They built vacations around coveted bites and seemed to taste the newest trends just a few months before the rest of the world. You knew them in your own life, if you had an adventurous crew. And saw them, on occasion, splashed on the pages of Lucky Peach or in fleeting glimpses on TV. And while they might seem like a relic from a more quaint and analog era, they’re still here. They’ve just transformed and multiplied, like water-doused mogwais. They are now all of us.
And the food world has responded. A trip down your grocery aisle will show you that staples of old have gotten the glow-up of a lifetime. Olive oil, coffee, sardines. All dressed up, designed to the nines, and looking (ahem) like total snacks. And today’s Lucky Peaches – the Substackers and social reporters of the world – are there to beautifully and humorously chronicle it all (Hi, Snaxshot!).
But high design isn’t the only lever brands are pulling to get the attention of today’s explorer. To be new doesn’t only mean being beautiful. Being bold can also get it done. Exotic mashups, trend-jacking moments, and outright absurdities are there to satisfy a similar itch: to create something worth having, showing, and sharing. KFC’s Chizza. Outback’s Croc-tail. The Dr Pepper Pickle Hack. Olipop & Sleepy Girl Mocktails. Each one a mini moment of experimentation that lets people say both “I tried it” and “My verdict is…”
To be new is to be novel, and there are many paths to it. You can craft a new product, revamp a classic, or whip up an irresistible abomination. As long as it creates a sense of value for your audience, mission accomplished. For some, it’s that dressed-up new olive oil, prized for its depth and its countertop vibe-setting. For others, an untried taste or a challenge – a social moment to jump in the fun. A new flavor, or a new fascination. If you can nail both, you can go gangbusters. But one can often be enough.
If you’re a brand tiptoeing into this era, you can test the water with little risk. Take stock of what you have. Look for ways to reformat, reconstitute, remix. Whether you feel as fancy as that dressed-up olive oil brand or not, you’re probably sitting on assets you can refresh and leverage to play today’s game. You just have to look. Test, learn, try. And use that short-term experimentation to craft your long-term plans.
