Trend Taster: dirty soda edition
In this week’s edition of the Trend Taster, we round up the snackable trends, stats and insights from around the world, including:
Durex India's "The 🐔 Blocker"
Slow travel
AI-powered addiction recovery
Explainer: Dirty Soda
China's emerging plus-size modelling scene
Durex India's "The 🐔 Blocker"
Durex India has launched "The 🐔 Blocker," an initiative tackling online harassment faced by women who engage with the brand on social media. The campaign invites female users to submit screenshots of unwanted advances, with Durex's team blocking offenders and creating a film showcasing real instances of harassment women experience. This activation represents a strategic extension of Durex's core protection positioning into digital spaces, offering meaningful action rather than symbolic gestures.
Slow travel
"Slow travel" is reshaping the tourism industry in 2025 as consumers choose to travel less frequently but spend more meaningfully per trip, with average spending predicted to increase by 1.6% over the next five years. Rather than seeking revenge travel, today's travellers are embracing quality over quantity, driving growth in cruises, luxury all-inclusives, and event-based tourism like concerts and sporting events. This shift is particularly evident in consumer preferences, with 48% of global respondents preferring to spend on experiences rather than things, creating new business opportunities for travel operators who can deliver more immersive, transparent, and value-driven experiences.
AI-powered addiction recovery
AI-powered addiction recovery apps are transforming how people overcome substance dependencies by offering personalized support through pattern tracking, tailored recommendations, and real-time assistance. These innovative tools bridge critical gaps in treatment accessibility, providing affordable alternatives to traditional therapy while reducing the stigma associated with seeking help for addiction issues. As mental health awareness continues to grow amid limited access to in-person treatment options, these AI applications are meeting urgent consumer demand for tech-based solutions that deliver customized insights and progress tracking right from their smartphones.
Explainer: Dirty Soda
The 'dirty soda' phenomenon has evolved from Utah's Mormon communities into a nationwide obsession, blending fountain drinks with coffee creamer, flavoured syrups and lime for a creamy, customisable treat. It's essentially a deconstructed soda float reimagined for today's customisation culture. This trend speaks volumes about how niche regional practices can explode into mainstream commercial opportunities when they hit the digital cultural zeitgeist at precisely the right moment.
China's emerging plus-size modelling scene
China's emerging plus-size modelling scene reveals a fascinating cultural contradiction. While body positivity hashtags flourish on Xiaohongshu with 80,000+ posts, the industry reality remains starkly different. Despite trailblazers like Zhao Li, Chelsea Zhou and Poppy signing with legitimate agencies, their experiences highlight systemic challenges: stylists unprepared to dress larger bodies, brands pulling models last-minute, and international agencies claiming Chinese models aren't "big enough" for Western markets. China's plus-size fashion market reached $10.9 billion in 2020 with 42% annual growth, yet most brands' inclusivity efforts remain performative. This tension between commercial opportunity and cultural resistance perfectly illustrates how established aesthetic norms can significantly delay market evolution despite clear consumer demand.
