From super sweet, iconic Spring collabs to green innovations in the fast food industry, here are some things that made us say “That’s Interesting” in the studio this week.
So, we see limited edition collaborations creating exciting flavours and designs, brands exploring new dimensions by leveraging AR and gamification, mindfulness and holistic wellbeing finding more space for growth, and material innovation helping fast food players join the sustainability movement.
The Sweetest Spring.
Spring is finally here! It’s time for the flowers to bloom, the birds to chirp, the lambs to frolic, and – if you’re in the US – the shelves to fill up with Peeps, the popular, colourful, animal-shaped, fluffy marshmallow treats. This year, however, they will do so in a different form: Peeps and PepsiCo have collaborated to create a limited edition marshmallow beverage with a candy-coloured design to match. This exciting collab brings the two iconic brands together into an extra cute, miniature can (only 7.5 ounces!), packaged as a trio in a colourful box. But there’s a catch… Thirsty fans will need to win a #HangingWithMyPEEPS photo competition in order to taste it! New collaborations are always exciting and can strengthen and engagement, especially at a time when consumers are looking for new things to smile about.
Sugar rush here
Escape the Clutter.
For over a year now, most of the world has been confined to spending a lot of time staring at the same four walls. IKEA brings its characteristic humour to lighten the mood by creating a Snapchat Lens shoppable AR game to entertain friends, families, couples and individuals stuck at home. The virtual escape room-style game – called Escape the Clutter – is simple, amusing and effective: first, users open Snapchat and point their camera at an open surface. This reveals an AR model of a typical bedroom, which is where the game takes place. The quest is to use relevant IKEA products to declutter the room and to escape, with the option to purchase these items on the online store. Augmented Reality is proving to be a valuable tool for brands looking to connect with consumers – the key is to make the link between experience, engagement and purchase both seamless and entertaining.
Tidying up is fun here
Conscious eating.
It’s not the first time we cover meditation app Headspace in That’s Interesting, proof that the brand is continuously finding different avenues and partnerships to connect with users and bring mindfulness to new spaces. This time it does so by partnering with Whole Foods to create a video series where they spotlight mindful eating and its importance for both physical and mental wellbeing. The series looks at mindful approaches to cooking, eating and grocery shopping, in order to link food to positive moods such as joy, energy, focus and relaxation. Consumers are increasingly looking for balanced, conscious approaches to physical and mental wellbeing – how can the right partnership help brands find a relevant mindful angle to their offer?
Food for thought here
Restore x Shake Shack.
Beloved hot dog and burger chain Shake Shack has just made a deliciously sustainable announcement: in partnership with regenerative foodware brand Restore, it is trialling eco-friendly single-use cutlery and straws! These are made by microbes out of greenhouse gases, resulting in a material that is not just home-compostable and ocean-friendly but also carbon negative, because of the way it is manufactured. It’s impossible to ignore how urgently we need to reduce our dependence on traditional plastic, especially single-use. This creates a real opportunity for leading brands whose business models rely heavily on single-use (like fast food chains) to lead by example.
Good things here