LSN : News : Stat: Gen Z and Millennials drive demand for dumb technology

Sharing is caring in new Red Baron pizza campaign

It’s Never Too Late to Be a Baddie campaign by Red Baron Pizza, US

US – Pizza brand Red Baron’s new Sharing Leads to More Caring campaign highlights how sharing food can lead to deeper connections and meaningful conversations.

Using humour and subverting stereotypes, the campaign showcases quirky scenarios that emphasise the power of sharing a Red Baron pizza. One video shows a group of hipsters admitting they hate kombucha and overheat in beanie hats during the summer. Another depicts book club members confessing they haven’t read the book, or can’t read at all, once the pizza arrives. The campaign’s third video features two librarians breaking the quiet rule at work to share a pizza, before dancing and calling themselves baddies.

Red Baron is the latest brand to highlight Baby Boomers in its campaign, evidencing a shift towards flat-age thinking. In our She Is Mother report, we explored how the film and media industries are spotlighting talented older women, acknowledging that humour and shared language can bridge the generational gap to create viral cultural moments that appeal to a wide audience.

Strategic opportunity

Experiment with embracing flat-age thinking in your marketing and explore how your brand appeals to shared interests and values, such as meaningful conversations or humorous self-deprecation, rather than specific age groups

Flynow Aviation to revolutionise transport at Expo 2030 in Riyadh

FlyNow Aviation, Austria

Saudia Arabia – Flynow Aviation is set to revolutionise transportation at Expo 2030 in Riyadh, with thousands of eCopters poised to fly hundreds of visitors between 1 October 2030 and 31 March 2031. In preparation, the Austrian company is establishing a regional office and production line in Saudi Arabia, aiming to produce and deliver numerous automatic electric helicopters (eVTOLs) specifically for Expo 2030.

Additionally, Flynow will set up an assembly line in the Kingdom for local production, sales and global exports, aligning with our proprietary research in developing local luxury in New Codes of Luxury in Saudi Arabia. This move follows its April 2024 partnership with Bayanat, a software company specialising in AI-powered predictive geospatial intelligence, forged during DRIFTx in Abu Dhabi.

Unlike autonomous aircraft that navigate independently, Flynow’s eCopters operate on fixed routes, likened to ‘the cable of a cable car’. These battery-electric helicopters are designed for straightforward point-to-point destinations, ensuring efficient transport of people and cargo.

This innovative approach highlights Flynow’s commitment to sustainable and practical aviation solutions, a topic we explore further in CES 2024: Smart Living Futures.

Strategic opportunity

Tap into the luxury travel market by offering customised eVTOL services tailored to high-end clientele, creating exclusive packages that provide unique and premium experiences. These services should emphasise both luxury and sustainability, a critical expectation of younger affluent consumers

Savor develops CO2 and hydrogen-based butter prototype

All Things Butter, UK

US – Californian start-up Savor is pioneering a new era in fat production with its agriculture- and animal-free solutions. The company has unveiled a butter prototype created from CO2 and hydrogen, which reportedly mimics the taste and functionality of traditional dairy butter.

Founded in San Jose in 2022 by Henrik Bennetsen, Kathleen Alexander and Ian McKay, Savor aims to provide a sustainable alternative to industrial fats that reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Savor’s thermochemical approach offers lower production costs and potential long-term cost parity with commodity oils.

Unlike animal- and plant-based fats, Savor’s innovative method involves extracting CO2 from the air and hydrogen from water, then heating and oxidising them to produce fats. This process releases minimal greenhouse gases and uses significantly less water than traditional agricultural methods.

Supported by more than £26m ($33m, €30m) in venture capital, including investments from Bill Gates and Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Savor plans to expand its product line to include alternatives to milk, ice cream, cheese, meat and tropical oils. Gates praised the start-up, saying, ‘I couldn’t believe I wasn’t eating real butter’.

For more insights on future food, from lab-grown protein to living pantries, head to our Adaptive Appetites macrotrend report.

Strategic opportunity

Investigate opportunities to diversify product lines to include sustainable, agriculture-free alternatives such as plant-based and lab-grown products

Stat: Gen Z and Millennials drive demand for dumb technology

The Boring Phone by Heineken is a limited-edition handset designed to facilitate genuine connections, Milan Design Week, Italy

US – A new Morning Consult survey has revealed that 28% of Gen Z adults and 26% of Millennials are interested in ‘dumb phones’ – basic devices without advanced features such as social media – compared to 13% of Gen X and 9% of Baby Boomers.

Surveying 2,202 US adults in June 2024, Morning Consult found that 16% of Gen Z already own a dumb phone and one in 10 adults say they or someone in their household currently owns a dumb device.

The top reasons for dumb phone ownership among all adults include a desire for a simplified phone experience, reducing screen time to improve wellbeing, and an interest in retro technologies.

In Teens, Tech and Tapping Out, we unpacked the parental movement looking to change young people’s relationships with their smartphones. Non-toxic tech, or dumb devices, are emerging as a potential solution alongside digital detoxes and smartphone-free zones.

Strategic opportunity

Tech brands should revive popular archive devices with screen-free or simplified interfaces, marketing them as second devices for digital detoxes and events such as festivals