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FuturistU > Innovation & Change > Opportunity Hunting > Module 2 / 4

Megatrends

Instructor: Jeremy Gutsche
If you look at everything impacting the future, there are probably just 50 megatrends that explain every major change in consumer demand. Instead of predicting what’s hip next year, megatrends explain how the world changes in the next 3 to 10 years. At Trend Hunter, we are constantly reevaluating which megatrends are the most important and publicly reveal just 18 Megatrends that we believe have the most sway.

This module explores not just what those 18 Megatrends are, but how best to use them, alongside our 6 Patterns of Opportunity, to productionize creativity and employ more associative thinking.
Workshop Questions:
1. What is one outside industry you could better leverage for inspiration?
2. How does your team currently use trends? What could you do to refine that process?
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Insights by Trend Hunter AI

AI Support
Businesses are incorporating AI chatbots for instant customer service at scale
Trend - Businesses are moving customer service units toward artificial intelligence. AI chatbots for customer service have complete knowledge of any trained dataset, and can deliver instant answers to any related question to any number of customers at a time. This scalability saves money for the business and time for the consumer.
Workshop Question - How can your brand utilize trained AI chatbots to improve the online shopping experience, or post-sale support experience, for customers?
7.7
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Automated Chef
Brands are releasing AI-powered cooking devices for the home kitchen
Trend - Just a few years after AI-powered chefs debuted in numerous restaurant pilots, brands are now adapting this technology to the home kitchen. These cooking devices help ensure consistency in cooking while making the process more efficient due to their advanced AI.
Workshop Question - How could your brand repurpose industrial AI tools for the benefit of the home consumer?
7.2
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Private Socials
Emerging social media platforms are focusing on privacy
Trend - With criticisms around excessive social media use and the data-selling that goes along with it, some brands are releasing social media platforms with limited functions and privacy features that help protect users' data, while still enabling sharing between family and friends.
Workshop Question - How is your brand prioritizing the overall wellness of its customers?
2.9
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Monk Fruit Candy
Monk fruit is being used as a natural sweetener in candy products
Trend - Monk fruit sweetener is a popular natural alternative to sugar, particularly for people who subscribe to keto diets. Now, candy brands are adapting the ingredient into their products to cut their sugar content while maintaining indulgent flavors.
Workshop Question - How could your brand create a more balanced approach to wellness in its product/service?
4.8
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Plant-Based Pasta
Pre-packaged pastas are being made with vegan ingredients
Trend - As plant-based foods become more popular, pre-packaged pasta meals are now being made with vegan ingredients. These products include everything from vegan raviolis to lasagnas, and aim to simplify eating plant-based Italian food.
Workshop Question - How could your brand better balance convenience with health?
4
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Compost E-Commerce
Brands in the e-commerce space offer compostable packaging
Trend - The growth of the e-commerce industry has resulted in excessive packaging waste and pollution. Now, some brands in this space are offering compostable packaging solutions that help reduce their environmental impact, while simplifying sustainability.
Workshop Question - How could your brand make eco-friendly consumption easier to attain for its customers?
7
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Sugarcane Accessory
Sugarcane is becoming a prominent sustainable material among shoe brands
Trend - Sugarcane is increasingly being used as a renewable resource that can be turned into everything from food packaging to materials. As eco-friendly shoe brands start to emerge, sugarcane is increasingly used to make shoes and ensure they're living up to principles of sustainability.
Workshop Question - How is your brand prioritizing sustainability?
7.7
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Compostable Beauty
Beauty brands are reducing their impact with compostable packaging
Trend - Compostable packaging solutions in the beauty space are becoming more popular as brands in the cosmetic industry look to reduce their environmental impact. Everything from brands selling luxury goods to ones selling inexpensive beauty items are now adopting such packaging.
Workshop Question - How is your brand prioritizing environmental protection?
6.4
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
DEI Revamped
Employer inclusivity strategies must reach higher standards post-pandemic
Trend - As consumers continue re-prioritizing their lives post-pandemic, they crave a more clear sense of purpose in their work. One way to achieve this in the workplace is by offering a more comprehensive DEI strategy. Diversity, equity, and inclusion have become all the more important to consumers seeking ways to make the world a better place on a daily basis.
Workshop Question - What is your current DEI strategy, and how can it improve?
4.3
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Menstruation Poverty
Health brands and campaigns aim to tackle the issue of period poverty
Trend - Period poverty is being addressed by mainstream brands with campaigns and initiatives that help tackle this worldwide issue. These initiatives aim to make menstruation-related hygiene products more accessible, and to overall reduce the stigma around periods.
Workshop Question - Consider a social or health issue that your brand could help address?
4.9
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends