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Doña’s Christmas cocktails offer diners a theatrical experience

Doña. Photography by Jamie Noise, UK

London – Mezcal and music bar Doña is showcasing its extensive list of small-batch, artisanal and rare mezcals with a new winter menu and theatrical events calendar. With A Nativitaaaay Spectacular, the bar is tapping into Extreme Experiences to entice drinkers to explore the culture and community that London has to offer.

Doña, which opened in 2019, has carefully curated its mezcals based on the shared ethos of ethics, quality and mission of each producer. With its pink interiors and lavish setting, the aim of the bar is to create a vibrant and artistic safe space in a traditionally male industry. For the winter season the bar is being transformed into a theatre every evening from 19–23 December, when visitors can choose between a range of diverse cultural performances, from spoken word poetry to cabaret. Highlighting the importance of feminine energy in the art, the cocktail menu features concoctions made from women-run mezcal brands and those named after cultural icons such as the co-founder of Pussy Riot, Nadya Tolokonnikova.

Understand the need to offer consumers more than just a place to eat and drink. Amid a cost of living crisis, Doña is offering escapism by infusing its festive menu with hedonistic experiences, while supporting small-batch Modern Mezcals.

Strategic opportunity

With consumers more frugally minded than ever, how can your brand or business elevate the dining experience to offer a culturally enriching or educational moment?

Channel 4 partners with Hertility for employee health assessments

UK – The broadcasting network is the first in the industry to launch a health service for womxn employees.

In a partnership with renowned health specialists Hertility, the broadcaster will offer workers access to NHS-approved reproductive health and hormone testing. The assessment, which can be completed at home, will screen for 18 different health conditions, including polycystic ovaries and endometriosis, as well as biological indicators of menopause. The test could show why someone might be struggling to conceive or could explain how a hormonal imbalance is affecting a person's wellbeing.

In addition to the assessment, employees also have the opportunity to engage in a series of educational workshops, all of which are centred on reproductive and hormonal wellbeing.

Channel 4 continues to demonstrate its position as a pioneer and leader in progressive workplace benefits. In 2019, the company introduced the UK’s first dedicated Menopause Policy, followed by the Parents & Carers Policy in 2020. More recently, the media brand launched a Pregnancy Loss Policy and Fertility Workplace Pledge.

For more on how to be an Emotive Employer, look out for our Future Forecast 2023 report, launching next week.

#ThisIsFamily by Studio Blvd for River Island, UK

Strategic opportunity

Health-related workplace initiatives should no longer be supplementary benefits, but instead essential services. Think about how you can support your employees across every life stage, from menstruation to menopause.

WWF highlights monumental support for the world’s first plastic treaty

Plastic Exploration by Jesper Lindborg

Global – WWF and Plastic Free Foundation recently surveyed over 20,000 people in 34 countries to gauge their opinions on a global treaty that addresses plastic consumption.

In the first survey of its kind, consumers were asked whether particular rules should be enshrined in the global treaty, and which they feel are important. Nearly eight in 10 said they support rules for making producers and retailers more responsible for the plastic they generate, bans on difficult-to-recycle plastics and labelling requirements, while only 14% feel that arrangements should be voluntary.

The survey was commissioned in the hope of providing evidence to support a growing number of UN member states that are pushing for a treaty to include global rules and regulations. They believe that a collective, unionised approach is the only solution to help achieve a circular economy. ‘Hundreds of millions of people from all corners of the world have taken personal action to reduce their plastic waste, but many are also realising that their individual responsibility must be matched and accompanied by global and systemic action for the world to make a dent in reversing our devastating plastic pollution footprint,’ says Rebecca Prince-Ruiz, founder and executive director of Plastic Free Foundation.

Strategic opportunity

Systemic change across the global plastics economy is required to guarantee the future of the planet. Think about the benefits of alternative materials in your R&D, production and design processes.