Company Blog

Trends, Trendy and Just Plain Weird

by Adam Zack — December 28, 2016

Brick & mortar is not going away.

As retailers it’s our responsibility to research, anticipate and react to trends that are happening in the food world. What seems crazy today can be a billion dollar industry tomorrow. Remember kale and how it was just a garnish? How about seaweed snacks? Coconut water? Almond Milk? Digital music? So here are some of the trends that I think bear a little thought as we head into 2017. But first, a few that sound a little crazy to most of us:

Skateboarding Pilates – as if skateboarding wasn’t hard enough
Cycle Karaoke classes – Riding a stationary bike, sweating and belting out your favorite tunes all at the same time.
Mermaid classes – Nothing like strapping on the mermaid tail AND learning how to use it.
Stripes – Hopefully vertical and not horizontal. That prison-striped suit adds at least 10 pounds.
Weight Loss Sunglasses – apparently the blue lenses make food look less appetizing. You go Japan, you go.

Now some things we should be paying attention to:

Wellness Tonics – The Kombucha trend has proved sustainable. Look for turmeric elixirs, drinking vinegars and herb and root based concoctions.
Cereal resurgence – Kellogg’s opened a cereal diner in Times Square. Sales are grrreatt!
Fried Chicken for Breakfast – Now I can get on board with this one. Fresh made biscuit, bacon, fried chicken breast and egg sandwich. Breakfast of champions.
Faux Meat – 26% of Americans admitted to cutting back on meat eating. Vegan burger patties that actually have red juice like a medium rare burger. It’s just a health reality not the hippie takeover.
Meal Delivery – Drones delivering Chipotle and 7-11? Absolutely.
Waste Not Greens – carrot tops, beet tops, mustard greens. It’s what’s for dinner.
Coconut Invasion Continues – It doesn’t stop with coconut chips, water and oil. Look for coconut flour tortillas, sugar as an alternative sweetener and butter as a hair treatment.
Creative Condiments – Harissa, habanero, sambal oelek, adobo and much more.

Lastly, brick and mortar is not going away. Your store can be the gateway to experience and education.

“…the physical store is becoming a powerful form of experiential media. Your store should convey a powerful brand story through every touch point, provide lots of opportunities for immersive product experiences, and expose shoppers to your entire ecosystem of product experts, purchase channels, added-value services and loyalty tools. If you design your customer experience well, your store is the most powerful form of media at your disposal.”

—Doug Stephens, Founder of Retail Prophet, and Author of The Retail Revival

Check out the complete of retail predictions for 2017 here:

https://www.shopify.com/retail/10-retail-experts-share-their-predictions-for-2017