘designer’ seed company Row 7 develops, promotes and sells seeds for new strains of vegetables and grains. With products like badger flame beets – a milder beet that can be eaten raw - and experimental cucumbers, Row 7 is the first brand to connect breeders directly with chefs.

The seeds are therefore cultivated entirely around flavour, with the chefs feeding back on each of the new varieties, before they are sold to consumers in Walmart. ‘Part of the goal of the company is not only to increase the flavor of vegetables: It’s to look at how we, as chefs, can change the culture of eating,’ Barber told the New York Times.

In line with our Anti-Intuitive Cooking microtrend, brands are helping to translate the gourmet food experience from the restaurant and into the home.

2. IAM sets out to question binary mindsets

Internet Age Media festival 2018

Barcelona – The theme for this year’s Internet Age Media (IAM), Subversion of Paradoxes, examines paradoxes in a digital age ‘to better understand reality and be more empowered to invent collectively better futures’.

‘Our main goal with the theme is to actively question binary mindsets,’ co-founder, Andres Colmenares, tells LS:N Global. ‘And instead evolve into the inclusiveness of spectrums, highlighting the plurality, variety and beautiful imperfections of humanity, which applies to everything from gender to politics.’

Over the course of the weekend, guests will explore five topics, including Beyond Algorithms, which examines the future of automation, work and identity in relation to the rise of algorithms, and Beyond Clicks, which addresses commerce, advertising and privacy in a way that will nurture a ’healthy internet’. Speakers include Ingrid LaFleur, founder of Afrotopia, LaTurbo Avedon, an avatar artist and curator and Audrey Tang, the digital minister of Taiwan.

LS:N Global will be reporting live from Internet Age Media, April 27-29th. For more information on the speaker line-up and tickets, click here.

3. Retailer offers newborn girls an entrepreneurial start

Germany – Wholesale traders Metro celebrated International Women’s Day (March 8^th) by offering a fixed deposit of €2000 to girls born on that day.

Families of newborn girls in the city of Düsseldorf, where its headquarters are located, were encouraged to contact Metro to receive a business card, printed with their child’s name. The card acts as a ticket to the fixed deposit of €2000, which will gain interest at 2% per year and is accessible once the child turns 18.

The initiative comes after a recent study by Metro found that only 12% of women who expressed interest in having an independent business believe it will become a reality, despite 45% wishing to run their own business. The study further describes the barriers that are intercepting women’s business desires, with financial insufficiency being the primary reason.

Of all the initiatives seen on International Women’s Day, Metro empowered women not through a marketing gimmick, but by providing a proactive solution for women who desire to lead their own future.

FutureGirlCorp workshop, Wah London

4. Thai resort introduces brain enhancement program

Brain Health Enhancement program at Amatara Wellness Resort, Phuket

Berlin – Announcing its plans at ITB Berlin 2018, the Amatara Wellness Resort in Phuket has partnered with Bangkok Phuket Hospital to offer a program that combines preventative healthcare with a luxury wellness travel experience.

The Brain Health Enhancement program intends to improve cognition and protect against age-related cognitive decline, especially for those whose life includes stress and long working hours. Guests begin their treatment at the Brain Health Institute, where a team of medical staff run will tests over three days, meanwhile patients enjoy personalised meal plans, meditation and stress management. The program is then completed with five nights at the Amatara Wellness Resort, where wellness professionals integrate guests' medical recommendations into the rest of their stay.

As outlined in our Well Hotels microtrend, brain spas in hotels such as the Amatara and Corinthia are reimagining the typical wellness package, and shifting the focus from physical to mental.

5. There is a growing interest in biometric payments

A new report from Worldpay entitled The Mobile Payment Journey has found that consumers are increasingly interested in streamlining the payment process by using biometric data as payment verification. The report also found that 68% of the 16,000 consumers surveyed made their last purchase through an app because it was quicker and easier than purchases made on the mobile web. In our upcoming Retail Forum we will be exploring the changes in consumer mindset due to shape the retail landscape in both the near and long-term future. Buy your tickets here.

6. Thought-starter: Should our beauty routines follow our cycles?

Creative researcher Jessica Smith explores the rising phenomenon of Cyclical Beauty and how brands are creating products and services based on chronobiology.

It's long been known that our hormones effect the condition of our skin. Yet there is little innovation when it comes to helping women manage their skin, which is constantly in flux throughout their hormonal cycle.

But as consumers get to know their skin better, they are beginning to understand how external products interact with their body's individual cycle.

Beyond hormones, beauty brands are also pushing this time-body connection further and creating products which encourage use over specific time frames.

For more on the new product launches and platforms that are helping women sync their beauty routines with different time cycles, see our latest microtrend.