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Uber Eats parodies French dining habits

Uber Eats Ça arrive, France

France – With its latest campaign, food delivery service Uber Eats pokes fun at French food culture. In a series of short ads, the company parodies the shame some French people feel when ordering takeaways and groceries in a nation renowned for its cookery and ingredients.

In one video, a mother and son are seen talking on the phone discussing a dinner he is preparing for her – all the while feigning noises from the kitchen, as in truth he'll be serving up an Uber Eats takeaway. Another film depicts a woman passing off an Uber Eats delivery as a home-cooked meal, a plan that humorously backfires when the guests enquire about the recipe and cooking time.

With this campaign, the company is acknowledging that ordering takeaway is now a common aspect of most people's lives, while also showing a more discerning understanding of a local context and food cultures. We’ve seen this irreverent approach elsewhere with Postmates’ Anti-cooking Cookbook.

Strategic opportunity

Take a page from Uber's playbook and create hyper-local, humorous campaigns to make your company feel more relevant to people's context and lifestyles

Sowvital is a luxury beauty brand for plants

Sowvital. Identity by Leslie David Studio, UK

UK – Responding to a gap in the market for covetable plant care, Leslie David Studio has introduced a design-led houseplant fertiliser brand. Unlike commonly found ‘all-purpose’ fertilisers, Sowvital takes cues from the beauty sector, encouraging plant parents to adopt thoughtful rituals when looking after their plants. Its packaging, visual identity and brand language reflect this too – with sleek botanical drawings and olive green bottles.

Like beauty brands, Sowvital also focuses on ingredients, ensuring its formulations are vegan and environmentally conscious. Through its design and properties, the brand is carving out a niche in the plant care market and enabling gardeners to align their lifestyle values with their green-fingered habits. As Leslie David, founder of Leslie David Studio, says: ‘We wanted to create products that really feel nice to use… something elegant enough not to have to hide like we usually do with our cleaning or plant products.’

By positioning plant care as a ritualistic act, the brand also tunes in to the tenets of Recuperative Living. Elsewhere, we’ve explored how clean botanics brand Amass is similarly bridging the gap between self-care and daily rituals.

Strategic opportunity

Other lifestyle products can take cues from the rituals of beauty and wellness – consider how daily use or measured applications can translate not just to plant care, but also to cleaning products, pet or car care

Shiseido targets Gen Z men with Sidekick skincare

Japan – Cosmetics company Shiseido has launched a skincare collection aimed at Generation Z men, citing them as a rapidly growing segment of the Asian skincare market.

The Sidekick range includes eight products formulated with naturally derived ingredients, but its branding offers a bolder spin on typical men's skincare packaging. Bright aluminium tubes with bolt-shaped tops distinguish the products from the more understated and clinical men's skincare packaging that is commonplace across Western markets.

Of note, the brand takes a hybrid approach to products, with ingredients suitable for both dry and oily skin, as well as formulas that have been developed to address the specific requirements of male, Gen Z skin. It will launch with various face washes, moisturisers and a sheet mask.

The Sidekick name also conjures images of action and activity, suggesting that the range plays a supporting role in the lifestyles of busy, cosmopolitan young men. In this way, the collection represents a new development in the Middle Man Beauty Market.

Sidekick by Shiseido, Japan

Strategic opportunity

Positioning personal care as a component of maintaining an active urban lifestyle could be crucial in promoting skincare products and routines for younger, male audiences

Stat: Premium loyalty programmes attract Gen Z

Early Majority Lookbook April 2022, UK

In the US, consumer buying habits are changing as more people embrace loyalty programmes. According to research by Clarus Commerce, more consumers than ever are also likely to join premium loyalty programmes if it guarantees them discounts and other relevant benefits.

Interestingly, young people represent a significant proportion of this behaviour, with 87% of US Generation Z saying that they plan to join a premium loyalty programme in 2022. This is followed by 85% of Millennials, 76% of Generation X and 61% of Baby Boomers. In terms of categories, the percentage of respondents showing interest in petrol and grocery loyalty has increased from 35% to 51%, and 58% to 65%, respectively, since last year.

While we’ve previously considered Generation Z to be largely disloyal to brands, these figures point to new opportunities for brands and retailers to fine-tune and premiumise their loyalty programmes to suit young audiences. For more, look out for our upcoming Loyalty Market in the Retail sector of LS:N Global.

Strategic opportunity

Beyond product-based commerce, hospitality venues such as restaurants, bars and hotels, can also create loyalty schemes that actively tap into the interests of young people. Ensure a flexible approach, and welcome customer feedback too