Trends & Artefacts: chalance edition
In this week’s edition of Trends & Artefacts, we round up the snackable trends, stats and insights from around the world, including:
Gen Z Feels Nostalgic For Eras They Missed
Korean Beauty Splits Sun Care By Body Part
Taylor Swift Sends Sancerre Searches Soaring
Explainer: chalance
Gen Z Treats Drinks As Identity
Gen Z Feels Nostalgic For Eras They Missed
Vevo's new "Then is Now" research finds 65% of Gen Z experience nostalgia for cultural moments from before they were born, with a third saying they feel "born in the wrong generation." Nostalgic content builds emotional connection 22% more effectively than new releases, prompting Vevo to launch a nostalgia-targeting layer for advertisers within Vevo Evolve. If nostalgia no longer requires having lived through something, what does that mean for how brands decide what counts as "timeless"?
Korean Beauty Splits Sun Care By Body Part
Korea's sun care market is diversifying into scalp essences, men's oil-cut sun sticks, and cooling gels that drop skin temperature by up to 6 degrees, as searches for "sun powder" jumped 284% year-on-year. Rising heat is pushing beauty brands to treat UV protection as something needed everywhere, not just the face. When sunscreen becomes this granular, is climate adaptation becoming beauty's biggest product driver?
Taylor Swift Sends Sancerre Searches Soaring
Google's Summergeist report shows Sancerre hit "breakout" status, with searches up over 5000% after the wine appeared in Taylor Swift's documentary series, spilling into interest in specific producers, terroir, and Sancerre rosé. Chilled red wine and Beaujolais are gaining ground too, suggesting drinkers are past debating the idea and onto choosing what to chill. When a single celebrity moment can move an entire appellation's search volume, how much of wine demand is now driven by culture rather than taste?
Explainer: chalance
A new dating trend called "chalance" flips the nonchalant playbook, with daters openly showing interest, making plans, and stating clearly how they feel rather than hiding behind indifference. Coaches Amy Chan and Damona Hoffman frame it as a reaction to years of ghosting and situationships, and a way of reclaiming agency from dating apps' guessing games. If caring openly stops being a liability, what happens to all the dating advice built around playing hard to get?
Gen Z Treats Drinks As Identity
Keurig Dr Pepper's 2026 report finds 58% of Gen Z and Gen Alpha say their drink choices reflect who they are, favouring bold, rotating flavours over one go-to order. They're also picking drinks by mood and occasion, chasing function-forward wellness like focus and energy, with 63% swayed by what friends and creators drink online. When a drink becomes a personality signal rather than a habit, how should brands rethink loyalty itself?
