Trend Taster: death metal health food edition
In this week’s edition of the Trend Taster, we round up the snackable trends, stats and insights from around the world, including:
The world's food supply runs on just nine plants
Your garden lights are erasing the stars
A £50,000 diamond ring that fights phone addiction
Explainer: Death Metal Health Food
Starbucks Bets Big on Protein Cold Foam
The world's food supply runs on just nine plants
Two-thirds of global food comes from sugar cane, corn, rice, wheat, potatoes, soybeans, oil palm, sugar beet and cassava. We've traded tens of thousands of crop varieties for efficiency, leaving agriculture vulnerable to disease and climate shocks. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Arctic Norway now holds hundreds of millions of backup seeds from 80 nations, storing them at -18°C in frozen caverns. When Quechua farmers deposited sacred potato varieties, they called the seeds their "endangered children." It's not just genetic insurance - it's preserving the invisible web of microbes, culture and survival strategies that travel with every seed.
Your garden lights are erasing the stars
Most Europeans can't see the Milky Way anymore. A German study reveals the surprising culprit isn't street lighting - it's our homes. Cheap LED technology means we're lighting up front doors, garden paths and sheds like never before, creating artificial daylight after dark. One lamp attracts hundreds of nocturnal pollinators nightly, with 30% dying from exhaustion before dawn. Meanwhile, County Mayo's Newport cut light pollution by 50% simply by angling lights downward and using warmer colours.
A £50,000 diamond ring that fights phone addiction
French start-up Spktrl created a 1.5-carat diamond ring that flashes green for work, blue for family, purple for social notifications - but stays dark most of the time. Founded by former LVMH exec Katia de Lasteyrie, it uses AI to filter only urgent messages, letting users stay phone-free longer. The lab-grown diamond acts as both luxury jewellery and a Bluetooth antenna, pulsing faster for urgent alerts, slower for softer ones. It's launching in Q3 2025, targeting those who want digital wellness without going full Luddite. When quiet luxury meets quiet tech, even your notifications need to earn their place on your finger.
Explainer: Death Metal Health Food
Misery & Mayhem oatmeal joins Death Wish Coffee and Liquid Death in transforming mundane health products through metal imagery, targeting consumers exhausted by pristine wellness branding. The strategy works because it serves dual audiences: genuine metalheads and office workers craving daily rebellion through their breakfast choices. The trend reveals how traditional health marketing has created its own opposition, with brands now mining authenticity from the least wholesome imagery possible to sell the most wholesome products.
Starbucks Bets Big on Protein Cold Foam
Starbucks is launching protein cold foam by year-end, adding 15 grams of protein to any cold drink with zero added sugar. CEO Brian Niccol mentioned "protein" eight times during earnings calls, signalling the chain's pivot towards functional beverages. The move taps into explosive demand: 60% of Americans increased protein intake in 2024, up from 48% in 2019. Gen Z drives this shift, favouring customisable, high-protein options that fit workout routines.
