Trend Taster: wine joy edition
In this week’s edition of the Trend Taster, we round up the snackable trends, stats and insights from around the world, including:
UGC trust
Gen Z fintech
Thailand’s White Lotus
emotional support AI
wine joy
86% of consumers trust brands using user-generated content
Influencers often oversaturate social media feeds and can negatively impact brand perception. In contrast, 86% of consumers trust brands using user-generated content (UGC) over influencer marketing. Real customer endorsements are more effective, with 80% preferring recommendations from friends or peers and 90% making purchases based on these endorsements, while 62% have never bought a celebrity-promoted product.
What fintech does Gen Z use?
New York City-based start-up Frich aims to create a social financial community for Gen Z, allowing users to ask questions and share financial data anonymously to understand their peers' financial status without feeling competitive. Frich primarily functions as a community-driven money app. Other fintechs also target Gen Z, such as Alinea Invest, which raised $3.4 million in January for its AI-powered wealth management app for Gen Z women, and Bloom, a zero-commission stock investing tool for teens, which reached 1 million downloads shortly after its February 2022 launch.
Thailand’s White Lotus effect
Following the conclusion of filming for Season 3 of The White Lotus at various resorts and locations in Thailand, the country is preparing for an anticipated increase in tourism. Although the series won't air until next year, hotels and tour operators are gearing up for a potential surge in bookings, dubbed the "White Lotus bump." Black Tomato, a luxury travel agency that specialises in “set-jetting” vacations designed around popular movies, has already seen a 44% increase in sales to Thailand in the first four months of this year compared to the same period last year, with prices rising approximately 15%.
Emotional support AI
Inflection AI, a start-up specializing in artificial intelligence, has launched Pi, a chatbot designed to offer emotional support and validation to users. Pi represents a trend where technology companies are enhancing chatbots with personality and conversational skills, akin to Snapchat’s My AI system. Positioned as a public benefit corporation, Pi aims to develop trustworthy AI that avoids giving bad advice or facilitating harmful behaviour. To enhance its capabilities, Inflection AI collaborated with therapists to train Pi's algorithm extensively over the past year
53% increase in sales from first-time wine buyers
Joy wine was created to attract untapped, non-wine-drinking Gen Z and Millennials audiences. Since its 2023 launch, the brand has seen a 53% increase in sales from first-time wine buyers. Collaborating with over 100 influencers, JOY encouraged authentic endorsements and generated more than 300 pieces of user-generated content across social media. The campaign focuses on key brand pillars such as music, travel, entertainment, and dating, areas known to strongly resonate with this demographic.
