The Future 100. Trends and Change to watch in 2017

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New Frontiers of Diversity
Two Liners
THE FUTURE 100
TRENDS AND CHANGE TO WATCH IN 2017

What a difference a year makes. As we look ahead to 2017,
markets are confident, even though assumptions have
been shaken and narratives overturned. Amid the massive
shifts that are sure to follow, there’s never been a more
important time for brands to keep tabs on forecasts and
emerging consumer behaviors.
The technology industry still continues to exercise enormous cultural and
economic power, but finds itself entering unknown territory on multiple fronts.
In “Silicon Soup” (#17), we look at how Silicon Valley brand perceptions are
blurring as companies encroach on each other’s territory. Airbnb is fighting
for hearts and minds amid regulatory crackdowns in “Travel Action” (#28).
Responding to cultural criticism, tech brands are investing in novel ways to
prevent online abuse, as seen in “Tech vs the Trolls” (#14), while also helping
families carve out tech-free time with “Wifi Disruptors” (#13). Even in the
beauty sector, we see consumers worried about how light from screens
affects skin (#60).
Markets that have long been overlooked or misunderstood are about to
get their due. Brands are finally addressing the large and growing disabled
population with “(Dis)ability Advertising” (#39), and US Latinos are being
targeted as the polycultural, influential and diverse group they are (#38).
Marketers lavish attention on millennials and boomers, but what about
generation X? “Xers: The Forgotten Generation” (#35) reveals why this
influential group deserves another look. In “Plus Size is a Plus” (#70), brands
are finally spotlighting images of women who look like their customers. And
“Halal Tourism” (#21) sees global destinations embracing the Muslim travel
market as incomes grow.
Introduction
2INTRODUCTION THE FUTURE 100

Last year saw society embracing topics that were previously taboo, and next
year will bring entirely new industries centered around aspects of life that
have been firmly reclaimed by consumers. “Vagina-nomics” (#05) examines
how female sexuality—once euphemized or ignored—is now taking center
stage across multiple industries. Women are choosing to unwind with the
(increasingly legal) cannabis industry in “Marijuana: The New Rosé?” (#44). In
beauty, makeup-wearing men are spearheading a shift to “Gender-neutral
Beauty” (#51), while consumers of color are embracing ethnic hair products in
“Natural Curls” (#54).
Harried consumers are seeking new forms of escapism, fantasy and
insight—an extension of the Unreality trend we identified earlier in 2016.
“New Witches” (#09) looks at young people adopting a knowing perspective
on occult aesthetics, while “Trippy Travel” (#24) asks why millennials are
participating in an ancient Amazonian ritual. “New Explorers” (#90) finds
unprecedented numbers of urbanites turning to the great outdoors for
respite, while elsewhere, developers are creating bubbles of “Artificial Nature”
(#92). Innovators are even turning their attention to the most universal form of
escape in “Sleep Renaissance” (#84).
Instagram, and now live-streaming culture, permeates all sectors. “Elemental
Hospitality” (#25) looks at raw, exposed yet visually stunning places to stay
the night. In “New Nails” (#57), beauty trends move away from the practical
toward the socially sharable, as salons retool around experience culture.
“Double-take Packaging” (#34) sees products mutating into surprising new
shapes and configurations.
If there’s anything to be learned from this year, it’s that change comes rapidly,
and often from unexpected places. While trends like “Brexterity” (#62) and
“Political Consumers” (#37) reflect a world inevitably shaped by political
storms, trends such as “Civic Data” (#12) or “Generation Z Arts Platforms”
(#06) point to a future that’s propelled by immense creativity and the power
of consumers. As more sectors embrace the unknown, it’s these forces that
will drive industry forward.
Enjoy!
Introduction
3INTRODUCTION THE FUTURE 100

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60
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70
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100
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20
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50
Beauty Retail Health Lifestyle Luxury
Culture
Tech +
Innovation
Food +
Drink
Travel +
Hospitality
Brands +
Marketing
THE FUTURE 100CONTENTS

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Culture

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The new experiential rock stars
At a time when consumers are spending more time and
money on experiences than on material goods, brands are
turning up the tempo by hiring experiential technologists
to engage with their audience.
“Time is finally catching up to experience technologists,” says Justin
Bolognino, founder and CEO of experience production company META.
is. “There is a demand for technology-driven experiences because finally
brands understand that they are the only thing that leaves an authentic
impression on the audience.” Bolognino identified the gap in the market and
started representing experiential directors through his company META.is. “AR
[augmented reality] and VR [virtual reality] are becoming a common part of
our lexicon, which is the first step towards recognizing the creators of these
experiences as the true artists and future rock stars that they are.”
Brands are no longer simply a sponsor at a show or festival—they are
experience facilitators. This summer HP collaborated with META.is and
created The Lab, which ran during the three-day Panorama music festival.
The Lab invited festival goers to engage in seven different interactive digital
art installations and express themselves or leave a mark with the help of
technology. Experiential technologists involved included Dave & Gabe, Gabriel
Pulecio and Zachary Lieberman.
Volvox Labs is a “new media design studio” that uses technology to create
experiences that can heighten or trigger emotions. During South by Southwest
(SXSW) 2016 they collaborated with Spotify and SoulCycle to create a
visual installation that responded to the cyclists to heighten their workout
experience. Also for SXSW, Kodak Alaris collaborated with artist Marcos
Luytens for The Memory Observatory, an installation that kaleidoscopically
projected images and memories shared by visitors and then augmented them
with sounds and smells to provoke memories and emotions captured at that
specific photographic moment.
Why it’s interesting: Consumers are flocking to technology-driven experiences
that inspire, delight and emotionally resonate with them. Stand out from the
crowd and hire a leading experiential technologist to take your audience on a
digital trip they will never forget.
The Lab at Panorama festival 2016, curated by META.is for HP
THE FUTURE 100CULTURE 6

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AI art
There’s been plenty of talk of artificial intelligence
replacing taxi drivers through self-driving cars, and even
making white-collar professionals redundant—but will AI
also replace artists?
Not any time soon. But today’s artists are using emerging AI technologies to
remarkable effect. For example, J. Walter Thompson Amsterdam (no bias
here, we assure you) won accolades at the Cannes Lions Festival this year for
“The Next Rembrandt,” a project that scanned the artist’s existing work and
used AI and 3D printing to create an entirely new “Rembrandt” painting in the
spirit of the artist’s work.
In June 2016, Google announced Magenta, a “research project to advance the
state of the art in machine intelligence for the music and art generation” that
also aims to build a community of artists around the technology. Tate Britain
chose AI as the 2016 theme for its IK Prize. The winning entry, “Recognition”
by Fabrica, matched paintings in the museum’s collection with daily news
photographs supplied by Reuters, drawing revealing connections between
past and present that human curators would likely have missed.
The Next Rembrandt by JWT Amsterdam for ING
CULTURE

Other AI artists are using neural nets—computer programs that draw
inspiration from the architecture of the human brain. Artists Sam Kronick
and Tara Shi taught a program to recognize rocks, and then generate its
own, raising the question: what is a rock, anyway? NYU researcher Ross
Goodwin recently collaborated with film director Oscar Sharp to create a
sci-fi screenplay written by AI, which was then turned into the short film
“Sunspring.”
Why it’s interesting: The possibilities and parameters of AI in art are only
beginning to be defined. As Google and others work to expand the community
of artists using these tools, we can expect surprises in 2017 and beyond—but
don’t settle for a standard solution that only uses AI as a buzzword.
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The Next Rembrandt by JWT Amsterdam for ING
CULTURE

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Un-tabooing womanhood:
Global edition
In last year’s Future 100, we discussed how “previously
taboo aspects of femininity are being unearthed and
bought to the forefront” of cultural discourse. Today, open
discussion of menstruation, body hair and more are going
global, with even relatively conservative societies like
China and India getting in on the discussion.
One of the clearest examples reached an audience of millions: at the Rio
Olympics in August, the Chinese swimmer Fu Yuanhui broke a taboo, raising
a subject rarely discussed in public even among Western athletes, when she
told an interviewer that her failure to take home a medal was in part “because
I just got my period yesterday, so I’m still a bit weak and really tired.”
In China, regulators still ban ads for feminine hygiene products during peak
viewing hours. But the country this year saw the launch of its first domestic
tampon brand, Danbishuang, and another new brand, Fémme, hopes to
“shift perceptions of menstruation from patronizing to positive and from
conservatively traditional to symbolic of contemporary female identity,”
according to Yoai, the company behind Fémme. Branding by Pearlfisher
positions the item as a premium product, and aims to dispel the stigma
around tampon usage.
Fémme designed by Pearlfisher, 2016
THE FUTURE 100 9CULTURE

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In India, where one in five girls drop out of school after they start
menstruating, according to Nielsen and Plan India, student activists are trying
to lift the shame and stigma surrounding open discussion of the issue.
At Calicut Medical College in Kerala, students launched a menstruation-
themed haiku and poetry contest in celebration of International Women’s Day.
Social media publicity resulted in entries coming in from around the country.
“We’re budding doctors, so if we don’t talk about this, who will?” activist Kavya
Menon told The Guardian. “It only takes a small number of people willing to
break a taboo, and then the others will follow.”
Why it’s interesting: As activist movements cross international borders more
easily than ever thanks to social media, no market is protected from the wave
of online feminism that has inspired millennials and generation Z.
Don’t assume that traditional attitudes prevail.
Fémme designed by Pearlfisher, 2016

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Post women’s-interest media
The notion of “women’s interest” media appears dated in
an age when individuals are taking control of what gender
identity and expression mean to them. But what is rising
up to take its place?
Some of the most radical work is being done in print. Ladybeard, a UK
print title launched in 2015, has the high-quality production values of the
standard glossy but aims for revolutionized content. “Ladybeard is a feminist
publication but it is not just for women; we are trying to play with gender,
rather than dictate its terms,” say co-editors Kitty Drake, Madeleine Dunnigan
and Sadhbh O’Sullivan.
Ladybeard’s second issue takes the mind as its starting point, examining the
idea of the gendered nature of the brain, exploring racial discrimination in
mental health, looking at how emotions have changed across centuries, and
investigating the therapeutic potential of LSD. By looking at “a multitude of
perspectives, from different ages, races, genders, and sexualities, we hope to
offer a more holistic, organic and radical perspective,” say the editors.
Other outlets embrace an even broader conception of gender, and how
identity shapes interests. Posture is a New York–based arts and fashion
magazine that was born out of founding editor Winter Mendelson’s frustration
at the lack of media specifically spotlighting queer visual culture. Focused on
the “creative exploration of identity,” Posture recently joined forces with media
incubator Wayward Wild to reimagine its visual identity and create an event
series and podcast to connect with queer communities around the world.
Why it’s interesting: As young people radically re-examine the meaning of
femininity, the many companies whose products and services rely on some
version of “feminine” messaging and branding should be watching these new
media outlets closely, or risk failing to keep pace with changing norms.
Left and center: Riposte magazine, issue 6
Right: Ladybeard magazine, issue 1

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Vagina-nomics
Gynecological health is also coming to the forefront. The Lady Garden
Campaign, fronted by Cara Delevingne, aims to increase awareness of
gynecological cancers and is an example of the increased visibility of
gynecological wellbeing. The campaign, launched in 2015, urges women to
talk more openly about gynae health, without stigma or embarrassment.
Topshop is supporting the cause with its Lady Garden collection, giving 30%
of sales proceeds to the Gynecological Cancer Fund.

Why it’s interesting: Taboos are breaking down as women demand not only
empowerment but also education and understanding of their bodies and
health. Meanwhile, the culture of connected modern feminism is creating new
platforms and forums for exploring women’s sexual fulfillment and celebrating
all aspects of their bodies.
The female genitalia—often euphemized or not discussed
at all—are taking center stage as part of the ongoing un-
tabooing of womanhood.
Arts platform Club Clitoris regularly posts illustrations on Instagram
“encouraging others to love their natural bodies—vaginas, labia, body hair,
and periods included.” (You can purchase prints for your apartment.) Then
there’s ongoing work by artist Sophie Wallace, who made headlines in 2012
for her “Clitoracy” art project, more recently staging “Over and Over and
Over,” an installation on a similar theme. “I think more women of all ages, and
particularly young women, are beginning to increase their sense of sexual
entitlement,” she explains.
OMGYes is a revolutionary website that provides paid subscribers with
hands-on instructional content to give and receive better orgasms. Recently
endorsed by noted feminist actor Emma Watson, OMGYes features vivid,
touchable tutorials that display real and responsive vulvas. The anti-
aging market is making room for wellness and beauty products for female
genitalia. Products are marketed as “intimate skincare,” with design, packaging
and language codes borrowed from premium skincare brands—familiar and
comfortable territory for generation X and millennial consumers.
Sex Dust Food supplement, Moon Juice

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Lady Garden featuring Cara Delevingne
THE FUTURE 100CULTURE 13

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Generation Z arts platforms
“We realized that the work of people of color has been institutionally
excluded, and so we felt like we wanted to have this space where, like, kids
felt safe sharing their artwork,” said actress and activist Amandla Stenberg
in a video for Tate Modern. “It’s kind of become this movement about self-
acceptance and self-love as artwork.”
Along with fellow gen Z icon Willow Smith, Stenberg is a member of
the Art Hoe Collective, a movement for young creatives of color. Posts
tagged with #arthoe are curated and shared on the group’s Instagram and
Tumblr accounts. Art Hoe also features work by transgender and gender
nonconforming teens, giving a wide range of traditionally marginalized voices a
safe space and a broader audience.
School of Doodle, launched in April 2016, is an online platform exclusively
for girls aged 13 to 19. The Kickstarter-backed community features online
tutorials alongside original artwork, creativity challenges and career
advice from partners like Anna Sui and Arianna Huffington. According to its
manifesto, School of Doodle gives users the tools to address the “confidence
gap,” encouraging teenage girls to “demand to be seen and heard.”
Why it’s interesting: Rather than getting girls to conform, new online platforms
flip the narrative, giving teenage creatives tools to succeed on their own terms.
The teenage girls of generation Z are showing remarkable
creative prowess. New platforms are springing up that give
voice to young and marginalized creators, challenging the
traditional power structures of the art world.
School of Doodle, founded by Molly Logan and Elise Van Middelem

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Civic Silicon Valley
Jeff Bezos is creating his own shipping infrastructure,
Mark Zuckerberg is building a school, Google is trying to
solve urban problems through its city planning startup
Sidewalk Labs—then there’s Hyperloop, the high-speed
levitating pod transport system set to surpass trains and
move at near the speed of sound.
Oh, and SpaceX founder Elon Musk is planning to colonize Mars. Silicon
Valley's companies, and its luminaries, are taking their ambitions to a grand
scale and turning their attention to civic sectors from education to health,
transport systems and beyond.

Why it’s interesting: As Silicon Valley matures it is progressing from
consumer-facing platforms and gadgets in to innovation on a grand scale,
approaching sectors with a new disruptive lens—much like the industrialists
of the twentieth century. Where next?
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CULTURE THE FUTURE 100 15
Dan Doctoroff, CEO of Sidewalk Labs

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The attention economy
capture attention, then monetize it through advertising.” This has continued,
says Manthorpe, with push notifications and click-bait journalism, tweets and
social media posts. “From the perspective of the tech firm, it doesn’t matter
what you do when you’re on the app. A gif of a cat falling off a table; a photo
of your new-born daughter; a long read on the refugee crisis: all just content,
grist for the attention mill.”
Time is also something to be “hacked” to create space for more attention
opportunities. Driverless cars and timesaving one-click purchases will free
up precious hours for other attention-grabbing messaging. However, there’s
also a chance of a backlash as consumers become overly saturated. Artist
Keiichi Matsuda’s latest film Hyper-Reality paints a dystopian landscape
where the world is flooded with attention-grabbing, personalized ads.
Why it’s interesting: Distraction will only increase as our interactions gain an
extra layer of information—chatbots and voice-controlled devices such as
Amazon Echo, as well as smartphones, iPads, TVs and screens. Securing that
precious attention will be harder than ever. But the problem, says Manthorpe,
is that unlike other commodities, attention is fixed. “We only have so much.
We’re at a tipping point because it can only go so far—it’s difficult to grow.”
Companies are going to have to use AI to take choice away from you, he points
out, so fewer things are competing for attention.
“It’s the attention economy, stupid,” wrote Rowland
Manthorpe, associate editor at Wired UK in November
2016. He was describing the new media landscape where
“attention is worth more than money.”
There is a growing focus on attention as a qualitative measure of success
and as a commodity in itself. Tim Wu’s new book The Attention Merchants:
The Epic Scramble to Get Inside Our Heads traces the rise of the “attention
merchants” who capture our attention for resale to advertisers.
At Web Summit 2016, Gary Vaynerchuk, best-selling author and CEO of
VaynerMedia digital media agency, discussed “day trading attention.” He
suggests that, while people absorb TV as background, their real attention
is on mobile: “TV is the new radio.” He also talked about abuse of attention:
“It’s about time. If I spend seven seconds shutting down a pop-up mobile ad,
it’s seven seconds of my life gone.” Vaynerchuk argues that marketers who
simply seek a click-through, whether or not it is relevant to the user, will in
fact alienate the consumers they are seeking to attract.
In this overly saturated landscape, says Manthorpe, “attention is a scarce
resource. Today, tech and media companies compete for attention, in the
form of time spent on their apps and websites. The business model is simple:
Next page: Hyper-Reality by Keiichi Matsuda

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New witches
Centuries after witches were burned at the stake in Salem,
witchcraft has once again become a celestial symbol of
female empowerment and divine energy.
In a Dazed report on the resurgence of the female witch
as an allegory for feminism, Rookie’s Tavi Gevinson
cites teen horror film The Craft as one of her early
influences: “There’s something attractive to me about
embracing these stereotypically feminine qualities that
can sometimes be thought of as very negative, like being
too sensitive or emotional, and using that intuition to
make something change in your life with your friends.”
Season of the Witch by Dazed & Confused

In recent years, we’ve again been bewitched. On TV, we’re binge-watching
Salem and American Horror Story: Coven. In art, there’s Brooklyn-based
creative collective Witches of Bushwick. Wearing matching black Yeezy-esque
jerseys emblazoned with “unlucky” number 13, these urban witches sage
their apartments, listen to Kanye, and identify with their namesake group’s
rejection of the patriarchy and the corporate world.
NYC-based design duo Material Lust’s primitive sculptures draw on pagan
and alchemical symbolism. On Instagram, self-proclaimed “modern mystic”
the Hoodwitch shares her meme-culture inspired brand of sorcery with her
followers, who numbered over 108,000 at the last count.
Maja D’Aoust, also known as the White Witch of Los Angeles, holds a bachelor’s
degree in biochemistry and a master’s degree in transformational psychology,
with a focus on shamanism, from the University of Philosophical Research.
Why it’s interesting: “Women’s spirituality is increasing because we are getting
wise,” says D’Aoust. “Women are starting to figure out there is no knight in
shining armor that will come and rescue them. A witch is the one who saves
herself. We do not need your protection because we teach ourselves kung
fu ... Women know we have power, because all things innately have their own
power, and if no one gives it to us, we will give it to ourselves.”
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Season of the Witch by Dazed and Confused

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Diverse Hollywood
It’s no secret that Hollywood has a diversity problem. New
films suggest that the industry may finally be taking steps
to address its shortcomings and become more relevant to
the women and minority groups that also buy tickets.
This year, 2016, brought critical acclaim for a line-up of minority-directed
movies including Moonlight, a coming-of-age story about a young African-
American man, and Fences, starring Denzel Washington. In January, Birth of
a Nation, the story of the Nat Turner rebellion, smashed Sundance records
when it was bought by Fox Searchlight for $17.5 million.
The year also led to advances for women in lead roles. There was a female-
led Ghostbusters reboot and women fronted the Ocean’s 11 remake, while
2017’s Wonder Woman and 2019’s Captain Marvel with Brie Larson will bring
much-needed female leads to the superhero blockbuster genre.
According to industry data, minority moviegoers buy more tickets per capita
than the average consumer. Statistical analytics blog FiveThirtyEight found
that films that passed the feminist Bechdel test had a higher return on
investment than the median (a film passes if it contains dialogue between
two women about something other than a man). The same trends play out at
Wonder Woman 2017, starring Gal Gadot. Courtesy Warner Bros

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the box office: The female-fronted Star Wars: The Force Awakens was 2015’s
highest-grossing movie, taking in more than $2 billion worldwide. Rap biopic
Straight Outta Compton made almost $200 million, becoming the highest-
grossing biopic of all time.
“If you try to be diverse for the sake of being diverse, it’s going to fail,”
Jeff Shell, chairman of Universal, the studio behind Straight Outta Compton,
told Variety. “The real reason to do it is that it’s good business. Our audience
is diverse.”
Hollywood’s new diversity reflects an industry under renewed pressure.
Last year, WikiLeaks made public thousands of leaked emails from Sony
Pictures, revealing industry-wide sexism that kicked off a new wave of
celebrity activism. Consumers are also continuing to use the internet to
bring diversity to the foreground: a September petition demanding that
Disney cast a Chinese actor in its upcoming live-action Mulan garnered
more than 100,000 signatures.
Why it’s interesting: Upcoming releases show an industry that may not be
able to afford another year of #OscarsSoWhite controversy, and one that is
waking up to the power of its increasingly diverse and vocal consumers.
Ghostbusters, 2016 edition

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Tech+Innovation

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Baby tech
2016’s CES, the consumer electronics trade show that
sets the tone for the industry each year in January, saw
technology for babies emerge as a new niche market.
Smarter monitoring devices, tech to assist with conception, and even a one-
piece baby food maker that looks like a coffee machine are all grouped under
this emerging niche market. The second year of the event’s BabyTech Summit,
to be presented in 2017 by Living in Digital Times, will feature new products
that help quantify a baby’s life, the better to assist parents. “The growth in
the Internet of Baby Things is taking the parenting world by storm,” Jill Gilbert,
producer of the BabyTech Summit, says in a release. “Technology is enabling
things that moms of yesteryear could have only dreamed. Every challenge is
being tackled.”
Even star designer Yves Béhar, beloved by Silicon Valley, is turning his
attention to the needs of the youngest consumers (and their exhausted
parents) with a smart crib called Snoo. The crib rocks agitated babies back
to sleep, while its mesh design allows for free flow of air. The baby’s sleep
patterns and motion can be monitored by parents via a paired app.
Why it’s interesting: With digital-native millennials now becoming parents,
they’re seeking child-rearing solutions from the tech industry, where they
look for most other solutions as well.
THE FUTURE 100TECH+INNOVATION 23
Snoo Smart Sleeper by Fuseproject, 2016

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Civic data
Municipal services like water and traffic management
rarely provoke flights of passion, unless your name
happens to be Leslie Knope. But now, cities are taking
a page from the Wikipedia playbook and open-sourcing
data for curious hackers who just might discover the next
innovation in urbanism. City planning is gaining some of
the sheen and cool factor of high tech.
Los Angeles is a case in point. Early in 2016 the city launched GeoHub, a map-
based portal for city data. One application developed with GeoHub is Street
Wize, which helps make sure roadwork and upkeep projects are scheduled in
the most efficient way, and coordinated across departments. “GeoHub serves
as a foundation to do the work of making smarter cities. It pulls data from
many different places and weaves various perspectives to create the most
compelling maps and apps,” Lilian Coral, chief data officer of Los Angeles, told
the Data-Smart City Solutions site.
A version of this idea is happening in many cities, large and small. In fall 2016,
Syracuse, New York hosted a “civic data hackathon” aimed at using data to
discover solutions to improve the city’s roads. “It’s a way of bringing new
resources and new ideas to a very traditional problem,” mayor Stephanie
Miner told digital news operation Route Fifty, adding that the hackathon
helped to “make people feel like they have a role in their government.” In
Mississippi, the Open Jackson Data Portal launched in early 2016, helping to
find ways to increase city revenues and decrease duplicate 311 tickets.
The concept has also reached Pune, India where an open data portal launched
in late 2016. “Anyone—citizen, business owner, researcher or developer—can
access data relating to the city,” Pune’s municipal commissioner Kunal Kumar
tells the Indian Express.
Why it’s interesting: What uses could brands and retailers find for open
city data? Perhaps a better understanding of footfall and the patterns that
drive shopping behavior, or maybe a sponsorship opportunity to show their
investment in local communities?
GeoHub in Los Angeles

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Wifi disruptors
In 2015, pasta sauce brand Dolmio surveyed Australian households and
found that 38% of them felt they had no way to limit tech use during family
dinners, and a whopping 63% of arguments at the table were found to be
related to technology. In response, Dolmio proposed the Pepper Hacker, a
pepper grinder with a disguised wifi blocker. After what the company called
“unprecedented feedback,” the grinder went on sale in 2016.
Mainstream companies also began to offer a wifi switch for families looking to
unplug. Google Wifi, launched in October 2016, offers a “family pause” switch
that suspends wifi access at dinner or bedtime. And Eero, a similar home wifi
system, launched its Family Profiles system in June 2016, allowing parents to
adjust wifi access for younger or older children on different devices.
“The options on the market today feel a bit punitive by design and over-
complicate device management,” wrote Nick Weaver, Eero CEO, in a company
blog post. “We’re taking a different approach—simplifying the process by
focusing on what’s most important: time together.”
Why it’s interesting: Research suggests that too much screen time affects
children’s sleep and emotional management, among other effects. Despite
the push for seamless and constant connection, some consumers are
equally interested in the occasional tech-aided unplug.
While omnipresent wifi has been a boon for public spaces
and individuals alike, one group that’s less than thrilled
by the trend is parents.
Google Wifi

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Tech vs the trolls
Such efforts are not without their critics. Technology news network The Verge
calls Conversation AI “censorious overreach,” warning that the effort could
backfire and block important information on, for example, sexual health. But in
a vitriolic online world, it may be a first step toward restoring civility.
Why it’s interesting: Consumers are looking for comfort and reassurance in
divided times, and looking to brands to help reduce their anxieties. How could
AI help achieve this in your industry?
Online abuse is more visible than ever. Aware of their role
in distributing these messages (and the potential damage
to public perceptions of their brands), tech companies
are creating tools to consistently crack down on abusive
speech.
In summer 2016, Twitter trolls subjected comedian Leslie Jones to so much
racist and sexist abuse that she quit the platform, and later went offline
altogether, for several months. Parents of young children are aware that digital
taunts can quickly get dangerously ugly. And in the United States and the United
Kingdom, the most divisive political year in recent memory was marked by
harsh recriminations on all sides, and, not infrequently, hate speech.
Yahoo has created an abuse-detecting algorithm that the company says can
accurately identify whether online comments contain hate speech in 90% of
test cases. Through a division called Jigsaw, Google is releasing Conversation
AI, which aims to use machine learning to more accurately filter out abusive
speech. “I want to use the best technology we have at our disposal to
begin to take on trolling and other nefarious tactics that give hostile voices
disproportionate weight,” Jigsaw founder and president Jared Cohen told
Wired.
THE FUTURE 100 26TECH+INNOVATION

Augmented reality evolves
Apple is rumored to be planning a major AR push. The company’s new
iPhone 7 Plus has two cameras, which would allow the device to intelligently
sense depth and vastly improve its capacity for AR applications. Without
announcing specific plans, CEO Tim Cook gushed about AR in a July earnings
call: “We are high on AR for the long run, we think there’s great things for
customers and a great commercial opportunity.” Meanwhile, Alibaba created a
location-based AR mobile game to promote its Singles’ Day shopping event.
“The geolocative technology has been around since 2010, but people haven’t
really found a use case for it until Pokémon Go,” says new-media artist Tamiko
Thiel. “The question is, what will they find that really makes use of it?”
Brands are trying to use AR to enhance online commerce. For 2016’s
September London Fashion Week, online retail platform Lyst created
“Humannequins,” a window installation featuring scantily clad models who
could be “clothed” with the help of an AR app.
Why it’s interesting: AR is more accessible than VR and offers a less totalizing
sensory experience. By definition, it blends with the real world. Now that
consumers have a sense of what it’s like, brands can explore new ways to use
AR at scale in retail and beyond.
In January 2016, the BBC heralded the new year as the one
where “VR goes from virtual to reality.” But it’s another
technology, often discussed in the same breath, that has
truly gone viral: the surprise success of Pokémon Go has
put augmented reality (AR) in the pockets of millions.
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THE FUTURE 100 27TECH+INNOVATION
Gardens of the Anthropocene by Tamiko Thiel

16
Digital India
With access to reliable connections for the first time, these millions of Indian
people represent a huge potential growth market for online retail, and in
2017 the competition is expected to become intense. Amazon has pledged
to invest $3 billion in the country, while home-grown e-commerce company
Flipkart is determined not to cede territory to the global behemoth. (In a move
reminiscent of Amazon’s physical bookstores in the United States, Flipkart is
building physical stores to offer “assisted commerce,” though specifics are
unclear at the time of writing.)
On the B2B side, there’s Amazon and another claimant to the coming gold-
rush: Alibaba is signing up Indian partners including Kotak Mahindra Bank, IDFC
Bank, DHL and Aditya Birla Finance, according to a report from Quartz. Stakes
are high: India’s potentially lucrative B2B e-commerce market is expected to
grow by 2.5 times through 2020.
Why it’s interesting: With its geographic, logistical and regulatory hurdles,
India is a tough nut to crack for e-commerce. Whether an American, Chinese
or Indian company ultimately corners the market, the winners in the next year
may have a broad impact.
In 2015, the Government of India launched Digital India,
a nationwide project to connect rural areas with
broadband internet. The plan has received the backing
of Silicon Valley bigwigs including Mark Zuckerberg,
who changed his Facebook profile picture in support.
Microsoft, meanwhile, pledged to provide broadband
connectivity to 500,000 villages in the country.

17
Silicon soup
The relaunch of Facebook’s Marketplace feature and Instagram’s upgraded
click-to-shop ads position both as potentially significant players in
e-commerce. Google’s Express delivery service debuted in 2013 and by the
end of 2016, the same-day delivery service was expected to cover the entire
United States, encroaching into the territory of Amazon Prime.
Why it’s interesting: It’s no surprise that tech companies want to compete in
profitable markets. What is surprising is the degree to which all technology
companies seem to be encroaching on each other’s area of specialization.
As consumers get used to Silicon Valley brands blurring their own lines, tech
companies will be left to sort out the competition—provided they haven’t
already been cannibalized.
Technology companies at the top of the Silicon Valley
hierarchy are looking outside their original mission as
they strive for innovation and growth, often borrowing
from their neighbor’s playbook, collapsing the lines
between brands.
Consider the red-hot delivery sector. In October 2016, Facebook added an
option to order food from a business page. UberEats, which evolved from the
company’s Santa Monica based delivery service UberFresh, launched in 2015
and has expanded steadily since. Once ruled by dedicated delivery platforms
like GrubHub or Seamless, food delivery is now facing challenges from a social
media platform and a ride-sharing app.
Facebook’s Facebook at Work is a LinkedIn-like service that represents its
expansion into professional tools. And Google looks suspiciously like Apple
with its first phone, the Pixel, a major step for the company into hardware
production. Google and Amazon are both angling to control the home Internet
of Things, with Google’s new Home smart speaker, and Amazon’s Echo. And
of course, nearly every giant company in the Valley is trying to develop a self-
driving car.

Facebook food

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Social virtual reality
Why it’s interesting: Social networks have had a transformative impact on
how consumers interact, network, and discover content and new experiences.
As VR emerges, providing rich landscapes for storytelling and immersion, it
could further be enhanced by allowing consumers to interact in virtual worlds,
fictional or real.
At the 2014 Web Summit, Oculus Rift CEO Brendan Iribe
pointed to revolutionized communication as the biggest
opportunity in VR. Next, Facebook promised to enable
teleporting by 2025.
VR has thus far been a relatively isolated experience, enjoyed in a personal
headset, but this needs to change for it to reach mass adoption, says Rowland
Manthorpe, associate editor at Wired UK. “The thing about virtual reality
currently is that it is not very social or limited to gaming, and that, ultimately,
will stop it from reaching mass adoption. Until you make it social, it won’t have
as big an impact.”
Gaming companies such as The Void have sought to socialize it with
interactive multiplayer games. Augmented reality has also demonstrated the
benefits of combining digital landscapes with physical and social surrounds.
But this is just the beginning. Companies such as High Fidelity, founded by
Philip Rosedale, who also founded virtual world Second Life, is experimenting
with VR to create limitless 3D social landscapes. And with giants such as
Facebook, Google, Apple, Amazon and Alibaba investing heavily in VR, making
the technology more social is a logical way forward.
Facebook’s Oculus Social VR

19
Security in the IoT
The experiment prompted an extensive security review (and a 1.4 million
vehicle recall) from Chrysler. And in November 2016, researchers at Israel’s
Weizmann Institute of Science and Canada’s Dalhousie University hacked
a set of Philips smart lightbulbs through a drone, proving the feasibility of
remote attacks. And with the Internet of Things encroaching everywhere from
the office to the nursery, consumer privacy is also in play.
Why it’s interesting: In the United States and the United Kingdom, consumers
care more about brands’ management of their personal data than about price,
according to a survey conducted by J. Walter Thompson’s SONAR™ division.
Future Internet of Things companies will have to work much harder than their
predecessors to convince consumers that products are safe.
In October 2016, a massive national cyberattack took
down popular sites for nearly an entire day. Hackers used
home devices such as routers, security cameras and DVRs
connected to the Internet of Things.
For consumers, the attack was one of the greatest security fears around
new technology brought to life. More than 20 billion devices are expected
to be connected to the Internet of Things by 2020, according to technology
research firm Gartner, meaning that more than five million devices will be
brought online per day. This deluge of smart appliances means that, without
proper security measures, hackers could have more access points to a
consumer’s home network than ever.
“If we want to put networked technologies into more and more things, we also
have to find a way to make them safer,” Michael Walker, a computer security
expert at DARPA, the Pentagon’s advanced research arm, tells the New York
Times. “It’s a challenge for civilization.”
The results can be far more nefarious than a frozen web. In 2015, a pair of
hackers carrying out car-jacking research successfully hijacked a Jeep’s
digital system, cutting the brakes and causing the car to come to a standstill
in the middle of the highway.

Techucation
20
In October 2016, tech giants Apple and IBM partnered
to introduce IBM Watson Element for Educators, an app
that intuitively measures a student’s interests, learning
experiences and behavior.
The app helps teachers gain a deeper understanding of individual needs and
personalize their teaching styles from the data aggregated. For example,
if a student has difficulties with a specific subject, educators are able to
personalize content by integrating the student’s hobbies to engage him or her,
which, according to IBM, has previously proved an effective technique.
Coppell Independent School District in Texas, the first school district to
introduce the app, has nearly 12,300 students and over 750 teachers. “For
decades, IBM has been committed to providing the best capabilities, talent
and resources to spur innovation for the system of education and learning for
today’s students—our future leaders,” said Harriet Green, general manager,
IBM Watson Internet of Things, Commerce & Education in a press release. “IBM
and Apple are launching Watson Element to help teachers gain insights into
each student’s skills, preferences and interests to transform personalized
learning experiences that are unique to all.”
Why it’s interesting: The style and quality of education is changing, and tech
brands are stepping in to engage with young students by assisting, teaching
and evolving with them. The 2015 Gallup Student Poll survey revealed that
only 50% of students in grades five through 12 feel engaged during school.
The IBM Watson Element for Educators app aims to instill confidence and
enthusiasm for school in students, and gather individual information for
educators to further improve students’ learning quality.
IBM Watson Element for Educators in collaboration with Apple, October 2016

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Two Liners
21-30
Travel+Hospitality

21
Halal tourism
city tourism commissioner Yu-Yen Chien told Malay Mail Online. In Japan,
Muslim-friendly tour operators report rising business, and the Syariah Hotel
Fujisan opened in July 2016 to host Muslim tourists visiting the area near
Mount Fuji.
Why it’s interesting: Tourism is the most recent sector to align itself with
the needs of Muslim consumers, following recent interest in Muslim-friendly
fashion and cosmetics. Hospitality brands should make sure their offerings
suit this group, or risk losing out on the market.
The tourism industry is waking up to the growing
spending power of the Muslim traveler, particularly in
Europe and Asia, which account for 87% of the market.
Muslim business travel is expected to be a $22 billion market by 2020, while
Muslim travel overall will be worth $220 billion, according to an October 2016
report by Mastercard and CrescentRating. More than half of Muslim business
travelers spent in excess of $2,000 per trip, according to the report.
“The Muslim business travel market is expected to continue to expand over
the next couple of years, alongside the growth of emerging economies
such as Indonesia and Malaysia,” Aisha Islam, Mastercard vice president for
consumer products, Southeast Asia, said in a release announcing the report.
Asian destinations in particular are reaching out to Muslim travelers.
Thailand’s first halal hotel, the four-star Al Meroz, opened recently to cater
to Thailand’s growing numbers of Middle Eastern visitors, including United
Arab Emirates citizens who come for medical treatments. In 2015, Thailand
launched an app to help Muslim travelers find halal-friendly restaurants.
Taiwan’s capital Taipei has provided prayer rooms at the city’s main train
station, while seven new halal restaurants opened in the city during 2016,
THE FUTURE 100TRAVEL+HOSPITALITY 34
Al Meroz hotel in Bangkok

TRAVEL+HOSPITALITY THE FUTURE 100 35
Al Meroz hotel in Bangkok

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Gen Z hotels
The first members of generation Z turn 21 in 2017, marking
their transition from society’s teenagers to fully fledged
consumers. Hotel chains are preparing for this next wave of
travelers with souped-up technology and unique initiatives.
Marriott created an innovation lab at its Charlotte property to explore
features for the next generation of travelers, with “beta buttons” for
customers to give feedback at any point during their stay. The property’s
rotating concepts include a “market” of local small businesses, curbside
check-in and on-demand workouts in the high-tech fitness center. Successful
initiatives will eventually roll out to all Marriott properties.
“The demographic of our guests is changing, and it’s very important to stay
in dialogue with them,” managing director Mike Dearing told Fast Company.
Generation Z are discerning consumers, but travel is extremely important to
this global-minded and diverse demographic, 42% of whom say they travel to
make their lives more complete, according to the Cassandra Report.
Why it’s interesting: While marketers have recently focused extensively on
millennials, generation Z is large enough to make a serious mark on consumer
behavior. Well-prepared travel chains stand to reap the benefits when the
gen Z credit cards come out.
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Marriott hotel

Polar travel
23
Crystal Serenity became the first large-scale cruise liner
to traverse the Northwest Passage from Alaska to the
Atlantic Ocean in September—a major Arctic milestone.
In the remote Norwegian territory of Svalbard, revenue from tourism is
outstripping revenue from coal mining, previously the region’s mainstay. As
summer ice in the Arctic reaches historic lows, more ships are expected to
join. Tourists hope to see the region before climate change alters it forever,
even as environmental groups warn that large-scale tourism could spell
disaster for the fragile Arctic.
At the opposite end of the planet, the White Desert camp in the interior of
Antarctica has been fitted with new luxurious amenities, such as “bamboo
headboards, Saarinen chairs, fur throws, and en suite bathrooms stocked with
sustainable Lost Explorer-brand toiletries,” according to Bloomberg. Guests
will be able to sail to the Antarctic aboard the Crystal Endeavor, a new luxury
megayacht debuting in August 2018.
Why it’s interesting: As the urge to post the perfect travel shot on social
media pushes people ever further into the wild, travel and hospitality brands
are under increasing pressure to provide novel experiences.
White Desert camp, Antarctica

Two Liners
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38THE FUTURE 100TRAVEL+HOSPITALITY

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Two Liners

24
Trippy travel
Participants at the 2016 World Ayahuasca Conference in Rio Branco, Brazil,
heard that an estimated 40 therapeutic retreats around the world now
specialize in ayahuasca, a potent psychoactive brew of vines and leaves used
as traditional spiritual medicine among the indigenous residents of Amazonia.
Perhaps it was only a matter of time after Chelsea Handler indulged on
camera from Peru for her Netflix show, but the backlash has already begun:
“Millennials on spirit quests are ruining everything about ayahuasca,”
proclaimed Vice. Indeed, channeling demand for ayahuasca into benefits for
indigenous people has proven difficult, and efforts in this area are ongoing.
But demand is only going up. With the potential therapeutic benefits of
psychedelics increasingly studied and reported on, and young people
interested in “mindfulness” as an escape from cyber-states of mind,
ayahuasca may be to the 2010s what LSD was to the 1960s—a shortcut to the
enlightenment du jour.
Why it’s interesting: Ayahuasca tourism represents an extreme example of
the spiritual seeking that is becoming more common among young people
disillusioned by economic and political systems that appear to be failing them.
Brands may find these mindsets are more widespread than they imagine.
In past decades, countercultural types flocked to the
coffee shops of Amsterdam to sample legal marijuana, but
today’s aspiring psychonauts are traveling farther afield.
Ayahuasca tourism has exploded in the past few years.
THE FUTURE 100 40TRAVEL+HOSPITALITY

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Two Liners
25
Elemental hospitality
Why it’s interesting:
The popularity of Null Stern Hotel’s
open-air concept has shown that
consumers are demanding new and
novel ways of disconnecting and being
fully immersed in nature. The “room,”
which costs roughly $300 a night,
strips back to hospitality basics and
redefines the “hotel” experience.
The latest hospitality experience opens the doors
(and walls) to guests desiring a closer connection
with Mother Nature.
Null Stern Hotel invites guests to an open-air double bed in the Swiss Alps,
6,463 feet above sea level. The hotel provides a butler to deliver food to
guests, and a public restroom is only 10 minutes away. The hotel concept
launched in July 2016 and is already booked through the end of 2017, according
to co-founder Daniel Charbonnier. There are already plans to launch more of
the same hotel concept across the Swiss countryside.“We wish to bring back
guests to the center of the creative process while pushing the boundaries of
the hospitality industry,” says Charbonnier. “In the last 10 to 15 years, guests
have shifted their focus from tangible to intangible aspects of hospitality,
such as guest service, emotional experience, guest recognition, and
anticipation of needs.”
A similar wall-less hotel concept called Memu Earth Hotel launched this
summer in Hokkaido, Japan. Guests are whisked away into the heart of the
Japanese countryside with the stars as their blanket. For those needing some
boundaries, the hotel also offers a premium plan which includes a fully kitted
yurt-like tent.
41THE FUTURE 100
The Only Star is You by Null Stern Hotel, Switzerland, 2016. Photography by Atelier für Sonderaufgaben
TRAVEL+HOSPITALITY

The Only Star is You by Null Stern Hotel, Switzerland, 2016. Photography by Atelier für Sonderaufgaben

26
Homeware hospitality
Boutique hotels with an established lifestyle component to their brand
are also hoping the idea works in reverse. London’s Artist Residence hotel
recently launched an online store, where guests can purchase trendy
furniture and artwork straight from the hotel’s rooms.
Why it’s interesting: As The Innovation Group noted in the Frontier(less)
Retail report, the boundaries between retail and other sectors are breaking
down. The hospitality sector is the latest industry that stands to benefit from
becoming “shoppable.”
Home goods chains are expanding into the hospitality
sector, hoping to cash in on consumers’ desires for
lifestyle brands that offer more than just towels.
Restoration Hardware kicked off the trend last year by announcing plans for
a hotel in New York City’s meatpacking district. (The hotel has yet to set an
opening date.) This fall, West Elm announced that its first hotels would open
in Detroit and Savannah in 2018. All rooms will be designed and furnished
entirely by West Elm. If they like the furniture, guests can purchase pieces
either through the chain’s app or via the West Elm website.
The extension of homeware to hospitality means hotel rooms function more
like showcases. Rather than static display rooms, an overnight stay lets
potential customers try the brand in real time. As consumers increasingly
come to value experience over possessions, hotels are a way to offer home
goods customers an experience and an ecosystem beyond just furniture.
Parachute Home, the bedding retailer that’s a fashion blogger favorite, opened
a one-room “hotel” in Venice Beach in October. Although more of an Airbnb
than a true hotel, the loft also functions as an extension of the brand, with
chic, curated furniture and hip and healthy nearby surroundings. “When I
think about Parachute and what that looks like, it’s more than products—it’s
lifestyle,” Parachute Home’s founder Ariel Kaye told Condé Nast Traveler.
West Elm Hotel concept, due to launch in the US in 2018

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DNA tourism
Why it’s interesting: As more people become aware of DNA testing and the
science behind it improves, we’re likely to gain an even more precise picture of
our origins, and genetic heritage tourism is likely to grow. Which sector will be
the next to see products personalized by DNA?
For generations, Americans of European descent have
journeyed back to Ireland, Germany and elsewhere
seeking a connection to their ancestors. But for obvious
and tragic reasons, most black Americans have had little
idea of their specific origins—until recently.
DNA testing services such as 23andMe and AncestryDNA are now able to
identify specific countries in Africa likely to have been home to an individual’s
ancestors. The Nomadness Travel Tribe, an interest group whose 14,000
members are mostly black women, conducted a survey and found that 30%
of members had used a DNA kit to determine their ancestry, and 6% were
actively planning a trip based on the findings. These trips aren’t your typical
Kenyan safari.
Genetic heritage tourism may be in its infancy, but it has already caught the
imagination of the wider public: Travel search engine Momondo caused a
social media stir with a campaign that offered people DNA tests to determine
which parts of the world their ancestors came from, and then offered to
take them to those places. People often ended up journeying far from where
they expected. The resulting video ad has been viewed over 175 million times,
according to Momondo—comparable to music videos from leading pop stars.
The DNA Journey by Momondo

28
Travel action
Why it’s interesting: Expect more travel platforms to leverage their existing
networks for social responsibility initiatives—and more ethical stances from
hospitality providers in general—as the impact of travel becomes more
widely known.
More travel and hospitality brands are putting their
ethical credentials front and center, as discerning
travelers demand transparency.
Airbnb, which is under increasing regulatory scrutiny around the world, is
particularly at pains to burnish its good-guy image. During Hurricane Matthew
in October 2016, the company helped people seek emergency shelter through
its Disaster Response Tool, and it has recently partnered with the City of
Seattle in a plan to help house residents during a potential future disaster.
(Perhaps not coincidentally, the Seattle City Council had previously proposed
restrictions on home sharing.)
Helping shore up its green credentials, Airbnb also recently partnered with
energy services provider SolarCity, which will offer Airbnb hosts up to $1,000
in rebates on home solar panels. SolarCity customers can also receive a $100
credit toward travel with Airbnb.
TripAdvisor also recently took a prominent ethical stance, refusing to sell
tickets to most wildlife attractions. “TripAdvisor’s new booking policy and
education effort is designed as a means to do our part in helping improve the
health and safety standards of animals, especially in markets with limited
regulatory protections,” TripAdvisor CEO Stephen Kaufer said in a statement.
Airbnb collaboration with SolarCity, October 2016

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New Orleans
An increasingly cosmopolitan New Orleans is emerging
as a prime tourist destination after more than a decade of
rebuilding from Hurricane Katrina.
Next year, New Orleans will expand its events cachet with Collision, a rapidly
growing tech conference. Last year, New Orleans had the biggest growth rate
for international travelers of any US city, and seems ready for more.
Next spring, British Airways will add nonstop flights from London to New
Orleans in what local business leaders called a “game-changer.” Condor
Airlines will also add seasonal flights to Germany in 2017. The city also plans
to open a tourism bureau in China next year, laying the groundwork for drawing
more Asian tourists to the region.
As interest in the city grows, the hip Ace Hotels group has opened its first
New Orleans outpost. Launched in March, the Ace Hotel New Orleans has
turned a 1928 art deco building on the outskirts of the French Quarter into a
hip high-rise with a rooftop pool and its own music venue.
Why it’s interesting: The Big Easy hasn’t had it easy in recent years. But
after a decade of rebuilding, New Orleans’ vibrant arts sector and growing
hospitality scene mean that it’s open for business.
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Ace Hotel New Orleans, opened in spring 2016. Located in downtown New Orleans

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Two Liners
TRAVEL+HOSPITALITY 47
Ace Hotel New Orleans, opened in spring 2016. Located in downtown New Orleans

30
Three travel spots
Oman
Oman has a reputation as one of the most open
and beautiful Arab nations. Visitors to the country
increased by 17.7% in 2015, and the tourism sector
seems ready for more. In November, Thailand’s
Anantara Group opened a five-star resort in the
country’s mountains, featuring clifftop yoga and
bushwalking to lure adventurous travelers.
W Hotel has scheduled a 2019 opening in Muscat,
the country’s stunning coastal capital, with a
Louis Vuitton property also rumored.
Iran
Iran is on the verge of what Euromonitor calls a
“golden age” of tourism, after January’s historic
nuclear agreement ended a decade of economic
sanctions. Next year, Spanish hotel group Meliá
Hotels International will open the country’s first
foreign-branded luxury development in decades,
a five-star beachfront resort on the Caspian Sea.
Accor Hotels opened the country’s first international
hotel in 2016, while other hoteliers are eyeing Iran’s
ancient religious tourism sites and snow-capped
mountains for future development.
Georgia
At the foot of the Caucasus Mountains, one of the
world’s oldest winemaking regions has opened its
doors to oenophiles as a Burgundy of the Black Sea.
But it’s not just the wine buzz that makes Georgia
notable. The country’s attractions range from
coastal resorts to the historic capital of Tbilisi, where
Sheraton and InterContinental are both slated to
open five-star resorts next year.
Why it’s interesting: Travelers continue to seek the
latest in unique and authentic destinations, even in
proximity to conflict or in its historic centers.
The Middle East may grab headlines more for its geopolitical
conflicts than its luxury resorts, but that hasn’t stopped
adventurous travelers from exploring the region’s hidden gems.
The following countries are poised for a tourism boom in 2017:
Kempinski and Fairmont hotels near the Almouj golf course

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Two Liners
31-40
Brands+Marketing

31
Gamevertising
For many marketers, the idea that, at this moment,
more than half a million people are streaming their own
video gameplay or watching other people play on the
media platform Twitch does not quite compute—is this
really entertaining? But for a generation of digital-native
gamers—mostly, but not all, male—it’s intuitive.
Now, following Twitch’s 2014 acquisition by Amazon, advertising dollars are
finally going where the eyeballs are. Most ads on Twitch have been gaming-
related up to now, but the Wall Street Journal reports that Coke, Pepsi, Bud
Light, Pizza Hut, Old Spice, Totino’s and Red Bull have recently signed on.
While the above campaigns are mostly traditional TV-style commercials,
others have involved custom integrations with the platform. To promote
the show Stranger Things, Netflix gathered well-known Twitch community
members in a 1980s-style basement to play and stream video games. For
the USA Network show Mr Robot, digital and physical experience agency ISL
created a three-day live-streamed event on Twitch. One of the show’s central
plot points, the deletion of debt, was re-enacted in real life, as $100,000 of
viewers’ debt was paid off during the activation.
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1
BRANDS + MARKETING THE FUTURE 100 50

The Carl’s Jr brand, which aspires to reach “young, hungry guys,” sponsored
a Twitch rollout of the gaming-focused Waypoint platform, Vice Media’s
newest vertical. “This audience appreciates the rawness that these live ads
presented, and they roll with it,” Brad Haley, CMO of Carl’s Jr owner CKE
Restaurants, told Adweek.
Why it’s interesting: Although an abundance of new media platforms aimed at
women have recently launched, there’s been no equivalent shift for men. But
brands that want to reach them can go directly to Twitch—while keeping in
mind that girls love gaming, too.
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THE FUTURE 100BRANDS + MARKETING 51
Mr Robot, Twitch activation

VR is still in the early stages of adoption. But with headsets like Google’s $79
Daydream View or the $29 Xiaomi Mi VR making VR more accessible than ever,
mass adoption of VR suddenly seems much closer than it used to. As more
consumers embrace VR, the question arises: Will it one day be common for
users to see advertisements in VR, sponsoring games or video clips? In fact,
the future for VR ads is already here. In October 2016, publisher Gannett ran
ads in VR on a new virtual reality talk show called VRtually There. Users were
transported to a cube-shaped room, where a 15-second Toyota Camry video
ad played from each wall.
Virtual reality requires rethinking many of the basic tenets of advertising.
While studies have shown that VR ads garner 27% higher emotional
engagement than 2D ads, according to a joint study by YuMe and Nielsen,
questions remain. How do brands maximize the 3D space and create
a valuable experience for consumers? Companies that are already
experimenting with creating branded content for VR, including North Face and
BMW, will come out ahead of the pack.
Why it’s interesting: Virtual reality may be a fringe content platform now, but by
2026 the industry is projected to bring in $38 billion in revenues, says Greenlight
Insights. Brands should experiment in the sector sooner rather than later.
32
VR ads
This year, it finally seemed that consumers
were ready for virtual reality (VR). Are brands?
THE FUTURE 100 52BRANDS + MARKETING
BMW using HTC Vive VR headsets, 2016

33
Age of the single lady
Over the past several decades, independent female
adulthood has become the norm in the West. In 1960,
more than 70% of all US adults aged 18 and over were
married. Today, it’s dropped to slightly more than half,
according to Pew analysis of US Census data. Women
often experience single adulthood for years before
marrying: The average age of a first marriage is now
27 for women, up from 20 in 1960.
Single women are a powerful consumer force. But do brands know how to
reach them? “The challenge for marketers will be communicating with single
women as if they were people, rather than defining them by their unmarried
status,” Rebecca Traister, author of 2016’s All the Single Ladies, told the
Innovation Group. “You still tend to see marketing reach out to women based
on the fact that they are single.”
Some brands are trying to reframe the narrative around singledom.
SinglesSwag, launched in 2016, is a subscription box that celebrates
singlehood. For $40 a month, “beautiful, fabulous single women” can receive
curated beauty products, books and accessories.
Singles Swag subscription box, launched 2016

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In China, where young unmarried women are still called “leftover women,”
skincare brand SK-II launched a documentary-style ad in April 2016 that
challenged perceptions of singledom through the voices of three young women
and their parents. The campaign touched a nerve and spread rapidly, earning
more than 2.7 million views on Chinese social media within just a few days.
Aside from singledom, women are redrawing the map in other important
ways. In the United States, nearly half of women of childbearing age are
childless, says census data. Online communities like SavvyAuntie show the
rising strength of this demographic, which spends an average of 35% more
per person on groceries and twice as much on hair and beauty products,
according to a DeVries report. Womanhood Redefined, an innovative 2014
promotion at the Westin New York Grand Central, was aimed exclusively at
this “Otherhood” group.
The Age of the Single Lady stands to shift how marketers think about women
overall. “I think, ultimately, it’s about acknowledging that women are motivated
by all kinds of things, including romance, sex, work, a desire for travel, and
familial comfort,” Traister said. “It’s about acknowledging women as full
human consumers.”
Why it’s interesting: As consumers, women are too often placed in boxes like
“mom” or “wife.” Not only do these boxes not speak to women’s experience,
they also leave out certain consumer groups entirely. It’s up to the next
generation of advertising to move past that.
Singles Swag subscription box, launched 2016

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Double-take packaging
Designers are borrowing forms from other categories and bidding farewell to
packaging stereotypes. The Beauty Chef’s food products are packaged and
marketed for beauty, as is Super Elixir by WelleCo—a supplement stocked in
retail stores under both beauty and food.
In autumn 2016, organic garment-care specialist Tangent GC moved into
personal care with the launch of perfumed soaps. The bottle aesthetic
remains the same as the company’s garment and shoe care products, despite
the new product’s purpose being very different.
Apa Beauty, an oral-care brand launched early 2016, crosses into the beauty
sector and adopts a clean, minimalist cosmetic design approach. Ila’s kitchen
ingredients are delivered in sleek black bottles and containers reminiscent
of beauty packaging. The scent of luxury laundry detergent L’Eaundry was
inspired by high-end perfume.
Why it’s interesting: Reconsider where your product can sit on the retail shelf
by rethinking the packaging first. Food brands can be marketed for beauty,
beauty products can adopt the form of cleaning products—this is about
maximizing the retail floor by breaking the packaging norms.
What is this? A fragrance or a detergent? In late 2015,
Moschino Fresh took a very familiar, everyday household
cleaning bottle as its latest fragrance container. At
a glance it looks as though product designers are
deliberately confusing consumers, but they are actually
responding to consumers who are increasingly adopting a
holistic approach to wellbeing.
Honey by Ila

4
Two Liners
Left: Apa Beauty. Images courtesy of Apa Beauty
Right: L'Eaundry

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Xers: the forgotten generation
of youthfulness and cool for as long as we possibly could,” she said. “Now,
generation X for the first time in its history finds itself quite uncomfortably
sandwiched in the middle. It’s not young and cool any more, and it doesn’t have
the sort of economic or power of time that the boomers have above them.”
Nonetheless, Darke says, gen X is a potent influencer group. “We are in a
position where we are influencing our elders, our elderly parents, specifically
in things like digital, helping them to get online, helping them to navigate this
new fast culture. And of course we’re bringing up the generation Z underneath
as well so we are influencing them. I would say that we are profoundly
important for brands to talk to.”
Why it’s interesting: We’re used to hearing about millennials as the first digital
natives, but what about gen Xers’ status as a bridge between the digital and
analog worlds? Watch as marketers take a new look at this cohort.
Remember generation X? The so-called “slacker”
generation, now aged 35 to 55, seems to have slunk off
into obscurity as far as marketers are concerned (at least
compared to millennials, boomers and, increasingly,
generation Z). But now, the overlooked gen Xers are now
set to have their moment (again).
Karen Grant of NPD group characterizes gen X as “highly engaged users”
when it comes to beauty products. “In the 35- to 54-year-old group, more
women are using five or more makeup products, which is more than the 18- to
24-year-olds and as many as 25- to 34-year-olds,” she told Racked.
Media industry veteran Emilie McMeekan cofounded The Midult, a media
platform aimed at women in this age group, after noticing a gap in the market.
“The conversations we were having with our friends and our colleagues in our
age group just weren’t chiming with what was aimed at us in the media,” she
says. “We want to be the Lad Bible for middle-aged women.”
Tiffanie Darke, author of the forthcoming book Now We Are 40, thinks
brands are making a mistake to overlook this group. “We were basically the
generation that invented the term middle youth, and we hung on to the mantle

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Unexpected platform tie-ups
Why it’s interesting: Tinder has an estimated 50 million users. In 2015, over
four million hours of porn were streamed on Pornhub. Grindr has 10 million-
plus users. Dating and porn hubs aren’t just a provocative, headline-grabbing
tie-up opportunity; they also boast large audiences and frequent daily
engagement. Location-based apps such as Happn also have the added benefit
of potential contextual data. Watch this space.
“Go where your audience is,” they say, and Hood By Air
hit the headlines at New York Fashion Week in September
2016 by collaborating with Pornhub, the online porn
streaming platform.
Models walked the catwalk in garments emblazoned with phrases such as “Never
Trust a Church Girl,” “Do You Know Where Your Children Are” and “Hustler.”
The tie-up is the latest in a string of unconventional, intentionally provocative
brand partnerships with dating and hook-up sites. The Happn dating app has
been working with Fiat, and also with charities Equality Now, Plan UK and the
Art Fund on social-good campaigns.
Grindr, the “world’s largest gay social app,” recently created its first capsule
fashion collection to raise awareness and funds for LGBT athletes. In January
2016, Grindr also teamed up with London designer JW Anderson and streamed
the designer’s AW16 show. Campaigns for Calvin Klein, Budweiser and other
lifestyle brands have worked with Tinder.
Hood by Air in collaboration with Pornhub for New York Fashion Week, Fall 2016

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Political consumers
More than ever, today’s consumers are immersed in
politics. While 2016 began with a groundswell of social
activism widely celebrated online, election victories for
Brexit and Donald Trump shocked much of the world
and exposed social tensions roiling the United States, the
United Kingdom and beyond.
For brands, it’s becoming more difficult to avoid taking a stand—those
that sit on the sidelines risk missing out on important conversations, or
even alienating consumers who seek a better alignment with their values.
Americans are overwhelmingly supportive of brands that take stances
on issues, according to SONAR™: 78% agree that companies should take
action to address the important issues facing society, while 88% agree that
corporations have the power to influence social change.
Why it’s interesting: Consumers will increasingly look to brands to stand
up for certain values. While this may still be a step too far for mainstream
brands, for others it’s simply the logical extension of the often-discussed
strategy of targeting “psychographics” over “demographics”—in other words,
aligning the brand with customers who share a belief system.
BRANDS + MARKETING
Maria Grazia Chiuri’s Dior debut at New York Fashion Week fall 2016

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Three key trends:
The Hispanic consumer
Hispanic-first approach
US Hispanics have become trendsetters in the digital, food, music, beauty and
fashion sectors, helping the entire nation to stretch its limits and experiment
with new brands, ideas and products. “From Hispanics traditionally being an
afterthought in siloed marketing plans, marketers are transitioning into a ‘Total
Market’ targeting approach: Latino insights informing the overall marketing
strategy from inception,” says Antonio Nuñez, head of planning at the *SCPF
agency. “Why? Because Latinos are the ultimate influence machines.”

This escalating role of the Latino community influence can be explained
because Hispanics are digitally savvy, early adopters and vocal when
sharing their discoveries. Hispanic Americans over-index the general market
considerably when it comes to social media use. According to eMarketer,
76.6% of US Hispanic internet users accessed social networks at least
monthly in 2015, versus 69.4% of all US internet users. Kantar Media finds that
59% of Hispanics Tweet, Facebook and text about a TV show while that show
is live, versus 37% of non-Hispanic whites.
Why it’s interesting: As the Hispanic market delivers superior return on
investment per marketing dollar than the general market, brands might
consider investing in Hispanics first, not as an afterthought.
The new polycultural America
The combination of a more vocal and proud Latino community and the
polycultural nature of US millennials and generation Z are resulting in more
Hispanic values and brands crossing over to reshape the mainstream culture.

Growing numbers of Americans are polycultural, embracing cultural
experiences beyond their own heritage while also maintaining strong
attachments to their heritage: 65% of US millennials say their preferences in
food and cooking have been shaped by their interactions with people of other
races and ethnicities, 59% say the same of music, 53% of movies and 53% of
fashion and clothing, according to Kantar Futures.

Among Hispanics, 55% consider themselves bicultural, according to GfK’s
KnowledgePanel Latino, up from 43% in 2009. The cultural shift towards retro-
acculturation (Hispanics going back to their roots and being proud of their origins)
combined with the fact that they are the most digitally savvy group, means that
young Latinos are expressing their cultural pride online more than ever.
Why it’s interesting: Latino brands have an opportunity to go from niche to
mainstream, and this is already happening—Corona beer, Carolina Herrera,
Zara and Manolo Blahnik are just a few examples.

Why it’s interesting:
While African Americans have found
their luxury icons in cars, spirits, retail
and so on, the Hispanic luxury segment
in many categories is up for grabs.
Brands have the opportunity to create
truly iconic luxury brands for Latinos
by culturally connecting with them.
Lavish Latino living
The rise of US Latinos’ purchasing power, the retro-acculturation
phenomenon and their yearning to share and celebrate their achievements
are creating the opportunity for the rise of truly Hispanic luxury brands.

The US Hispanic market is projected to reach $1.7 trillion by 2020 according
to the Selig Center for Economic Growth. If this market were a standalone
country today, its GDP would make it the 10th-largest economy in the world,
according to IMF projections for 2016. Upscale Latinos—those whose
households make over $50,000 per year—account for 43% of this growing
market as of 2014, according to Nielsen.

The Urban Institute forecasts that Latinos will account for 55.5% of
new homeowners between 2010 and 2020. They are also enthusiastic
entrepreneurs; 47% of Hispanic millennials perceive owning their own business
as a strong indicator of success and 48% view it as a future goal, according to
the Sensis marketing agency.

Upscale Latinos are young, tech-savvy, big users of mobile, have large
families, and are likely to be dual income earners, which makes them a
very attractive untapped segment. And they are highly concentrated in five
cosmopolitan US cities (LA, Houston, Miami, New York and Chicago).
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Dos Equis’ new “Most Interesting Man in the World”

39
(Dis)ability advertising
people, in the United States have a disability, and that ratio is expected to
grow substantially over the next several years, yet for the most part, few
are represented in ads and many are challenged to find representation in the
industry,” Loebner continues. Advertising plays a role in shifting understanding
and attitudes, Loebner says. “The inclusion of disability in advertising is
imperative to better educate, interpret, and accept people with disabilities as
a viable part of our economy, community and culture.”
Why it’s interesting: As mentioned above, the disabled population is much
larger than many of us believe. Add to this the many people caring for
disabled people, and there is a huge opportunity for brands to promote
empathy toward the disabled. As this group becomes more conscious of a
shared identity, it will also become a larger market.
In the age of Transparent, Orange is the New Black,
and other groundbreaking television, viewers have
seen many characters belonging to groups that haven’t
been portrayed previously, but there has been little
representation of disabled people in either television or
advertising. That is now changing.
Speechless, a new ABC show, has a central character named JJ who has
cerebral palsy, but is, crucially, three-dimensional and not defined by his
disability. The New York Times Disability series features personal essays on
topics from deaf rights to the importance of “facial equality” to reproductive
decisions for disabled people. The Paralympics also offered an opportunity
for brands to celebrate the achievements of athletes.
Still, it’s very early days for visibility for the disabled, including in the ad
industry. “While pockets within advertising are championing and advancing
greater inclusion of people with disabilities, large opportunities still exist
for many segments of the industry to make better strides,” says Josh
Loebner, director of strategy at Tennessee-based agency Designsensory
and a member of the advisory board of the Global Alliance for Disability
in Media and Entertainment. “Nearly one in five adults, or over 53 million
Speechless on ABC. Photography credit Nicole Wilder/ABC

Thalia Mavros, founder of media platform The Front, places female ownership
at the core of her business model. “Even though we see a huge disparity in
ownership, we still had a few potential investors aggressively challenge the
importance of investing in female media entrepreneurs,” says Mavros. “A few
heated arguments and door slams later, I am proud to say we are founded and
run by women, our investor has a female chief executive at the helm, and even
our board of directors is all-female.”
Manufactory, the latest project from San Francisco’s Tartine Bakery, offers
a wine list with at least half of selections sourced from vineyards that have
women owners. In a male-dominated industry, it’s not the easiest quota to
meet. “When we had this conversation not long ago about the wine list, I was
mortified with myself that it was not even on my radar, the aspect of having
female producers on there,” Tartine co-owner Elisabeth Prueitt told online
drinks magazine Punch. “Over 50% of my staff are female, and it’s important
to mirror those qualities in every aspect of the operation.”
Why it’s interesting: Women are looking for brands to pay more than just lip
service to feminism—even a hyper-inclusive H&M ad campaign was criticized
by some in light of the brand’s reliance on low-paid female labor in developing
countries. Build in feminism throughout your supply chain to stand out.
40
She owns it
We’ve seen movements for gender equality in Hollywood
representation, Silicon Valley and even Madison Avenue,
so what’s next? Increasingly, brands of all stripes are
highlighting their commitment to ownership structures,
supply chains and staff that are either exclusively or
proportionately female, and some are using this as a
selling point.
THE FUTURE 100 63BRANDS + MARKETING
Anne-Sophie Dubois winery, France

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Two Liners
41-50
Food+Drink

41
Spiked seltzer
As consumers have come to seek natural, wholesome
alternatives at every turn, the alcohol industry wants to
be next in line to provide low-calorie, healthy options.
Craft brewers and major labels alike are lining up to offer these new wellness-
branded products. In March, the Wachusett Brewing Company rolled out Nauti
Seltzer, an attempt to diversify its brand in the crowded craft beer market.
Anheuser-Busch InBev acquired SpikedSeltzer in September, while the Boston
Beer Company launched Truly Spiked & Sparkling in April.
“There’s a reason you see people in yoga pants all over New York City—not
because they’re working out,” Valerie Toothman, vice president for marketing
innovation at Anheuser-Busch InBev told Bloomberg in August. “It’s this idea
that a kind of health and wellbeing is the new premium.”
The alcohol sector is playing off the meteoric rise in interest in flavored sparkling
waters. Flavored sparkling water brand LaCroix has become an unlikely cult hit,
with sales exploding from $65 million in 2010 to $226 million in 2015.
Why it’s interesting: Although arguably the least likely to be thought of as a
“healthy” sector, alcohol’s foray into health-conscious branding shows just how
thoroughly consumers have adopted the wellness lifestyle.
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THE FUTURE 100FOOD + DRINK 65
SpikedSeltzer

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Three hot spirits
Distilled fog
Fog Point, a new vodka by small-batch distillery
Hangar 1, announces itself as “a true expression
of California, distilled.” The spirit is created using
vodka distilled from premium wine, blended with
water gathered from fog catchers that harvest San
Francisco’s well-known haze. The result, the brand
says, “yields an extraordinarily crisp, pure, and
gluten-free sipping vodka with elegant hints of pear,
citrus, and honeysuckle.”
Baijiu
Producers of baijiu, China’s staple grain alcohol, are
eyeing overseas markets for expansion as government
corruption crackdowns have dented the local market.
Experimentation with the drink, often considered an
acquired taste, has caught on particularly in the US
and Europe. “If you looked at the US five years ago,
you would find less than five bars that were working
with baijiu, and now there’s probably dozens, if not
hundreds, that are working with it,” Derek Sandhaus,
author of Baijiu: The Essential Guide to Chinese Spirits,
told the South China Morning Post.
Whisper whiskey
Not quite the white whiskey that rode moonshine
fever to success a few years back, nor the
stronger spirit typically associated with whiskey
connoisseurship, a new in-between category of lighter
whiskey is catching on with younger drinkers. Still
packing a flavorful punch, but not overpowering, these
“whisper whiskeys,” as christened by Bloomberg
Businessweek, are ideal for summer sipping. They
include High West Valley Tan with its “bright, grassy
aromatics,” and Compass Box Enlightenment Scotch,
which “mingles a gentle waft of smoke with fresh
apple and vanilla.”
Why they’re interesting: “Small-batch” and craft
no longer impress—today’s cocktail trends are
emerging from fine flavor distinctions, novel
production techniques, and spirits of remote origin.
Hangar 1 vodka

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Ayurvedic eating
“When diet is wrong, medicine is of no use; when diet
is correct, medicine is of no need,” says an ancient
Ayurvedic proverb that may help explain why this diet is
catching on among today’s health-conscious consumers.
Ayurvedic eating is an ancient Indian medical practice that uses natural
ingredients such as ginger and ghee to promote balance and happiness. It
involves practices already in vogue among the health-conscious, including
juice cleanses and oil pulling. It can even be customized to address the
balance of energies, called “doshas,” in a person’s body.
In fall 2016, New York City’s first Ayurvedic restaurant, Divya’s Kitchen, opened
in the East Village. If the explosion in popularity of turmeric is any indication,
there’s sure to be more to follow. Turmeric, a bright-orange spice used in the
Ayurvedic system to fight disease, is one of today’s trendiest superfoods
thanks to its powerful anti-inflammatory powers. It was ranked as one of the
year’s top food trends by Google, and can be found in lattes and juices at
hip eateries including Los Angeles’ Sqirl, where chef Jessica Koslow ranks it
among her favorite ingredients.
Why it’s interesting: Ayurvedic eating aligns with the next-gen wellness
consumers, who are looking to foods with a function.
Sqirl restaurant, LA

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Marijuana: the new rosé?
In a Vanity Fair interview in March, newly minted
ganjapreneur Whoopi Goldberg expressed frustration
that women were still considered a niche market in the
medical marijuana industry. “This niche is half the
population on the earth,” she laughed.
Whoopi & Maya, a collaboration between Goldberg and Maya Elisabeth,
launched in April 2016 with a line of cannabis-infused edibles designed to treat
menstrual cramps. Foria, a company perhaps best known for its cannabis-
based lube Foria Pleasure, also launched a cannabis suppository this year
to treat cramps. Today, however, women in the marijuana market are looking
beyond remedies for menstrual pain.
In fact, marijuana may be on its way to overtaking wine as the hip indulgence
of choice. In West Hollywood, White Rabbit High Tea hosts a chic tea party for
women, with a focus on vaporizers rather than hot drinks. Gourmet edibles,
including Défoncé dark chocolate bars and Angel Haus cannabis ice cream,
mean you can also bring the party home. Marijuana accessories are even
getting a high-end feminine makeover from brands such as AnnaBís, who
designed a chic handbag with concealed pockets for lighters or vapes.
Women are also angling to play a key role in cannabusiness. In LA, Cheryl
Shuman, founder of the Beverly Hills Cannabis Club, has been dubbed the
“Martha Stewart of Marijuana” for her work with groups including Moms for
Marijuana. In Colorado, Jane West runs Edible Events, one of the state’s
premiere pot catering companies; she’s also the founder of Women Grow, a
networking group that aims to make female leadership a key component of
the growing cannabis industry.
Why it’s interesting: The perception of female weed smokers is changing
radically: TV shows, such as 2014’s Broad City or this year’s Mary + Jane,
illustrate that women can be smart and stylish, and still unwind with a joint.
With recreational marijuana newly legalized in California, Maine, Nevada and
Massachusetts, it’s clear that the drug doesn’t suffer the same stigma it used to.
Sweetflag, woman-owned online retailer of pot paraphernalia

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Smart kitchens
Why it’s interesting: The smart appliances market is forecast to grow at
a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.4% between 2015 and 2020,
according to research company Research and Markets. Whether it is simply a
pan or an entire robotic kitchen, companies are investing in the smart kitchen,
giving consumers the tools to serve up the perfect, healthy menu.
Moley has created the world’s first robotic kitchen,
which is set to launch for consumer purchase in 2017
and claims to include an “iTunes-style library of recipes.”
Kitchens and their appliances are becoming smarter,
making cooking more intuitive and complex meals
more accessible.
Samsung launched a collection of smart kitchen appliances in November 2016,
including wall ovens and cookers, adding to its SmartThings Hub portfolio.
Earlier this year, the brand launched its Family Hub refrigerator, which is
integrated with a touchscreen service called Groceries by MasterCard,
allowing users to shop for food directly from the fridge.
Silicon Valley–based SmartyPans launched in January 2016 and uses apps
to guide the user through recipes—the smart part being that the pan also
tracks the nutritional information of what it’s cooking. Other smart appliances
on the market include the June Intelligent Oven, with “precision sensors”
that allow for controlled cooking, and the SmartHub by Oliso, a portable
cooker that “brings the capabilities of the professional kitchen to the home,”
according to the company.
June Intelligent Oven

46
New vegan
Amid a wave of interest in natural ingredients and
transparency from food companies, even vegan cuisine
is evolving beyond soy products to more natural and
unprocessed alternatives.
Jackfruit, a spiny-shelled Asian fruit that’s closely related to the fig, has
been popping up on menus around the country as the fruit’s texture makes a
convincing, all-natural alternative to pork. Brooklyn pop-up Chickpea & Olive
makes its barbecue jackfruit sandwich southern style, with pickles and fried
shallots. In London, Club Mexicana makes jackfruit tacos, while Seattle’s No
Bones Beach Club has the fruit in flautas form. It has even appeared on the
menu at authentic barbeque spots, including Sneaky’s BBQ in San Francisco.
Why it’s interesting: New natural vegan alternatives don’t stop at jackfruit.
Try coconut jerky, cauliflower nuggets, or any of the nut milks currently
sweeping the country. As even vegan foodies seek more natural, unprocessed
options, “plant butchers” will finally have the chance to shine.
This page: Club Mexicana
Next page: Jackfruit flautas by No Bones Beach Club

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Drive-up grocery wars
Not content to dominate e-commerce, Amazon is building
“small bricks-and-mortar stores that would sell produce,
milk, meats and other perishable items that customers
can take home,” according to the Wall Street Journal.
A Seattle-area location is in the works, and reports suggest the service will be
available to AmazonFresh subscribers, who currently pay $15 per month for
the company’s grocery delivery service. Walmart, meanwhile, began testing
curbside grocery pickup last year, and has recently rolled out the service in
Portland, Oregon and other markets.
The stage is set for increasingly pitched battles between the two retail
giants. While Amazon possesses the stronger e-commerce delivery network,
Walmart has the advantage in terms of store footprint, with its 3,500 US
supercenters ready for conversion into pickup points (70% of Americans are
said to live within five miles of a Walmart). At this point, it could go either way.
Why it’s interesting: As click-and-collect has become a more common model
for e-commerce, consumers have become familiar with the concept and will
use it if it can be shown to add to convenience at little cost. The victor in the
drive-up wars could rapidly disrupt traditional supermarket shopping.
THE FUTURE 100
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Nootropics
cumulative long-term benefits. “Hacker’s Brew starts with the highest-quality
ingredients, including organic coffee, coconut cream and cacao. We then
added a good dose of adaptogens, and extended the half-life of caffeine so
that it lasts longer. Full-day performance, with the same amount of caffeine
as a normal cup of coffee—this is not your ordinary coffee experience!”
promises the company.
Why it’s interesting: Self optimization is the watch word of the wellbeing
movement, which is now moving beyond natural enhancement to body
“hacking,” and rising comfort. With the desire to both chemically stimulate and
self-improve while still emphasizing natural, consumers continue to want it all.
Blame Silicon Valley. Following the optimized nutrition
trend (embodied by brands such as Soylent, featured in
last year’s Future 100 report), startups are using so-called
“bio hacking” to engineer products that offer brain-
boosting properties without negative side effects.
The Nootrobox startup, fresh from a $2 million seed investment by
Andreessen Horowitz, has launched Go Cubes, a new chewable coffee gummy
candy product. Packaged in cartoonish, candy-like wrapping, Nootrobox
Go Cubes are made with L-theanine, B6, and methylated B12 that “improve
caffeine for enhanced focus & clarity.” Two cubes are equal to an entire cup of
coffee, according to the brand.
Nootrobox describes Go Cubes as “coffee for astronauts.” Branding appeals
to the work hard, play hard ethos of the tech set: “Looking to ace your
midterms? Push 10,000 lines of code? Stay extra crispy for poker night? Fight
spreadsheets in your office? Climb Mt. Everest? Be the first human on Mars?
Go Cubes have your back.”
Hacker’s Brew, a nootropic coffee, is another recent addition. The coffee
claims to help drinkers reach peak cognitive performance and enjoy
Hacker's Brew

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Three new proteins
In last year’s Future 100 report,
we looked at algae, a protein
substitute with game-changing
potential. As the market for
plant-based protein alternatives
remains strong, these three
under-the-radar protein sources
could be the next to break into
the mainstream.
Pea
Pea protein is sustainable and non-allergenic. It’s
made from ground dried yellow peas with no added
preservatives—exactly what the name implies. In
2016, health brands such as Bolthouse Farms and
Bob’s Red Mill began to feature peas. The real story,
however, is the Beyond Burger, the much-hyped
burger alternative that even bleeds like real meat. It’s
made from pea protein isolates and recently became
available in the meat section at Whole Foods Market.
Duckweed
Move over, seaweed, there’s a new floating
superfood in town. Duckweed is frequently cited
by scientists as a potentially key food source of
the future: it’s protein rich and boasts more amino
acids than other plant-based proteins (including
soy). Consumer awareness of duckweed is low, but
Florida-based Parabel hopes to change this with the
launch of Lentein, a duckweed-based protein powder
that won the 2015 Innovations award at the Institute
of Food Technology. It should hit the shelves by 2017.
Shiitake mushrooms
Shiitake mushrooms are already popular worldwide,
so why not explore their full potential? That’s the
thinking behind MycoTechnology, a Colorado-based
food tech company that has engineered a strain of
the fungus which produces an above-average protein
load. The resulting shiitake powder, called PureTaste,
has a neutral flavor that works in everything from
breads and tortillas to sauces. Bonus: the powder
has a lower carbon footprint than plant crops and
contains 79% protein.
Why they’re interesting: By 2050, the United Nations
projects a global population of nearly 10 billion, which
would push our current agricultural system to its
limits. These companies are on the cutting edge of the
battle for the sustainable protein of the future.
Lentein by Parabel USA Ltd

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Bygone fast-food revival
fast-food market, mainly coming from California: Loco’l, launched by Daniel
Patterson and Roy Choi, brings healthy locally sourced fast food at an
affordable price point to California residents.
Amy’s Drive Thru, a vegetarian fast-food restaurant, follows similar principles:
“Amy’s Drive Thru is returning to the roots of American fast food, serving
lovingly handcrafted food to nourish hard-working citizens, busy families and
road-weary travelers.” The aesthetic of early American fast-food restaurants
is also being revisited. Torchy’s Tacos, launched in Austin, Texas in 2006,
references mid-century American roadside buildings and signage. A new
Austin branch that opened in 2016 on the site of a 1970s burger joint features
a distinctive zigzag profile supported by red-painted structural columns.

Why it’s interesting: It’s the latest sign that we’re entering a “post-artisan” era
where an apron and a mustache no longer necessarily denote quality. These
restaurant concepts also share more than a hint of Americana, celebrating
early fast food restaurants where affordable quality was the mission. They
formed a key part of American culture in the 1950s and 1960s and were a
source of national pride because standardization allowed them to produce
cheaply at scale. As many businesses place social good at the core of their
DNA, embracing this early stage in American fast food is a creative way to
offer quality at accessible prices for consumers of all incomes.
The past two years have been defined by a backlash
against fast-food giants offering cheap food laden with
chemicals, sugar and soy—not to mention sodas.
Once heralded as wonders of food standardization and affordable quality,
this side of the industry has been replaced by a message that emphasizes the
“artisanal” and handmade, as companies seek to reassure consumers that
goods are healthy.
A new crop of restaurants is now seeking to revive fast food by revisiting its
roots. “There was a time when fast food was house-made and nutritious,
when the ingredients used were unadulterated and understandable. We’ve
turned that past into the present,” reads the website of Starbird, a recently
launched California chicken restaurant. “Our positively delicious food, served
from morning ’til night, is the result of a few essential elements: purposefully
sourced, quality ingredients, an unwavering commitment to cook in house, and
never sacrificing flavor and ultimate craveability.”
Menu items include Chicken and the Egg, a sandwich made with crispy
chicken, egg, organic American cheese, bacon and a house-baked roll. The
Chicken Feed breakfast dish features Greek yogurt, local fruit preserves
and “small batch granola.” Starbird is one of a few recent additions to the

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Two Liners
51-60
Beauty

Gender-neutral beauty
Legions of makeup-wearing men on YouTube, Instagram
and other platforms are adding a new twist to the long-
standing debate about beauty and feminism. Rather
than framing their work as a way to conceal perceived
flaws, these men are using their faces as a canvas for
creative expression, and reminding consumers of the
transformative power of beauty products in a fresh way.
It’s not that women aren’t also doing this. But male MUAs (short for
“makeup artists”) are breaking the strong social taboo against men wearing
makeup, and getting a lot of attention for it. The most obvious sign of this
shift was CoverGirl’s decision in October 2016 to feature a “Cover Boy” in
its advertisements for the first time—the teenage Instagram star James
Charles. Other popular male makeup wearers on Instagram include Skelotim,
whose looks are often inspired by his favorite snack foods, and Angel Merino,
whose glam style has netted him 1.2 million Instagram followers.
The change is leading to a shift in beauty branding and packaging as it
becomes less overtly feminine. The all-gender skincare and cosmetic
collection Context launched in 2015, as did Make’s unisex skincare line Naxos.
New York socialites Harry and Peter Brant recently released a unisex makeup
collection for MAC. “Most makeup is packaged for women, which is why men
feel embarrassed about owning it. There’s no difference between makeup for
men or women—it’s all packaging,” Peter Brant told Allure.
Why it’s interesting: While the market for men’s makeup is likely to remain
small, the widespread appeal of male makeup-wearing personalities on
social media suggests that all consumers, including women, are hungry for
an approach to beauty that focuses on creative enhancement. Repositioning
makeup as a creative tool rather than a “feminine” product could boost sales.
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Context Skin made in USA
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Beauty tech
Although technology has revolutionized many industries,
the beauty business has been relatively immune to its
effects. But that’s about to change, thanks to a wave of
innovative connected products that promise to deliver
unparalleled personalization, among other benefits.
In 2015, French company Feeligreen launched the i-feel Beauty, a set of face
and body creams with an electronic device to apply them via micro-currents
and LED light therapy. The device is steered by a smartphone or tablet app
which can make personalized application recommendations. In 2016, Wired
Beauty used Kickstarter to launch Mapo, a connected face mask that links
with the user’s phone and analyzes the wearer’s skin to suggest the optimal
beauty routine. WAY, a compact-sized device from South Korea that began
shipping in the spring, can monitor a user’s skin as well as the environment,
making product recommendations based on weather and pollution levels.
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i-feel Beauty

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By tracking a user’s skin conditions, connected beauty devices provide the
ultimate in personalized experience. And companies are just beginning to
scratch the surface. Research firm Gartner predicts almost 21 billion devices
will be connected to the Internet of Things by 2020. Mintel suggests that
future implementations could include conductive makeup with sensors or
cameras, antiperspirants that report on sweat levels and composition, and
hair grips that measure hair hydration.
Is it possible that makeup brands will even begin launching Silicon Valley–
style technology hubs? In fact, one already has. In January 2015, L’Oréal’s
Technology Incubator unveiled the ultra-thin patch My UV Patch which
adheres to the skin and analyzes the amount of UV exposure a user
receives, connecting to an app that tracks a user’s exposure over time and
recommends treatment.
Why it’s interesting: “Connected technologies have the potential to
completely disrupt how we monitor the skin’s exposure to various external
factors,” said Guive Balooch, global vice-president of L’Oréal’s Technology
Incubator, in a press release. Looking forward, it’s a safe bet that technology
has the potential to disrupt other aspects of the beauty industry as well.
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My UV Patch by La Roche-Posay, L'Oréal

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The new nude
As beauty brands diversify their “nude” offerings, there
will be increasing demands for higher standards from
consumers from a wide range of ethnicities. Simply being
included is no longer enough.
As The Innovation Group has previously reported, beauty markets are
responding to changing consumer demographics by breaking down the
walls between “general” and “ethnic” categories. One industry holdout was
makeup, where “nude” foundations failed to reflect the full range of skin
tones in the population.
In 2016, mainstream brands finally began incorporating a more inclusive
range of “nude” into their makeup lines. Neutrogena added Honey, Caramel,
Chestnut and Cocoa shades in April, in partnership with spokeswoman Kerry
Washington. The “new nude” is also playing out in clothing, as designers
including Christian Louboutin expand nude shoe and underwear lines to
include darker skin tones.
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Naja, Nude for All, founded by Catalina Girald

But as more brands join the diversity bandwagon, discerning consumers are
not afraid to call out companies that don’t take their demands seriously. In
June, mineral foundation brand BareMinerals was criticized for touting the
diversity of its Complexion Rescue cream foundation line, most of which
appeared to be designed for light-skinned women.
Milk Makeup, an offshoot of creative agency Milk that launched in February,
experienced similar pushback on Instagram, with one comment reading: “Two
dark colors aren’t versatile at all,” and another stating: “So tired of the makeup
industry catering to lighter skin.”
Why it’s interesting: Although many brands are now beginning to incorporate
deeper shades as part of their “nude” lines, it’s not enough to pay lip service.
Instead, look to the brands that are getting it right. L’Oréal’s Women of Color
Lab employs chemists to create shades that blend with darker skin, while
Bobbi Brown, already popular among women of color, this year added five
new, deeper shades to its 24-strong Skin Foundation Stick line.
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Naja, Nude for All. Founded by Catalina Girald
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Natural curls
At the forefront of the trend, celebrities like Lupita Nyong’o are keeping it
natural, showcasing a range of styles on the red carpet and in music videos.
Consumers are lining up behind them: According to Mintel research, sales of
styling products now make up 35% of the black haircare market, while relaxers
are on track to fall from the second-largest segment to the smallest by 2020.
The movement is starting a wave of new products. New apps like Trest,
launched in November 2016, connect women with textured hair to suitable
stylists, based on recommendations from friends and social networks.
Recently launched product lines include Pure-Fro from Vernon François,
celebrity hairstylist. Crwn magazine launched in August and is all about
natural hair, while Brooklyn’s CurlFest 2016 beauty festival staged an all-day
celebration of natural curls.
“I think that we are finally able to really see ourselves, and to see the gains that
we’ve made, the contributions we’ve made to this country and to culture, and
we can stand back and say, ‘Hey, yeah, we did that,’” says Nikia Phoenix, founder
of the Black Girl Beautiful movement. “And we deserve to celebrate us.”
Why it’s interesting: Minority groups continue to assert their power as
consumers, challenging industry norms and upending industry perceptions.
The beauty industry would do well to keep its finger on the pulse of this shift.
Many young consumers of color are turning their back
on hair relaxers, opting instead to embrace and celebrate
their natural hair.
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Bb.Curl by Bumble and Bumble launched in 2016

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Second skin
Much of the visible appearance of aging skin can be
attributed to loss of elasticity. Researchers are uncovering
new materials that create a “second skin” to restore
natural tautness. Scientists at MIT and Harvard have
created an invisible layer of polymers that produces
dramatic results in initial tests.
“What they have done is design a clever biomaterial that recapitulates the
properties of young and healthy skin. They can use it as sort of a Band-Aid over
old and aging skin and get very significant results,” Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic,
professor of biomedical engineering at Columbia, told the New York Times.
Currently under development by Olivo Laboratories and funded by biotech
company Living Proof, the product can also be used to moisturize skin and
help increase absorption of topical products. Watch and wait for this “second
skin” to reach the market.
Why it’s interesting: Anti-aging may not be the message 50+ consumers
want to hear, as the Innovation Group has previously reported, but solutions
that help support the skin and reduce the appearance of under-eye bags will
remain popular. This one could be a game changer.
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5Second skin project by MIT, Living Proof and Olivo Labs
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Three hot beauty ingredients
Avocado oil
Mega-doses of avocado oil are the selling point
for Laqa & Co’s new AvoLip lipstick, with every
tube containing 12% of the ingredient. The idea is
to make lipstick more moisturizing, without
sacrificing its rich hues.
By-product beauty
Ingredients made from manufacturing by-products
are getting another look as brands seek to make
skincare more sustainable. The online publication
Cosmetics Design presented a “best ingredient
made from recycled materials” award in September
with nominees including Alban Muller for Borealine
Expert, an anti-aging ingredient made from the bark
of red maple trees; Lipotec for Actiguard, a skin
soother extracted from sorghum bran; and Active
Concepts for AMTicide, a preservative made from
fermented coconut oil. Expect to see these and
other recycled ingredients hitting store shelves soon.
Turmeric
The traditional Indian spice turmeric is known for its
anti-inflammatory properties by the holistic nutrition
community. Now beauty mavens are recommending
it in facemasks and creams, to combat acne and skin
flare-ups (a yellow turmeric mask also makes for a
strong selfie, which has helped the trend go viral).
Why they’re interesting: All of the above are trends
that started first in food and drink. Avocado toast,
turmeric as a food ingredient, coconut oil and foods
made from by-products have all caught on in recent
years. Food and drink innovation remains a powerful
predictor of upcoming beauty trends.
AvoLip collection by Laqa & Co
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New nails
Although gel polish has dominated the salon recent years, the buzzy Base
Coat Salon in Denver, Colorado points to a growing interest in natural nail
care. Base Coat is proudly non-toxic, using vegan-friendly products with no
additives. Base Coat even launched its own nail polish collection this year, a
testament to consumers’ steady interest in all things natural.
Why it’s interesting: The nail-care market is poised for an upswing through
2020, according to research firm Mintel, and new initiatives show that
consumers are ready to think outside the nail box.
The nail industry has a new lease of life. Cult nail
artists on Instagram have given way to innovative retail
concepts, while health-focused and increasingly surreal
nail art concepts point toward plenty of room for this
$2 billion industry to evolve.
Sharmadean Reid, founder of Wah nails, is largely responsible for kicking off
the nail art craze. She opened Wah’s permanent flagship salon in London’s
Soho district in November 2016. Part salon and part club, the space upgrades
the traditional nail experience with immersive virtual-reality experiences, a
product testing zone and even a cocktail bar.
Elsewhere, nail art is taking on increasingly artistic and even mystical
dimensions. In Australia, artist Roz Borg designed a special glue for attaching
plants to nails, creating a living succulent garden on a model’s thumb. Images
of the whimsical nail art were widely circulated on Instagram, testimony
to its design rather than functionality. In LA, Nail Swag salon pairs a tarot
card reading and a crystal consultation with a luxury manicure designed to
enhance the wearer’s aura.
Succulent nail art by Roz Borg

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On-demand spa
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Uber, Seamless, Amazon Prime Now, Handy—instant,
on-demand services are bringing a new mobile-first
seamlessness to the beauty industry.
Soothe, an on-demand massage service operating in 22 cities across the
US, recently launched in London. The service allows consumers to order
massages from a network of professionals and have them come to their home
as quickly as a takeaway. The company recently achieved $35 million in series
B funding to expand.
Following the likes of GlamSquad (an in-home beauty service app), the
recently launched Nomi app offers hotel guests on-demand hair and makeup
services that are billed straight to their hotel account. It is available in
New York at the Quin Hotel and WestHouse, and recently partnered with
InterContinental and the Refinery Hotel. The Ritualist, an at-home, on-demand
facial and massage service has also recently launched, allowing consumers to
book facials whenever they please.
Why it’s interesting: On-demand is becoming nothing short of a consumer
movement as new challenger brands offer unlimited convenience, and
consumers expect lightning-fast, at-home, flexible service in all categories.
8Nomi Beauty founded by Nikki Robinson. Photography by Vanessa Granda
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Private-label beauty renaissance
“We wanted the products to smell and feel great, but also embrace who we
are as a brand with our ‘playfully optimistic’ point of view. This shows up in the
colorful packaging and little story behind each product. Everything is sized for
our customer’s on-the-go lifestyle,” says Andres Dorronsoro, vice-president
and general manager of Old Navy Kids.

Amazon has also announced an expansion of its private-label goods and
Target has recently invested in private-label offerings, putting out Defy &
Inspire, the company’s first private-label nail polish range, as well as three
Target-only bath and body lines. It also has a beauty incubator developing
private-label beauty brands.

The private label trend isn’t limited to fashion—in supermarkets,
private-label brands reached sales in the US of $118.4 billion in 2015,
an all-time high, according to an April 2016 report by the Private Label
Manufacturers Association.

Why it’s interesting: Online subscription service Dollar Shave Club with its “anti-
brand” basics message was perhaps the bellwether. Millennials are showing
indifference to traditional brand cues and the mystique of brand names, and
sophisticated new private-label offerings are bolstering the effect.
For years, beauty advertising has been aspirational,
defined by brand, mystique and perhaps a celebrity
endorsement. But these factors are less important with
today’s savvy millennials who seek value and quality
without the need for bells, whistles and a Hollywood star.
Millennials and gen Zers are increasingly non-aligned to brand names, and
this is blurring the boundaries between retailers and brands, as many of the
largest retailers have begun producing more private-label products to achieve
growth. With younger shoppers looking more at product quality than branding,
retailers can cut out wholesalers and pocket more of the proceeds.
Retailers are coming up with a wave of private-label lines that boast
sophisticated designs and affordable prices, transforming the humble
connotations that the “private label” term used to carry. Old Navy has
developed its first private-label personal-care line, Kindred Goods, a series
of fragranced beauty products including Sea Salt & Fig, Sweet Cream &
Honey and Orange Blossom & Tea ranges of hair-and- body mist, hand cream,
foaming body scrub and body lotion.


Kindred Goods by Old Navy

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Three beauty
“worry spots”
Pollution
Air pollution is bad for health and bad for skin
too. Chanel’s La Solution 10 was tested during the
peak of pollution in Beijing and shown to reduce
sensitivity in 79% of users after a month of use.
Other brands defending against air pollution
include Ren’s Flash Defence Anti-Pollution Mist
and Decléor’s Hydra Floral Anti-Pollution Hydrating
Active Lotion.
Why it’s interesting: Pollution-fighting products
ranging from air purifiers to clothing are widely
available and beauty products are a logical addition,
protecting the skin from an everyday problem which
city dwellers are particularly prone to.
The screen
Light emitting from the digital screen you’re likely
reading now is aging your skin, say some beauty
brands. But fear not, because they’re already
creating products to solve the problem. The light,
called HEV (high-energy visible) light, can cause
degradation of the skin, according to Nava Dayan
from Lipo Chemicals, but beauty brand Make has
created a line of products called Tech Survival which
includes Moonlight Primer—a unisex primer designed
to protect the skin from the aging effects of HEV
light. Skin by Marywynn’s new Total Age Corrector
contains Liposhield, an ingredient proven to protect
against HEV light, according to the company.
Why it’s interesting: Statista forecasts the number
of smartphone users worldwide to exceed two
billion by next year, suggesting that face-time with
the screen will increase even more in years to come.
Keep an eye out for brands that start advertising
screen-protecting qualities.
Décolletage
This summer, Vogue highlighted “the new wrinkle”:
wrinkles found on women’s faces and necks,
otherwise known as the décolletage. Skin specialist
Dr Philippa Lowe from the UK’s Cranley Clinic claims
the skin around the neck and chest is thin, and
therefore prone to damage from UV rays. Beauty
brands are releasing products to target this region,
including Estée Lauder’s New Dimension Tighten
+ Tone Neck/Chest Treatment, Lancer’s Contour
Décolleté, and Meaningful Beauty’s Skin Brightening
Décolleté and Neck Treatment.
Why it’s interesting: Celebrities such as Cindy
Crawford, Gwyneth Paltrow and Victoria Beckham
have been vocal about paying special attention to
the décolletage, and some women are using micro-
needling to smoothe this area of the body.
Left: Ren's Flash Defence Anti-Pollution Mist
Right: Make Tech Survival

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Two Liners
61-70
Retail

Retail naturalism
Technology brands are evolving retail concepts away
from cold and minimal shops toward something
friendlier and more natural.
Apple’s store on central London’s Regent Street received a major facelift in
fall 2016 that features the company’s new “town square” layout, with a central
space, the Forum, that hosts daily entertainment. The store showcases the
brand’s new design philosophy, which is interactive and community-oriented.
A central hall lined with trees, an open layout flooded with daylight, and other
natural touches like wooden fixtures and plant walls mark a departure from
Apple’s classic, bordering on clinical, aesthetic.
Google’s Manhattan pop-up store, which also opened in October, features
similar touches. A massive wooden “fountain of light” takes center stage
in the store, anchoring it in a unique architectural feature. There’s also a
whimsical play area to experiment with Google’s Daydream View virtual reality
headset, and a homey kitchen setup to try Google’s Home line in action.
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Apple store, Regent Street, London
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Increasingly, Apple is working to preserve the architecture of historical
buildings, rather than impose contemporary layouts. In February 2016, the
New York Landmarks Conservancy gave the company an award for its work
protecting New York’s rich architectural history at its locations, including
Grand Central Terminal and a Beaux Arts bank on the Upper East Side, where
architects preserved the vault.
Why it’s interesting: Consumers expect more out of bricks-and-mortar
retail—whether it’s an experience, or a space worth visiting even when they’re
not in the market for a specific product. Apple and Google are admitting that
varying their well-honed aesthetic can keep retail spaces fresh.
Left, top right and following page: Apple store, Regent Street, London
Bottom right: Sonos store, New York City
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Brexterity
Apple raised UK retail prices 20% at the end of October 2016, making
MacBooks in the United Kingdom about $275 more expensive than in the
United States. Microsoft has announced a similar plan to “harmonize prices”
with the EU. The likely implication is that, absent salary increases, British
consumers’ buying power will decline next year and onwards, especially as
talk of a “hard Brexit” continues to spook traders.
Why it’s interesting: Globalization has delivered small but incremental
increases in buying power to consumers across the board in recent decades.
Watch to see whether this trend is fully reversed along with the rising tide of
economic nationalism. And double down on delivering more value for less.
First it was the Marmite scare. A price dispute between
Tesco and Unilever over the polarizing breakfast spread
grabbed viral headlines in October 2016, worrying
devoted fans that it might disappear from British
supermarket shelves.
Ultimately, Marmite remained in stock, but in the long term, consumer prices
in a Britain with a weakened pound suggest future declines in buying power.
Unilever’s chief financial officer Graeme Pitkethly told investors on an earnings
call that “prices should start to increase to cover the cost of imported goods
due to weaker sterling.”
In November 2016, Toblerone began shrinking the size of its famous triangular
chocolate bars in the UK to cover lost revenue caused by higher prices of
imported chocolate. The cost to print books jumped from £1.50 ($1.86) per
unit to over £3 ($3.72) per unit between June and November, Sam Jordison,
codirector of Norwich-based publishing company Galley Beggar Press, told
CNBC, adding that the company had been in danger of folding as a result.

Productless flagships
Samsung 837 is a space that purposely does not stock any products and is
not focused on sales. Instead the 40,000-square-foot space is an “immersive
culture center” that allows visitors to experience the Samsung products.
“With Samsung 837, we are creating the flagship of the future,” Zach Overton,
vice president and general manager of Samsung 837, said in a news release.
“Reimagining the traditional store experience, 837 is a fully immersive cultural
center, featuring programming which will tap into people’s passions such art,
music, entertainment, sports, wellness, culinary, technology and fashion, all
powered and enriched by technology.”
Alex Mustonen, cofounder of architecture practice Snarkitecture, agrees:
“Retail is leaning more heavily into a cross-discipline or multi-programmed
space, in ways that are unexpected and forward-thinking. The way the space
works is against the traditional program of a store; instead we used two-
thirds of the space as an unknown reflected showroom and only a third was
dedicated to the sales selection.”
Why it’s interesting: In our Frontier(less) Retail report we found that
experiences built in a physical retail store are a big draw for consumers.
Samsung 837 offers consumers and fans a space to immerse themselves in
the Samsung brand experience, without any hard sell. Is the future of flagship
stores productless?
When tech giant Samsung opened its new branded
space in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District in February
2016, it also set a new precedent for what a flagship store
should represent.
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Samsung 837, NYC, 2016

Samsung 837, NYC, 2016
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Co-working as a retail destination
“We’re into those who take charge, make noise, and
drop-kick the glass ceiling.” This is the mission statement
of Argent, a new women’s workwear brand that makes
stylish, functional clothes for professional women.
The San Francisco-based brand launched in June 2016,
and, rather than selling its first collection in a traditional
retail store, the founders chose to sell at co-working
space WeWork.
Selling their collection at WeWork in San Francisco directly reaches Argent’s
ideal audience—independent female freelancers, entrepreneurs and startup
employees. In addition, the brand values of WeWork and Argent are aligned;
they both want to build a sense of community, empower women and create
change. The venue also allows Argent to host networking and career coaching
events to enhance the brand’s values and outreach.
Why it’s interesting: It’s time to “drop-kick the glass ceiling” and reconsider
the next retail destination. Think beyond the obvious boutique or department
store and reach out organically to your target audience in spaces where you’ll
be seen alongside likeminded brands.
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Argent at WeWork in San Francisco
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Convergence payments
Sure, we’ve all heard of one-click retail and autofilled
online payment fields. It’s old news. So why do we still
find ourselves typing in credit card information all
the time?
Finally, the World Wide Web Consortium, which sets the international
standards for the World Wide Web, has convened the world’s most prominent
tech companies to work out a new solution for online payments, according to
the New York Times. It promises to be much smoother and more automatic
than existing payment methods.
“There’s a convergence going on,” retail consultant Dave Birch told the New
York Times. “In the future you will have one experience—it won’t matter if you
are at the store or on the phone. It will pop up on your phone, you will put your
thumb on it and you will be done.”
Why it’s interesting: Online shopping, and mobile commerce especially, can
be clunky from a user experience perspective, and final purchases often don’t
get made because of the sheer hassle involved. It might seem like a minor
tweak, but one-touch online payments could seriously help to grease the
wheels of e-commerce.
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Gesture payments
While some brands work to streamline present-day online
payment systems, others are already thinking about how
payment will work on retail platforms that haven’t yet
emerged.
Virtual reality offers a potential new platform for retail that could infuse
some of the best features of bricks-and-mortar into the online shopping
experience. Alibaba is one company looking ahead; its VR Pay system, which
could launch as early as the end of 2016, allows shoppers to purchase items in
VR stores simply by nodding their heads.
“It is very boring to have to take off your goggles for payment,” Lin Feng, who
has worked to help develop the technology, told Reuters. “With this, you will
never need to take out your phone.” There’s already an interested market. A
SONAR™ study for our Frontier(less) Retail report found that 59% of Chinese
millennials would be interested in trying out clothing in VR, while 57% would be
interested in exploring a travel destination.
Why it’s interesting: Emerging platforms like AR and VR are already being
used in a retail context. Start thinking about how to process payments on
these platforms now, so your brand will be ready when the technologies hit
mass adoption.

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Food culture and culinary pursuits remain a key focus for
consumers—and now a new wave of retail concept stores
is bringing luxury and professional cookware to life. The
high-end Pirch kitchen-and-bathroom retailer opened
a New York flagship temple to cookware in 2016 which
offers kitchen demos with chefs and allows visitors to
experiment with ovens and equipment installed as
though in a real home.
The store is designed to “ignite inspiration and fuel discovery,” says CEO and
cofounder Jeffery R Sears, and contains 30 interactive kitchen and bathroom
displays in a three-story, 32,000-square-foot space. Bloomberg describes it
as “theme park” retail: Take your dog along to try out the pet spa and enjoy a
coffee or a glass of wine as you browse.
Zwilling, the German specialist in knives, cookware and cutlery, has launched
a new culinary concept store in Shanghai, set in a groovy industrial-style
space with atmospheric lighting and exposed brick walls. Chefs demonstrate
the items, preparing food on long marble counters in the center of the store.
Visitors can also use the equipment, testing their knife skills in the polished
concrete kitchens. Guest celebrity chef appearances add to the buzz.
Test-drive culinary retail
Why it’s interesting: As experience culture becomes pervasive, retail stores
are trying to make their physical stores more immersive, on the grounds that
the longer a customer spends with the company, the more likely they are to
buy something. The events at these culinary temples also provide convivial
reasons to visit. These stores are entertaining weekend destinations; and if
you buy a bathtub or refrigerator afterwards, all the better.
Pirch showroom

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Shipping wars
Technology companies are ratcheting up the competition
in a sector of retail that was, until recently, left mostly to
its own devices: Shipping.
On the West Coast, Amazon is experimenting with an in-house delivery
service, building the capability to pose a challenge to its long-time partners
like the postal service, FedEx and UPS. Although the company does not plan
to replace traditional delivery, but rather to “supplement it heavily,” according
to Jeff Bezos, a more efficient delivery model could allow Amazon to cut
costs below rising UPS rates. Amazon’s shipping costs now consume close to
12% of its revenue, according to the Wall Street Journal, up from 6% in 2010.
Uber is also eyeing the shipping industry with its August 2016 purchase of
Otto, a startup that makes self-driving trucks. In fall 2016, the company made
its first successful delivery, a 120-mile shipment of cases of Budweiser. While
the service pairs nicely with Uber’s other ambitions to develop self-driving
cars, autonomous trucking is potentially more practical, as highway driving
eliminating variables like pedestrians and stop lights. It may also be more
lucrative. Trucking revenue topped $700 billion in 2015, 81.5% of the entire US
freight industry, according to American Trucking Associations figures.
Why it’s interesting: Shipping may not be the sexiest aspect of retail, but
control of the shipping supply chain could give companies a serious edge in
a hyper-competitive delivery market. Consumers are turning up the heat on
delivery: According to a survey conducted as part of the Innovation Group’s
Frontier(less) Retail trend report, 29% of US millennials and 35% of gen Zers
expect items ordered online to arrive in two days or less, while more than 80%
of all generations expect shipping to be free.

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Generation Z poses a unique challenge for retailers. As
the generation to follow millennials, they will play a huge
role in shaping fashion and trends over the years to come.
But these young digital natives are proving difficult for
retailers. They are brand-agnostic, innately aware of
advertising, and demand authenticity at every turn.
Could a platform-agnostic approach help retailers connect? In March, Clique
Media Group (publisher of Who What Wear and Byrdie) launched Obsessee,
a bold experiment in social media-only publishing. The lifestyle brand, which
targets girls ages 14 to 22, has no website, but operates across 10 different
social media platforms including Snapchat, Tumblr and Periscope.
“Our brand is not tethered down to Snapchat or a dot com or Instagram,”
Clique VP of digital strategy and content Alex Taylor told Fashionista. “She
might start focusing her time on Kik and we need to be there.”
Although Obsessee is an editorial experiment, the brand’s focus on a range of
social platforms could provide a framework for retail brands seeking to reach
always-on generation Z. According to Pew, 71% of American teens use more
than one social networking site. While Facebook reigns supreme, a third or
more of teens also use Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter and Google Plus.
Platformless retail
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Obsessee launched by Clique Media Group. Founders Katherine Power and Hillary Kerr

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Brands are experimenting with creating more content designed exclusively
for social media. At New York Fashion Week in fall 2016, designer Misha Nonoo
opted to stream her latest line as a “live lookbook” on Snapchat, a 24-hour
experience in partnership with Refinery29. As more social platforms integrate
e-commerce, strategies are becoming more sophisticated: Instagram is
now testing shoppable photo ads, while Snapchat ran its first shoppable
campaigns from Target and Lancôme in April 2016.
Why it’s interesting: Pew research shows that 92% of teens go online every
day, including nearly a quarter who are online “almost constantly.” Social
media platforms are clearly key to winning this demographic. But as teens
become increasingly platform-agnostic, retail brands have a chance to
expand their scope.
Obsessee launched by Clique Media Group. Founders Katherine Power and Hillary Kerr

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Plus size is a plus
Call it the Ashley Graham effect—or the full force of
new-wave feminism. Plus-size retail, once on the fringes,
is coming to the fore as empowered consumers seek
sophisticated clothing, inclusive imagery, and recognition
of their shape.
The average women’s clothing size in the United States is now 16, so there’s
a market imperative, too. Women’s media platform Refinery29 has already
dived in, launching #seethe67%, a new photography collection in partnership
with Getty Images; #seethe67% acknowledges that, while 67% of women in
the United States are over size 14, they appear in less than 2% of imagery. The
platform seeks to normalize images of larger women.
JC Penney added its first-ever plus-size collection for millennial women,
Boutique+, in 2016, while Target launched Ava & Viv, a similar initiative, in 2015.
The industry is responding to cues from the market, where annual sales of
women’s plus-size apparel grew by 17% between 2013 and 2016, compared to
just 7% for overall apparel sales, according to NPD Group. Seven7, an exciting
size-inclusive line from comedian Melissa McCarthy, comes in a range of sizes
from 4 to 28 and has shoppers lining up.
67% project by Refinery29 in partnership with Getty Images

Teens also seem to be more accepting of their own bodies than in the past,
and less swayed by unrealistic societal standards than other cohorts at a
similar age. NPD found that in 2015, 34% of 13-17-year-old girls had bought
plus-size clothing, more than double the 16% who did so in 2010. In part, this
is a response to brands such as Torrid, which are finally bringing a fashionable
aesthetic to the formerly neglected plus-size category. A standout example is
Aerie, American Eagle’s lingerie outlet geared toward the 15- to 25-year-old set.
Why it’s interesting: Brands have been missing out on a huge market, tailoring
their imagery and advertising to a constructed ideal instead of reality. In an
age of user-generated content, portraying women as they are goes a long way
toward convincing them your brand is on their side.
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Quantified blood
Forget the Fitbit—the rise of at-home blood testing is
bringing entirely new dimensions to the tracking of
personal health. Once the preserve of elite athletes,
custom blood panels have received a wellness-themed
makeover rooted in taking control of one’s own health
and longevity.
InsideTracker, one of today’s most popular options, analyzes up to 30 different
biomarkers, including vitamin levels and cholesterol, from a vial of blood. The
InsideTracker platform offers users specific sleep and diet advice to address
any deficiencies. Some of the kits even provide an “InnerAge” metric, which
tracks the markers most linked to aging. Home kits start at $199, though
other options such as the Ultimate package at $499 require a visit to a Quest
Diagnostics center.
The company’s user base is expanding. “Most of our users are in their thirties,
forties and fifties, because at that age you see you are not immortal,”
cofounder Gil Blander, biology PhD and former MIT research scientist, told
Elle. “But some just want to lose weight; some want to sleep better.”
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By cutting out the doctor’s visit, at-home blood tests allow consumers to
track custom measures of their own health more precisely, with less expense
and shorter wait times. It also makes it easier to test regularly enough to
track progress over time.
InsideTracker’s biggest competitor, WellnessFX, runs a similar service. The
company’s Premium package, which includes a consultation with a certified
physician, sells for $925. In November 2016, WellnessFX launched its first
at-home testing kit, the $111 Lifelong Vitality package, which monitors key
markers of women’s health.
The global market for diagnostic testing stands to reach $63 billion by 2024.
Although much of that still takes place in hospitals, at-home kits are a rapidly-
growing slice of the pie. The direct-to-consumer lab test market was worth
$131 million in 2015, up from just over $15 million in 2010, according to research
firm Kalorama Information.
Why it’s interesting: In the era of the quantified self, no health metric is
off-limits for consumers wanting to take control of their health and better
understand their own physical makeup.
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Blueprint for Athletes

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Gene editing
and protégé battle for control over the human genome in a game of cat and
mouse in which the future of our species may rest and all disease could one
day be eradicated,” wrote the Hollywood Observer. The show, naturally, will be
called C.R.I.S.P.R.
Why it’s interesting: CRISPR is adding heat to bioethics debates and, if
headline-grabbing treatments emerge, the technology could even prompt
a shift in public perceptions of GMOs. “As scientists try out new ways of using
CRISPR, the effects will likely ripple outward, touching more species, more
markets, and perhaps even more items on your Christmas list,” commented
the Atlantic.
“‘Any idiot can do it.’ Genome editor CRISPR could put
mutant mice in everyone’s reach.” This surprising claim
in a November 2016 Science headline reflects both the
promises and the fears stirred up in 2016 by the gene-
editing technology, otherwise known as “clustered
regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats.”
Often described as a pair of molecular scissors, CRISPR promises to make
it much easier to selectively edit bits of DNA, potentially leading to miracle
cures and manmade mutants, or elements of both.
Commercialization of CRISPR discoveries is not far off. In China, researchers
have already used CRISPR to create cashmere goats with more abundant
fur. Biotech companies such as Juno Therapeutics, Intellia Therapeutics
and CRISPR Therapeutics are working to bring gene editing-based
immunotherapies to market.
Lest this all seem too esoteric, pop culture has already caught on and is
spinning out sci-fi scenarios around the technology. NBC is developing a
near-future procedural starring Jennifer Lopez as a CDC scientist trying to
save humanity from a deranged former boss. “The drama will see mentor
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Human cyborgs
Imagine swiping your hand at a credit-card reader and
paying for lunch with an embedded chip. It’s not science
fiction: Technology has already begun to expand the
capabilities of the human body.
In October 2016, the world watched as disabled athletes competed using
assistive technologies in the first-ever Cybathlon championships in
Switzerland. Full-body powered exoskeletons, advanced prosthetic limbs
and brain-controlled computer programs were all on display throughout the
competition. Although the event was a testimony to the abilities of disabled
individuals, many also saw potential for consumer application.
“If a device can control a wheelchair, then it should be able to help me drive
a car,” Aldo Faisal, associate professor of neurotechnology at Imperial College
London, told Wired. “Researchers are working on prosthetics that give you a
sense of touch, but why should that be limited to the form of an arm?
You could be an airplane and feel the wind on the wings ... You could shrug
on a rucksack and become like Shiva with six arms. It would make childcare
a lot easier.”
Mind-control prosthetics by Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory

Today, a new wave of “biohackers” is exploring the possibilities of high-tech
body modification. Seattle-based company Dangerous Things, which sells
implantable biomagnets and RFID chips, has seen sales of its products grow
700% over two years. In a 2013 TED Talk, founder Amal Graafstra called
biohacking “a new kind of human evolution.”
Some of biohacking’s possibilities are undeniably practical. Take embedded
payments: A set of false nails created by a design student at London arts
college Central Saint Martins contains a chip from the payment card used on
the city’s public transportation network, allowing for seamless swiping. Other
applications are more fantastical, like artist Moon Ribas’s embedded sensor
that allows her to feel earthquakes anywhere in the world.
Ribas is a member of Cyborg Nest, a biohacking startup that is using
technology to extend the senses. The company’s first product, an external
sensor that vibrates when the wearer faces north, is now available for pre-
order. As bionic technology improves, it stands to give credence to the
company’s motto: “This isn’t just an idea anymore. It’s a choice.”
Why it’s interesting: Cyborg technology has substantial implications
for forward-thinking wearables companies. According to the Innovation
Group’s Control Shift report, 74% of US and UK consumers like the idea
that humans will use technology in the future to further boost their
physical and mental capabilities.
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Mind-control prosthetics by Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory

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Brain-body training
Science is offering more evidence of the connection
between physical exercise and brain health, and
organizations are taking note. A July 2016 AARP report
found that “people who participate in purposeful exercise
show beneficial changes in brain structure and function”
and that “people who lead a physically active lifestyle
have lower risk of cognitive decline.”
Along with this, we’re seeing a greater focus on mental wellbeing among gyms
and fitness brands. HeadStrong, a new workout class from luxury fitness
chain Equinox, harnesses insights from brain science for physical wellbeing,
with exercises that promote mindfulness and neuroplasticity. Each of four
stages—focus, adapt, willpower and reboot—comes with its own colored
lighting to reflect changing physical and mental challenges.
Why it’s interesting: As boomers retire and seek to stave off the effects of
aging, we expect to see a more holistic concept of exercise that includes both
physical and mental wellbeing. Fitness brands would do well to tailor their
products and marketing with this in mind.
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HeadStrong by Equinox

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Sexual healing
It continues: “A holistic approach to deeply nourished sexual vigor, this
warming elixir sends waves of sensitivity and power to all the right places.”
Sex, sensuality and sexual pleasure are increasingly being converged with
wellbeing in the packaging of new products and lifestyle platforms.
BeautyWorksWest, exhibited at Cosmoprof 2016, is a luxury range of food
supplements—called Youth, Sex and Energy—created by Dr Daniel Sister,
one of the UK’s leading anti-aging physicians. Smile Makers describes itself
as a “wellbeing brand that supports sexual empowerment” with a mission
to “normalize sexual wellbeing products and reframe them as a natural and
healthy part of life and beauty care.” Its D&AD Award-winning sex toys are
referred to as “massagers” and its range of three pastel-packaged, pH-
balanced lubricants could easily be mistaken for skin serums. Aphrodisiac
perfume oils from Good Clean Love are scientifically formulated to activate
the arousal mechanism in the brain through scent.
Why it’s interesting: Women’s sexual fulfillment has become another focus of
attention as feminism reaches beyond an activist base. Within that, sensuality
is being aligned to overall health. This also sits with the increasingly holistic
view consumers have of health in general, seeing their bodies, minds and
beauty as one ecosystem.
“Sex Dust™ is a lusty edible formula alchemized to ignite
and excite your sexy energy in and out of the bedroom,”
reads the blurb on Moon Juice’s site about its hot product
(hot since it was featured on Gwyneth Paltrow’s lifestyle
site Goop).
SmileMakers

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Fitness festivals
With big-name Instagram fitness trainers selling out rock
star-sized arenas around the country, could the next
extension of the rock-star model be a fitness Coachella?
One of the biggest names in athletics is exploring ways
to meld the fitness zeitgeist with today’s demand for
experience culture.
In August, Nike held a three-day immersive fitness event in London with all the
trappings of a music festival. As part of the brand’s Unlimited You Olympics
promotions, Nike guests could participate in high-intensity workouts from
company trainers or guest celebrity fitness gurus. A background of flashing
lights and video installations from Artisan, the creative studio from the United
Visual Artists, and a custom soundtrack from electronic duo Hot Chip pulsated
throughout the event—all designed to enhance the workout experience.
Why it’s interesting: Events like the Wanderlust festivals, which place yoga
and music side by side, or Croatia’s Obonjan festival, a month-long wellbeing
retreat that opened August 2016 as a twist on the European festival scene,
have laid the groundwork for combining fitness and fun. Nike’s Olympic-sized
spectacle shows there is plenty of room for fitness brands to get creative
with the festival treatment.
Nike Unlimited You

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Caregiver economy
Other companies introduced similar benefits this year, though none quite as
comprehensive. Nike employees now receive eight weeks of paid family care
leave, while Vanguard Group offers two.
Why it’s interesting: In recent years, companies have expanded maternity
and parental leave to woo candidates. But the needs of an aging population
are set to play a pressing role in society. In 2015, 43 million American adults
provided unpaid care for an aging family member, a figure that is only set
to increase.
The global population is aging rapidly. By 2050, senior
citizens are expected to make up 17% of the world’s
population, compared to just 8.5% today. The shift
is revolutionizing the $88 billion at-home healthcare
market, as America’s baby boomers continue to age. New
platforms are springing up to address adults thrust into
caring for aging family members.
Wellthy provides access to care coordinators who can tackle everything from
insurance paperwork to locating support groups, while Kindly Care matches
families to professionals through a sleek mobile interface.
In another sign of the changing times, paid leave for caregivers is becoming
the newest corporate perk. At Deloitte, a policy launched in September 2016
gives the company’s 78,000 employees access to 16 weeks of paid “family
leave” per year, which covers anything from elder care to paternity leave.
By placing caregiving in the same bucket as other family responsibilities,
the policy also stands to normalize caregiver leave.
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New mental health
message that offers resources, such as a local support helpline or talking to
a friend. Parent company Facebook has a similar tool, which was expanded in
June for users of all languages it covers.
Why it’s interesting: Nearly half of American adults will develop at least one
mental illness during their lifetime, and anxiety rates for generation Z are
already through the roof. In stressed-out times, consumers are beginning
to consider mental health alongside physical health as one of the many
components that comprise wellbeing.
The stigmas surrounding mental health are breaking
down, thanks in part to new publications such as Anxy,
launching in January 2017, which allow individuals to
share their own stories.
“Every day millions of seemingly ‘normal people’ suffer in silence,” writes
designer Indhira Rojas, Anxy’s founder. “Whether they are hurting in response
to tragic events similar to mine, or other equally impactful experiences, these
seemingly ‘normal people’ are riddled with so much pain and shame that, like
me, they work hard to make sure no one ever notices.”
The conversation around mental health is evolving from stigma to support,
buoyed by a younger generation that is not ashamed to seek treatment.
A recent survey of college-age adults found that 60% consider it a sign of
strength to seek professional mental health services, compared to just 35%
of older adults.
Companies are now partnering with national organizations to offer users
support. At the end of 2016, Instagram rolled out its new mental health
support feature. Alongside “like” and “comment,” users can now anonymously
report posts that may indicate a need for help. Flagged users receive a
Anxy magazine founded by Indhira Rojas

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Healthtopias
The 20th century had its Levittowns—hastily built
suburbs promising comfort and convenience for cramped
urbanites. Will the 21st century have Lake Nonas?
Lake Nona, on the edge of Orlando, Florida, has been designed with its
residents’ health and wellness in mind. A cluster of medical and research
facilities known as Medical City provides employment to many of the town’s
11,000 residents, expected to grow to 25,000 before long. The medical centers
will soon be joined by a 63-acre home to the United States Tennis Association,
with 100 courts on site.
Residents of Lake Nona participate in health studies, have access to free
activities including tai chi, bike races and yoga, and can stroll along a network
of trails that will eventually total 44 miles. Residents should consider
themselves part of a “living laboratory,” as James Zboril, president of
Tavistock Development Company, put it to the New York Times.
Why it’s interesting: If Levittown was about convenience and insularity, Lake
Nona represents a new utopian ambition—perfecting one’s life through
the right balance of healthy activities. We expect to see more communities
organized around this principle.
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Augmented gyms
Gyms are becoming technology playgrounds as they
add new layers of interactivity to typical workout routines,
boosting novelty and motivation for patrons.
New York gym Asphalt Green has installed an entire room covered with LED
lights, which provide visual cues for movement during group classes. The
system behind it is Prama by Pavigym, already in use at gyms in Europe.
Participants in AG6, the 45-minute high-intensity workout that uses the
technology, are pushed to their limits. “The system’s visual cues train reaction
time in a way conventional training methods cannot,” says a spokesperson.
Augmented Climbing Wall is described as “the world’s first global gaming
platform for climbing walls.” Light projections layered over traditional climbing
walls allow users to compete against each other in life-size games of Pong, or
navigate “electrified” mazes, with the goal of extending endurance and reach.
The technology, spun off from Aalto University Game Research, has been
installed at two locations in Finland, with more planned at locations across
Europe, Asia, Australia and North America.
Why it’s interesting: These new tech setups suggest that augmented reality
could soon have practical and widespread applications in health and fitness—
in gyms today, maybe throughout cities tomorrow.
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Drone racing
Buoyed by a consumer drone market expected to hit $4.6
billion by 2025, sports marketers are betting that drone
racing will be the latest sport to make it to the big leagues.
In September, ESPN signed the Drone Racing League to a 10-episode run, a
huge shift for a sport that was developed by hobbyists just several years
ago. Advances in drone and camera technology now allow the league to
capture the energy of the race as pilots fly high-speed drones around LED-
lit obstacles courses set in abandoned warehouses, football arenas or even
iconic locations such as London’s Alexandra Palace. The resulting competition
is “an exciting, real-life experience mixed with video-game like dynamics,”
league founder Nicholas Horbaczewski told the New York Times.
Why it’s interesting: The rise of e-sports has demonstrated that a substantial
market exists for new and increasingly niche sporting events. Today’s niche
technology could easily become tomorrow’s moneymaker.
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Drone Racing League
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Favreau unveiled his latest project Gnomes & Goblins, an interactive VR
experience set in an enchanted forest. It launched September 8 on HTC Vive
as a preview, and is still being refined. In Gnomes & Goblins there is no object
except to wander the landscape, which features hidden miniature cottages,
floating fireflies and glowing candles.
Players are encouraged to engage with small gnome and goblin characters,
forming virtual relationships with them by earning their trust and giving them
snacks. “It’s quite emotive,” Favreau said. The project is in beta but could
be just the beginning for the likes of Disney and fantasy storytelling movie
franchises. Will VR gaming theme parks be next?
Why it’s interesting: “People are becoming more sophisticated in their
understanding of experiences but also increasingly frustrated by frames
around things,” says Frank Rose, author of The Art of Immersion. “They want
things to be non-linear, to leap into them. There’s no distinction between
screens and the person, or digital worlds and people.” Increasingly we’ll see
more and more convergence between rich immersive technologies, artificial
intelligence, storytelling and gaming.
“Technology isn’t at odds with craftsmanship, it’s just a
new tool for filmmaking and storytelling,” said filmmaker
Jon Favreau at TEDxHollywood. Speaking on VR, AR,
AI and beyond, he outlined his vision for how these
new technologies could add rich new landscapes to
entertainment, rather than devour the industry.
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Future Hollywood
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Gnomes & Goblins by Jon Favreau

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The second screen comes first
In 2016, Twitter inked deals with the MLB, NHL and NFL to bring live streams
of select professional sporting events to its users. Twitter’s already active
sports community had a running feed beneath the live stream, creating a
one-stop shop for games and conversation. For the NBA’s 2016-2017 season,
Twitter will also stream exclusive ESPN-type commentary shows, drawing
even more first-screen eyeballs.
The network even live streamed its first awards show, The Game Awards,
in December. “The Game Awards conversation already unfolds on Twitter,”
said the show’s founder Geoff Keighley. “This unique partnership brings that
commentary and the full live show broadcast together in one place on Twitter
around the world.” As social media chatter around the US election cycle
became ever more heated in 2016, both Twitter and Facebook also opted to
live stream the presidential debates, at no cost to users.
Why it’s interesting: Consumers are turning their attention from TV to mobile
at a rapid clip. Last year, consumers spent 25% of their media time on mobile
devices—not far from TV’s 36%. Millennials already stream more than half of
the TV they watch, making the shift to mobile intuitive. As consumers become
increasingly relaxed about how they access content, expect more blending of
the first and second screens.
Until recently, apps and social networks were delegated to
a background role during major televised events. Today,
these “second screen” platforms are increasingly opting
to host live TV themselves, blurring the lines between the
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Sleep renaissance
to rest overnight at the Sydney Opera House in June 2016. At the National
Sawdust arts space in Brooklyn, artist Theo Bleckmann performed a “musical
meditation” in the dark to an audience reclining on cushions and pillows. “If
people fall asleep, it’s completely fine,” he told the Guardian.
Why it’s interesting: We never realized our eight hours were so precious
until technology and life demands began to take them away. Consumers are
now reclaiming the value of shut-eye through pro-sleep lifestyles and sleep-
friendly group experiences.
We’re in the midst of a soporific renaissance as innovators
respond to our culture’s chronic undervaluation of sleep.
The “sleep space” has been given the Silicon Valley
makeover in recent years, with the rise of hip online
startups including Casper, Tuft & Needle and Yogabed.
These direct-to-consumer brands aren’t just shaking up the old-school
bedding business by making mattresses more compact, affordable, and easier
to transport; they’re also turning the pro-sleep lifestyle into an art form, with
bedroom design hacks, napping tours and more.
Casper, poised to become the “Amazon of sleep,” has already added pillows
and sheets to its product line, hosted a sleep symposium in New York with
Arianna Huffington as a keynote speaker, published a trend report on sleep
in partnership with Sean Monahan of trend forecasting agency K-Hole, and
hosted free sleep-themed pop-up shops across the United States, complete
with waffle stations and pillowcase screen printers.
Artists are staging experiences for people to experience sleeplike states
together. Composer Max Richter partnered with a neurologist on Sleep, an
eight-hour sedative opus that lulled 400 pajama-wearing audience members
Meneya collection by Lunya

Smart clothing
“Technology is seamlessly integrated into our lives, so we don’t talk about
analog and digital, we just talk about solutions,” says Amina Horozic, product
design jury president at Cannes. “This is something that could change every
aspect of our lives.”
Why it’s interesting: As consumers have become accustomed to “smart”
health-tracking accessories, the next wave of wearable clothing will be
expected to provide real benefits without sacrificing style.
In 2016, a wave of new seamlessly “smart” clothing
hinted that the long-promised wearable technology
revolution might be closer to functional integration in our
everyday garments.
In March, Emil + Aris launched the Smart Coat, a collection of sleek, battery-
powered coats that heat themselves to adapt to changing weather. They are
available in cotton or cashmere and wool, and start at £1,195 ($1,480). “When
talking wearable tech, there is a fine line between geeky and tasteful,” founder
Rana Nakhal Solset told Vogue. Emil + Aris, like other new launches, errs on
the side of tasteful.
At the 2016 Cannes Lions festival, the Grand Prix in product design went
to Google’s Project Jacquard, launched in collaboration with Levi’s, which
weaves touch interface directly into textiles, allowing for touch-sensitive grids
to be woven discreetly into any part of a garment. The first garment to get
the Jacquard touch looks like a normal Levi’s Commuter Trucker jacket, but
responds to taps and gestures, and can even be paired with a smartphone for
hands-free control. The jacket is expected to be available in early spring 2017
in selected Levi’s stories and online, according to the company.
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Smart Coat by Emel + Aris

Levi's Commuter x Jacquard by Google, launching in 2017

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Platonic dating apps
A handful of other apps have sprung up exclusively for friend-swiping. Squad
is for groups of friends to meet, while Vina uses platonic connections to
empower women (and was also the beneficiary of a recent investment by
Tinder). Patook, the newest entry, uses an AI-based algorithm to suggest
potential friends.
Why it’s interesting: While the longevity of any of these platforms remains
to be seen, they show that users are becoming more comfortable with
the mission creep of dating apps. Dating apps have already disrupted one
important form of human connection; for the smartphone generation, there
could be more to come.
Dating apps are pushing their own boundaries,
betting that a generation of users who grew up building
friendships online is interested in swiping for more than
just dates.
In July, Tinder added a Social mode, which allows groups of users to team
up and make “crew” connections for a night out. A few months before,
Bumble added BumbleBFF, a separate mode that lets users swipe left or
right on potential friends. Over the winter, the company also plans to roll out
BumbleBizz, a networking platform that operates like a hyper-mobile LinkedIn.
For established dating apps, the shift to platonic swiping means they can
expand their profitable user base beyond just singles. (According to Apptopia,
Tinder pulled in $3 million in October alone.) “We have an incredible user base,
and so many of them were using this app to find friends,” Bumble founder
Whitney Wolfe told CBS. “And they’ve been requesting a feature for—‘Hey, I’m
in a relationship, but I love Bumble. I still want to be able to use it.’”
Bumble BFF app

Cook was speaking of the company’s plans for Apple Pay, but recently a
few corners of the world have gone nearly cashless without Apple’s help—
perhaps offering a preview of cashless societies to come. In Sweden, only a
fifth of retail transactions were being conducted in cash as of 2014. Cafés,
banks, and other establishments routinely refuse cash, and charities have
even distributed card-readers to the homeless to allow them to accept
donations. Proponents say the shift eases transactions and reduces fraud.
Meanwhile in Zimbabwe, a near-cashless society has emerged in the past year
for entirely different reasons. The country is running low on paper money, with
its own currency beset by problems and the US dollars that replaced them
increasingly being shipped out of the country. The New York Times reports
that “debit card machines are proliferating in Zimbabwe’s cities—not only in
churches but also in supermarkets, betting parlors, nightclubs, parking areas
and every other business happy to accept paper cash but unable to dispense
it.” When cards aren’t available, mobile phones are often used in their place.
Why it’s interesting: In different ways, Sweden and Zimbabwe offer a glimpse
of a cashless future that has long been predicted. They offer a natural
laboratory for observing cashless societies in action.
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Cashless labs
“We would like to be a catalyst for taking cash out of the
system,” Apple CEO Tim Cook told Japanese news service
Nikkei in an October 2016 interview. “We don’t think the
consumer particularly likes cash.”
Scrip by New Deal Design, 2016

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Social media credit scores
Advocates argue that by providing an intimate look into a user’s day-to-
day life, social media helps lenders take a more complete look into a user’s
personality, as opposed to using a narrow range of financial metrics.
“Social media tells you a lot about the person,” Rene Griemens, chief financial
officer of Kreditech, told the Financial Times. “We may be able to see whether
he has friends who have already repaid a loan to us—that usually is a
good indicator.”
Not everyone is sold on the idea, however. Detractors worry about consumer
privacy and banks that monitor social profiles. China’s proposed “social
credit system,” which assigns every user an official “credit” score based on
comprehensive monitoring of online activity, shows the potentially invasive
extent to which the concept may be taken. But for now, social media may help
small businesses and new borrowers stand out in a difficult lending economy.
Why it’s interesting: As alternative lending flourishes, consumers looking to
the sector may start to think twice before posting that selfie.
Big banks have tightened up on lending since the
recession, making room for alternative lenders that
increasingly use nontraditional metrics like social
media presence to evaluate customers.
Lenders taking a “big data” approach to qualifications are including Facebook
and Twitter feeds in their constellation of data points. This year, JP Morgan
Chase launched a partnership with OnDeck Capital, which includes social
media presence in its analysis of small business owners. Kabbage uses a
similar process to offer small business loans. And German startup Kreditech
has raised more than $100 million to lend to individuals with no credit history,
using information from Facebook and LinkedIn in its algorithms.
In emerging markets, where traditional lending is complicated and
unorganized, social media is coming into play in a big way. In India, numerous
platforms like InstaPaisa and CashCare use social media to rate borrowers
and match them to lenders. Nigeria’s Social Lender, which recently expanded
to South Africa, makes social reputation a cornerstone of its lending process.

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See now, buy now
While developed markets wait to see whether the model translates into sales,
many developing markets are embracing it without reservations. At the 42nd
São Paulo Fashion Week, which took place in October 2016, founder Paulo
Borges encouraged designers to do away with seasonal restrictions and
show clothes that were ready for market. Considering Brazil’s mostly tropical
climate, the seasonal system never made complete sense for the local
customer, and it makes even less sense now. Animale, a major womenswear
brand in the country, made its collection available in stores immediate after
showing on the runway, with minor modifications.
In China, Alibaba streamed an eight-hour luxury fashion show live on Tmall,
Youku and Mobile Taobao. Viewers could click on items in the show and
purchase them immediately. Organizers described the event as “shortening
the fashion consumption chain.”
Why it’s interesting: With many major fashion and luxury brands dependent on
demand from developing markets to drive sales, the success of “see now, buy
now” in China and Brazil may suggest larger trends in store for the industry.
The fashion industry’s flirtation with the “see now, buy
now” model—which allows consumers to purchase items
as soon as a collection hits the runway, instead of six
months later—was one of the clearest trends at the New
York and London fashion weeks in September 2016.
Alexandre Herchcovitch at São Paulo Fashion Week, 2016.
Photography by Zé Takahashi | Agência Fotosite

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The new explorers
In Wildside: The Enchanted Life of Hunters and Gatherers, a forthcoming book
from design publisher Gestalten, the shift is encapsulated in photographs of
the modern adventurers who are discovering their own possibilities in outdoor
landscapes. Foragers, wood carvers and log-cabin dwellers alike have found
inspiration in nature, putting a modern spin on traditional wilderness pursuits.
Buoyed by the new explorer culture, popular outdoor retailer REI saw its
revenues increase by 9.3% last year. The company is also expanding, with
new locations in New York, Florida and Washington. Other retailers are hoping
to cash in on the trend with a style-first approach to the outdoor market.
Wild Rye, launched this year, makes contemporary designs for the modern
outdoor woman. Ottawa retailer Stomping Ground offers a curated selection
of menswear-meets-rugged functionality.
It’s no surprise that adventure travel is also on the rise. Adventure tourism is
expected to grow 46% per year through 2020, as beachside vacations slowly
lose ground to skydiving, mountain climbing and deep sea diving. It’s not all
about the adrenaline rush, either: Visitors to America’s National Parks hit an
all-time high of 305 million visitors in 2015.
Why it’s interesting: Move over, Prada: Patagonia is in the spotlight as
consumers integrate nature into a modern lifestyle.
For a new breed of explorer, the “great outdoors” is no
longer something to be tamed, but its own rich source
of culture to be experienced.
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Steppes Beyond Festival

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Luxury

91
Luxury redefined
Ethically motivated consumers are turning their attention
and wallets to premium and luxury brands that place
emphasis on inclusivity, sustainability and product quality.
Luxury shoppers are moving away from opulence and big names, opting
instead for a modern approach to luxury which includes being discreet.
“Today, it’s really about understated luxury,” said luxury retail consultant June
Haynes in an article for the Washington Post.
Traditional luxury brands have faced a tough year, with report after report
showing a decline in sales. Ralph Lauren reported a profit of $45 million for
the year to October 1, 2016, significantly down from the previous year’s $160
million. The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry revealed that export
sales were 14.2% lower this July compared with the previous year, and Tiffany
& Co saw a 7% decline in the first half of 2016. Emerging luxury brands have
mastered the high-quality, pared-down design language and the brand values
that resonate with consumers, and are taking a slice of the luxury market.
In fall 2016 London department store John Lewis launched its first luxury
womenswear collection, Modern Rarity. An article in the Telegraph likened the
fashion design aesthetic to Céline. At the same time London-based curators
Mariah Nielson and Fanny Singer launched Permanent Collection, a line of
LUXURY THE FUTURE 100 133
Modern Rarity by John Lewis

91
luxury womenswear and accessories. The duo highlights the sustainable
factor in its aptly named company name, emphasizing that pieces are
designed to “survive for decades in the homes and wardrobes of collectors.”
Luxury loungewear sales have been growing 30% year-on-year at British
department store Selfridges and cashmere loungewear sales have doubled.
London-based luxury loungewear designer Olivia von Halle founded her
eponymous brand in 2011 and started selling on Net-a-Porter in 2015. Within
two weeks of launching a cashmere tracksuit collection on the platform, the
company had sold 85% of its stock.
Why it’s interesting: The decline in traditional luxury is showing that the
market needs shaking up, and the outlook for 2017 is that new brands
will be leading the way for a new luxury direction. François-Henri Pinault,
chief executive of Kering, says the company is increasingly making an
effort to renew its product offering to give it a more “modern identity.” As
more emerging brands enter the luxury market—inspired, perhaps, by the
Huffington Post’s November 2016 piece on “How to Start a Luxury Brand with
Just $300”—traditional brands will increasingly need to speak to the modern
consumer rather than for them in order to stay relevant.
Nebula coat by Per Se

92
Artificial nature
The new Rosemont Hotel and Residences planned for
Dubai will house the world’s first artificial rainforest,
complete with waterfalls, streams and a sensory rain
system to mimic rainforest acoustics and climate.
Due to launch in 2018, the $550 million project is setting the bar high for luxury
hospitality by not only bringing the rainforest to the desert city, but also
introducing robotic luggage handlers, a trampoline park and an aquarium. The
ambitious project is setting a new standard for manmade nature in a city that
already has artificial islands and ski slopes. Elsewhere, Singapore has Sentosa,
an artificial beach created using imported sand from Indonesia and Malaysia.
In the Songjiang district of Shanghai, the InterContinental Shimao group is well
underway with its five-star hotel located inside an abandoned quarry at the
foot of the city’s highest hill. The $430 million development will have its own
artificial lake and aquarium, and offer extreme sports such as rock climbing.
The hotel, two of whose 19 floors are underwater, is due to complete in 2017.
Why it’s interesting: Luxury hospitality brands are introducing sophisticated
manmade nature to guests so they can not only experience a five-star service,
but be part of a natural environment that would otherwise be unavailable.
Rosemont Hotel and Residences Dubai, 2018. Copyright Plompmozes
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THE FUTURE 100LUXURY 136

93
Invisible tech
Although these products have yet to hit the market, today’s shoppers
already have a growing choice of tech that fits into the home. Google’s newly
launched Home speaker even offers interchangeable bases to coordinate with
different color schemes. Although far from “invisible,” the speaker is a design-
conscious upgrade from Amazon’s uniformly black and cylindrical Echo.
Why it’s interesting: The novelty of having a speaker in the kitchen has worn
off. Tomorrow’s Internet of Things devices will need to blend in with the décor
around them, not just provide the soundtrack.
As the home becomes increasingly high-tech, consumers
are pivoting toward home products that align with their
décor, rendering the technology aspect all but invisible.
At the 2016 London Design Festival, the Electro Craft exhibition showcased
new products that blend craft with technology. Turkish designer Bilge Nur
Saltık’s Loud Object series includes marble candleholders and serving plates
that also function as Bluetooth-connected speakers. Saltık aims to integrate
electronics with home decoration, imagining “surround sound with your
chandelier, vase and centerpiece.”
Panasonic’s newest TV prototype could be the tech’s ultimate endgame. When
not in use, the television is completely transparent. With the screen mounted
on a glass panel, the TV is effectively invisible when it is switched off, allowing
objects or decorations to be displayed behind it.
Another inspiring prototype is the Making Weather speaker by designer
Richard Clarkson. It comes in the shape of a cloud containing a Bluetooth
speaker and sound-reactive LED lights, which hovers several centimeters
above its base. (An earlier version of the project sold for $3,360.)
Loud Objects by Bilge Nur Saltik, 2016

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Hipster Boomers
Don’t write baby boomers off just yet. Boomers are
redefining retirement culture, creating demand for an
older counterpart to “hipster” experiences—one that
comes with more refined tastes and a higher price point.
Now boomers even have their own music festival. In October, the inaugural
Desert Trip festival was held at the Coachella grounds, the venerated hipster
hotspot in Indio, California. Attendees traded flowered headbands and
glowsticks for gourmet food packages and pricey grandstand seats, while
enjoying headliners including Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan and the Rolling
Stones. The average age of ticket holders? 51.
Desert Trip was also a testament to the spending power of boomers.
Weekend passes started at $399 and were almost sold out within hours. The
festival was projected to take in $150 million over its two-weekend run, easily
topping Coachella’s record of $84 million. Although conceived as a one-time
event, the festival’s mega success all but ensures a rerun.
Why it’s interesting: As boomers continue to assert their cultural relevancy,
look for more opportunities to market high-end interpretations of millennial
pastimes to this increasingly hip demographic.
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4

Year of the train
95
In many parts of the world, train travel appears poised for
an upgrade in 2017 and beyond.
Two luxury trains are coming to Japan in 2017: Twilight Express Mizukaze,
which will feature art deco design and food by Michelin-starred chef Yoshihiro
Murata, and Train Suite Shiki-Shima, whose most expensive room will have a
bath made of Japanese cypress.
Ireland has just welcomed the Belmond Grand Hibernian, which passed
through Dublin, Cork, Killarney, Galway, Westport, Belfast and Waterford on an
inaugural grand tour. It offers Irish cuisine made with local ingredients, well-
appointed cabins and communal areas, and other luxury amenities.
For the ultimate in discreet luxury, a new concept is coming to Japan in 2018:
Express trains with mirrored exteriors that reflect their surroundings, allowing
them to glide “invisibly” across the countryside.
Why it’s interesting: Luxury consumers are rediscovering the romance of
earthbound travel, reflecting a growing appetite for nostalgic journeys infused
with contemporary design and amenities.
5
9
Grand Hibernian, Ireland

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Grand Hibernian, Ireland

Twilight, Japan

96
Kidult Luxury
restaurant. In spring 2016, New York restaurants including Blue Hill and Per Se
opened their doors to diners aged seven to 14 through an initiative called
Kids Table.
Why it’s interesting: The rise of child chefs such as 14-year-old Logan Guleff,
recently named one of Time’s most influential teens, shows that the lines
between childhood and adulthood are increasingly blurry. For luxury brands,
there is an opportunity to create products to capture the next generation of
consumers that are more than child’s play.
As parents continue to opt to lavish disposable income
on their offspring, the luxury market is maturing, with
options for children that don’t feel childish.
While the average youth might not know their Eames from Ikea, a new
generation of children will be anything but typical. Milan Design Week 2016
saw the launch of several high-end furniture lines aimed at children aged
between three and eight, including Kartell Kids from Italian furniture company
Kartell, which features minimalist designs from Japanese studio Nendo and
French designer Philippe Starck. Another Italian design company, Magis, has
expanded its Me Too range to include products such as the Little Big chair
from Big-Game, an adjustable chair that “grows” with the child.
“As a first chair, it is definitely an object that creates emotional ties,” says
Augustin Scott de Martinville, co-founder of Big-Game. “We wanted it to have
the qualities of an adult chair, but for children.”
Leisure pursuits such as high-end dining are following along the same lines. At
the five-star Connaught hotel in London, the hotel’s youngest residents can
take a cooking lesson from pastry chef Hélène Darroze, recently named the
world’s best female chef, followed by a meal at the hotel’s Michelin-starred
Le Petit Chef by The Connaught, London, 2016

97
Extreme experiential marketing
Audi’s latest campaign invites consumers to enjoy a three-
day private stay in the middle of the desert to test drive
the new R8, an example of an experiential marketing
activation taken to extremes.
The collaboration between Audi and Airbnb offers adventurous guests a
luxury adventure in an isolated, address-less location in Death Valley, Nevada.
The partnership kickstarted this September with a teaser commercial called
“Desolation” by creative agency Venables Bell & Partners. The commercial
showed off the picturesque desert location, stunning Airbnb home, and the
Audi R8 Coupe being driven around the sandy landscape.
The experience was limited to only seven guest stays in October, each stay
lasting only two nights. The package included accommodation in the fully
equipped three-bedroom house, meals prepared by a personal chef and, more
importantly, the use of a high-performance 2017 Audi R8 Coupe to try out in
the traffic-free desert.
Why it’s interesting: In order to capture a modern audience’s imagination,
brands need to think beyond commercials for their next marketing campaign,
and include a memorable experience, or at least the possibility of one.
Desolation for Audi and Airbnb. Creative campaign by Venables Bell & Partners

98
Blockchain luxury
Why it’s interesting: Blockchain’s transaction ledger is nearly impossible to
hack or forge, making it perhaps the best tool available to verify authenticity.
According to a recent SONAR™ survey, 98% of Chinese millennials worry
about whether their purchases may be counterfeit, showing the huge value to
be unlocked by high-tech security measures.
Fashion and luxury brands are just beginning to explore
the possibilities of blockchain, the technology that
underlies the bitcoin currency.
By creating a secure digital record of every transaction, blockchain is a novel
anti-counterfeiting technology for luxury brands. Blockchains can also store
additional information about a garment, providing a unique and personalized
experience beyond the runway.
At Shanghai Fashion Week, Babyghost teamed up with blockchain company
BitSE to embed a unique blockchain ID into each item on the runway, which
could be identified with an app. Each chip also carried an interactive memory,
like a video of who modeled the piece in New York, or a unique photo tied to a
Babyghost location that represents the product’s “soul.”
“This event illustrates that fashion brands, especially high-fashion brands,
need to keep the consumer in mind and give them more than a product,”
BitSE COO Sunny Lu told Bitcoin Magazine. “The customer wants to know
that the connection between them and the brand is real, and that their
products are real.”

99
The luxury of scent
The scents at One Thousand Museum are the work of 12.29, a New York-based
fragrance branding company that has also designed Craft, a signature scent for
the lobby of all buildings owned by the real-estate developer DDG. Elsewhere
in New York, the new residential building 21 West End rotates between White
Blossom Tea, Cranberry Apple, Ocean Mist and Season’s Greetings.
Singapore Airlines, which has long positioned itself as a luxury carrier,
has partnered with perfumer Miller Harris on a range of luxury washroom
amenities, which included three separate scents that were rolled out over the
course of 2016. Even the tech industry is getting in on the scent act, with the
new Aera acting as a sort of Nespresso for room scent, with changeable scent
pods operated from afar by app.
Why it’s interesting: While fine scents have always been associated with
luxury, brands are investing more effort in using scent to tell a story, and
rotating between different scents to freshen up their offerings.
Scent is emerging as the latest essential element of
branding in high-end real estate. One Thousand Museum,
a 62-story residential building in Miami currently under
construction, will include no fewer than four separate
custom scents, each designed for specific parts of the
building—the aquatic center has notes of orange blossom
intended to recall a seaside European vacation, and
the fitness center offers. “humid earth notes, clean
wood notes and juicy citrus” designed to be invigorating
and grounding.
Scentair
THE FUTURE 100 145LUXURY

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100
Luxury health-tail
In our Frontier(less) Retail trend report we found that
consumers are increasingly interested in wellness
retail—57% of US millennials and 45% of UK millennials
would like a gym or athletic facility at a physical
retail store. Luxury department stores are now
implementing wellness components to entice these
health-conscious consumers.
Yung Club x Selfridges, London

100
In October 2016, London-based department store Harrods’ month-long
Harrods (Super) Man event in collaboration with Men’s Health magazine invited
men to test their strength, improve their wellbeing and up their game on the
fashion front. The initiative included activities such as the Under Armour
Boxing Ring Challenge, which invited visitors to see how many punches they
could throw in 30 seconds, along with personalized training sessions from
Technogym. Other brands involved include Adidas, Balmain and Giorgio Armani.
In April 2016, Selfridges launched its Body Studio wellness retail concept,
which offers sportswear, lingerie, loungewear and sleepwear. The department
also includes a café by Hemsley + Hemsley (a sister duo with a strong focus
on wellness and nutritional foods). The opening dovetailed with the store’s
EveryBody campaign, whose program included talks on beauty, wellness and
spirituality, along with classes by London-based yoga studio Yung Club and
Psycle, known for its high-intensity spin classes.
US department store Bloomingdale’s hosted in-store fitness classes for a
day in August 2016 to raise money for Fashionable Fundraiser. And this spring
Hong Kong department store group Lane Crawford launched The Fit Room—
tagline “Fit for Modern Living”—with a series of in-store fitness events to
complement its edit of athleisure fashion, beauty and lifestyle accessories.
Why it’s interesting: The worldwide athleticwear market is forecast to grow
more than 30% by 2020, according to a Morgan Stanley report. No wonder
luxury stores are swooping in to take a slice of this market, and boosting their
retail offering with in-store fitness events and facilities.
Hemsley + Hemsley cafe at Selfridge's Body Studio department, London
LUXURY 147THE FUTURE 100

Contact:
Lucie Greene
Worldwide Director of the Innovation Group
J. Walter Thompson Intelligence
lucie.greene@jwt.com
Editor
Shepherd Laughlin, the Innovation Group
Visual editor
Emma Chiu, the Innovation Group
Writer
Mary Cass, the Innovation Group
Picture assistant
Jaime Eisenbraun, the Innovation Group
About the Innovation Group
The Innovation Group is J. Walter Thompson’s futurism, research and
innovation unit. It charts emerging and future global trends, consumer change,
and innovation patterns—translating these into insight for brands. It offers
a suite of consultancy services, including bespoke research, presentations,
co-branded reports and workshops. It is also active in innovation, partnering
with brands to activate future trends within their framework and execute new
products and concepts. It is led by Lucie Greene, Worldwide Director of the
Innovation Group.
About J. Walter Thompson Intelligence
The Innovation Group is part of J. Walter Thompson Intelligence, a platform
for global research, innovation and data analytics at J. Walter Thompson
Company, housing three key in-house practices: SONAR™, Analytics and
the Innovation Group. SONAR™ is J. Walter Thompson’s research unit that
develops and exploits new quantitative and qualitative research techniques to
understand cultures, brands and consumer motivation around the world. It is
led by Mark Truss, Worldwide Director of Brand Intelligence. Analytics focuses
on the innovative application of data and technology to inform and inspire new
marketing solutions. It offers a suite of bespoke analytics tools and is led by
Amy Avery, Head of Analytics, North America.

The Future 100. Trends and Change to watch in 2017

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