During our research, we often stumble upon ‘niches’ – exciting, industry-specific trends that aren’t yet fully formed but could hit the mainstream in the near future. From metaverse-ready wearables to deep-fake advertainment, these are the topics gaining traction right now. Each of the emerging niches mentioned below (and 46 others) are being tracked and updated on a weekly basis in our Innovations Lab – a service exclusively for members of our intelligence platform, TrendWatching Premium.
Deep Truth
Deep fakes have earned themselves a bad reputation as mouthpieces for political misinformation. However, the tide is turning. During the pandemic, we spotted various organizations across the globe use deep fake technology to pursue social justice goals and to advance climate activism. For a prime example, check out this campaign by Change the Ref and McCann Health which used a lifelike recreation of the Parkland shooting victim, Joaquin Oliver, to campaign for gun safety legislation.
Cloud Kitchens
Who would have thought three years ago that restaurants with no seating or dine-in options could be so successful? It looks like the food delivery boom triggered by the pandemic is here to stay, with many restaurants now operating exclusively from cloud kitchens – temporary, pop-up spaces that are never seen or visited by consumers. Curious? To get an insight into what happens behind closed doors, read this piece by The Guardian’s Zoe Williams.
Metaverse Gadgets
In recent years we’ve noticed that wearables, smart clothes and other devices that connect consumers better to the metaverse have been picking up. Naturally, there was a spike in interest following Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta announcement in October 2021, but even before then brands were testing out haptic suits and handheld devices which enable users to feel the different textures of metaverse-based worlds. We love this overview of recent developments by techxplore.com.
Home Recycling
A double-whammy of global pandemic and environmental crisis has led many people to flirt with off-grid lifestyles. In response, we’ve seen a rise in home appliances that allow the recycling of various waste materials at home. Lasso Loop is a home appliance which receives household waste, identifies it, cleans it, separates it into its core components, and then grinds it down into its raw materials – ready for collection by a Lasso Loop employee. It’s just one example of this industry niche which we suspect will become big news in years to come.
Want to see what happens next? Members of TrendWatching Premium are being kept updated on each of the above niches – and 46 others – via our Innovations Lab service.
