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So Energy’s renewable rebranding shuns green tropes

So Energy branding by Studio Blackburn, UK

UK – So Energy is challenging conventions around renewable energy with a bold rebranding led by design agency Studio Blackburn.

The rebranding is being rolled out across So Energy’s new website, updated customer communications, and as out-of-home advertising appearing across London. Using bold type, word play and four vivid colours – red, blue, yellow and green – the brand aims to convey a service that’s better value for money and better for the environment.

While many environmentally focused energy brands opt for a visual style of child-like illustrations and ‘hands around the world’ graphics, So Energy is eschewing these tropes to better engage audiences. Meanwhile, the copywriting uses its name in a series of campaign statements, including ‘So we’ve got wind energy’ and ‘So ab-so-flippin-lutely Energy’.

By providing a playful and accessible visual style, the rebranding taps into some of the themes we explore in Graphic Activism – using bold aesthetics to replace often outdated eco-messaging.

This virtual perfumer brings fragrance retail home

Fiole, UK

UK – Perfume retailer Fiole offers a digital avenue to experiencing luxury scents in a bid to disrupt traditional fragrance retail.

Taking its expertise online, shoppers are given a personal virtual guide to fragrance. After they answer a survey via the Fiole site, the retailer delivers a sample box of six recommended scents, as well as educational tips teaching customers how to analyse each fragrance. Once a favourite has been chosen, a sealed envelope will reveal its name for the consumers to buy online.

Through this approach, Fiole aims to strip back the complexities of fragrance buying – a response to the often rushed and complex department store shopping experience. ‘We believe this is the most effective, accurate way for someone to find what they are looking for and we feel confident that each customer will be able to find their ‘wow’ fragrance in the comfort of their own home,’ explains Josh Carter, co-founder of Fiole.

In our recent Fragrance Futures Market we explore how convenience-led homebody lifestyles are forging new paths to purchase for fragrance brands.

Good Fibrations offers good-for-gut snacking

Good Fibrations by The Gut Stuff

UK – The Gut Stuff health platform is moving into the snacking market with the launch of its Good Fibrations bars.

While the platform has been providing gut-related health advice for the past few years, the release of its snack bars marks a natural progression in its aim to spread knowledge about the importance of fibre in people's diets.

Each bar contains 10g of fibre, alongside ingredients such as fruit, nuts, seeds, chicory, root fibre and inulin, a plant-based prebiotic. Available from The Gut Stuff’s online shop, the brand plans to extend the product line over the next year.

'Our brand is all about making gut health an accessible subject for everyone, so this is another way that we aim to build awareness and help people look after their gut health in a really simple way,' says co-founder Lisa Macfarlane.

Consumers are beginning to have a greater understanding of their gut health in relation to their mental and physical wellbeing, ushering in a slew of brands and platforms dedicated to this area.

Stat: Mental wellness becomes a £90bn market

Equinox Sleep Coaching programme

The Global Wellness Institute’s (GWI) latest report, Defining the Mental Wellness Economy, reveals the global mental wellness market to be worth £90bn ($120.8bn, €99.4bn).

Consumer spending across four key sub-segments of mental wellness has contributed to this overall boom. Among these, the senses, spaces and sleep market is generating £36.8bn ($49.5bn, €40.7bn), while the brain-boosting nutraceuticals and botanicals segment is valued at £27.3bn ($34.8bn, €30.3bn). Products that cover self-improvement are worth £24.9bn ($33.6bn, €27.6bn), while the meditation and mindfulness market equates to £2.2bn ($2.9bn, €2.4bn).

Looking to distinguish mental health from mental wellness, the research defines the latter as ‘an internal resource that helps us think, feel, connect and function… an active process that helps us to build resilience, grow and flourish.’ Katherine Johnston, GWI senior research fellow, explains: 'People are desperate for alternative strategies to cope, and we hope [this report] clarifies how important it is to promote mental wellness – and how businesses, governments and individuals can all play different roles in addressing a growing crisis.'

Explore our Health and Wellness insights to discover the latest trends and innovations in the sector.