Ideas
Explore the world's #1 largest database of ideas and innovations, with 451,772 inspiring examples.
Trend Reports
Discover why 1,208 brands rely on our AI-powered Trend Reports to get better, faster insights.
Newsletter
Join 327,682 subscribers who rely on our weekly newsletter to keep up with need-to-know trends and insights.
How to Hunt
Learn more about how to hunt megatrends, ideas, patterns and opportunity.
Consumer Insights
Uncover major shifts and emerging opportunities with our exclusive PRO research.
Trend Reports
Discover why 1,208 brands rely on our AI-powered Trend Reports to get better, faster insights.
Newsletter
Join 327,682 subscribers who rely on our weekly newsletter to keep up with need-to-know trends and insights.
How to Hunt
Learn more about how to hunt megatrends, ideas, patterns and opportunity.
Advisory & Services
Accelerate innovation and ignite disruptive thinking with our award-winning programs and research.
Trend Reports
Get fast, customized trend reports, presentations and deep dives 20x faster than traditional research.
Plans
Get started today with a free consultation, our self-serve tools, or a dedicated program.
Articles & Magazine
Get inspired with our 4,199 innovation strategy articles, keynote, videos and innovation tools.
Innovation Awards
Trend Hunter’s Innovation Strategy Awards recognize the best innovation tactics gathered from our interviews with some of the world's most notable business leaders, authors and change makers.
Advisory & Services
Accelerate innovation and ignite disruptive thinking with our award-winning programs and research.
Innovation Assessment
Enhance your innovation potential with a deeper understanding of your unique innovation archetype and how your organization benchmarks.
FuturistU
Prepare for the years ahead with 100+ lessons, tactics, tools and frameworks with our full learning database.
Innovation Books
Join 20,000,000 people getting better and faster with our New York Times Bestselling books and keynote videos.
Jeremy Gutsche
Ignite your event or virtual event with our CEO, a NY Times Bestselling Author and one of the top innovation keynote speakers.
Our Team of Speakers & Virtual Presenters
Inspire your group with our most popular speakers on innovation, trends, change and futurism.
Custom Training & Events
Bring the Future Festival experience directly to your team or co-hosted custom event.
Custom Masterclasses
Join the world's leading brands who leverage our custom programs to accelerate innovation.
FuturistU 5-Day Program
Become a Futurist with our immersive 5-Day program at Future Festival World Summit.
Online eLearning
Learn the fundamentals of futurism and trends with 100+ online courses about innovation.
How to Hunt
Learn more about how to hunt megatrends, ideas, patterns and opportunity.
Contact
Get in touch to learn more, ask a question or submit a tip.
About Us
Learn more about Trend Hunter and how we accelerate innovation.
Follow-Us
Join our 3,500,000 social media followers, on the cutting edge.
How to Hunt
Learn more about how to hunt megatrends, ideas, patterns and opportunity.
FAQ
Get answers to common questions about Trend Hunter.
Community
Stay on the cutting-edge with the help of the Trend Hunter community.
Team
Meet the team trusted by hundreds of leading businesses worldwide.
Jobs
Find opportunities to accelerate your career with the #1 Trend Firm.
News
Catch up on noteworthy Trend Hunter news and media mentions.
Join
Build a portfolio and put your trend-spotting abilities to the test.
Advertising
Supercharge your marketing by partnering with Trend Hunter.
Portfolio
Visit your public portfolio and browse your past articles.
Add a Trend
Write up an article and showcase your trend-spotting skills.
My Trends
Edit your articles and see how they stack up on the leaderboards.
Settings
Edit your profile, connect your social media accounts, and more.
Add a trend, customize your dashboard, or track topics.
Future Festival
Innovation Events
Join the world's top innovators at our in person events.
Free Webinars
Learn to innovate through chaos, navigate the new normal and maintain work culture from home.
Custom Training & Events
Bring the Future Festival experience directly to your team or co-hosted custom event.
Search our database of 451,772 cutting edge ideas.
FuturistU > Tactics > The 18 Megatrends > Module 4 / 7

The Convergence Megatrends

Instructor: Armida Ascano
Virtual & Augmented Technology
Download the Virtual & Augmented Technology Trend Report
Convergence is a Pattern of Opportunity based on hybrid business ideas. It's all about associative thinking, and what happens when seemingly unrelated areas combine forces.

The Megatrends within this module include Hybridization, Co-Creation, and Multisensation. In terms of consumer desire, it all boils down to a need for something new and interesting. How could you experiment with adjacent industries to offer something truly unique?
Related Trend Report: Virtual & Augmented Technology
Workshop Questions:
1. How could you reconfigure your product to delight the senses?
2. How could you more deeply involve consumers in your offering?
3. What's one outside industry you'd like to tap for inspiration?
Get Trend Hunter Dashboard

Featured Insights

Customized Café
Self-serve cafes place customization entirely in the hands of consumers
Implications - Taking the cafe concept to a much more curated level, brands are flipping the tables and turning consumers into hands-on baristas. The self-serve model not only increases brand-consumer engagement, it also appeals to discerning coffee drinkers who are very particular about the customization of their java. By giving consumers a chance to craft their version of a perfect beverage, these cafes allow for a truly personalized experience without any interference or potential misinterpretation by staff.
Workshop Question - How can you concede some control to put brand experience more into the hands of consumers?
5.4
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends

Insights by Trend Hunter AI

Blended Coffee
Fruit-infused coffee is gaining popularity with TikTok content creators
Trend - Social media creators are blending real fruits into coffee to add both flavor and nutritional value. These blended coffees are easy to create, offer a wide range of flavor options, and offer health benefits over traditional coffee. This trend is gaining popularity with consumers on TikTok.
Workshop Question - How could your brand create high-benefit products or services for younger audiences, noting that low-investment products receive notably more interest?
6.3
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Eco Coffee
Coffee brands offer sustainable at-home brewers and machines
Trend - Coffee brands have focused their sustainability goals to the pods and coffee grounds themselves, but some brands are now making machines and brewers that are also eco-friendly. Brewers are being made with low-power functions, recycled (and recyclable) materials, and extended lifespans.
Workshop Question - How could your brand better balance customers' desire for sustainable and convenient products?
8.5
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Protein Coffee
Brands are infusing coffee with protein to deliver a new kind of functional drink
Trend - A number of coffee brands have begun offering ready-to-drink products that combine coffee and protein. These functional beverages feature the performance-focused benefits of both ingredients and deliver them in a single format that prioritizes taste.
Workshop Question - How could your brand combine elements to create a more convenient product?
6.2
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
DIY Iced
Brands make consuming iced coffee at home easier
Trend - Coffee brands are releasing concentrates, pods and instant coffee options that make the process of making iced coffee at home much easier. These at-home options are quicker while promising high-quality flavors.
Workshop Question - How could your brand balance convenience with quality?
7.9
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Compostable Capsule
Coffee pods are made compostable to cut down on waste
Trend - While singular coffee pod machines are popular in homes and offices, their use of throwaway pods is wasteful and negatively contributes to global pollution. Now, more brands are releasing pods that can be composted and therefore cut down their impact on the environment.
Workshop Question - How is your brand effectively prioritizing sustainability?
7.5
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Phygital Retail
Brands merge physical and digital worlds in retail spaces
Trend - Though digital elements in retail spaces aren't new, brands are now designing "phygital" in-store experiences from the ground-up. These stores offer a blend of experiences--the interaction of in-person retail, the convenience of e-commerce, and the novelty that's associated with tech-forward retail experiences.
Workshop Question - What kind of customer-focused experiences can your brand create?
6.6
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Infused Coffees
Coffee brands infuse unlikely flavors into their beans
Trend - Coffee beans are now being infused with unusual flavors in order to compete in a highly saturated market. Products in this space include everything from seasonally flavored coffee beans to coffees infused with popular liqueurs.
Workshop Question - How could your brand use novelty to pique consumers' interest?
6.1
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Sustainable Café
Cafés are prioritizing sustainable design
Trend - Both independent and multinational cafés are now prioritizing eco-friendly retail designs in order to reduce their environmental footprint. These constructions reduce impact while also creating a point of interest for customers.
Workshop Question - How is your brand changing its values alongside its customers?
7.1
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Coffee Concentrates
Liquid coffee concentrates offer convenience without compromising quality
Trend - Concentrated liquid coffees are becoming more popular--particularly as high-quality ingredients offer the same flavors as fresh brewed coffee. These concentrates are convenient and make drinking coffee in different ways much simpler.
Workshop Question - How is your brand prioritizing convenience without sacrificing quality?
5.6
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Morning CBD
Cannabis brands release CBD products intended for morning use
Trend - Cannabis brands are increasingly touting cannabis as something that can benefit people's lifestyles, and this now includes the incorporation of CBD into customers morning routines. These products are now being offered in everything from coffees to supplements that are meant to be consumed in the morning.
Workshop Question - How is your brand expanding its product lines to better integrate into customers' routines?
6.8
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends