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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?
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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

Fashion Cafe
Luxury fashion labels are opening in-store cafes to foster in-person connection
Trend - Luxury fashion labels across Europe and Asia are opening dedicated restaurants and cafes. These are designed to transform the boutiques from simple shopping ventures, to full-blown experiences. The experiential retail helps build consumer connections to one another and the brand.
Workshop Question - How can your brand integrate unique experiential elements to foster deeper connections with consumers?
7.4
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Camp Coffee
Portable espresso makers are being made with durable designs for outdoor activities
Trend - Brands are making portable espresso makers designed for camping and travel applications. These are durable with long-lasting batteries, often including secondary features such as lights or app connectivity. Portable espresso makers target the traveling on-the-go or outdoorsy adult demographic.
Workshop Question - How could your brand ensure its products fit with modern consumers' lifestyles?
7.9
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Informative Yogurt
Dairy brands are redesigning packaging to explicitly advertise health benefits
Trend - Brands in the dairy industry are redesigning product packaging to be more explicitly informative. These new packagings highlight the ingredients' exact nutritional benefits, such as benefiting gut health. Many such products are also advertising organic or eco-friendly ingredients.
Workshop Question - How could your brand redesign its packaging to ensure it best appeals to the desires of its consumers?
7.7
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Clean Creamer
Beverage brands are launching coffee creamers with concise, clean recipes
Trend - Brands in the beverage space are creating coffee creamers with simple ingredient lists. These creamers are often plant-based or organic, and focus on conveying to the customer that they use as few chemicals as possible, resulting in better-for-you alternatives to traditional artificial creamers.
Workshop Question - How could your brand redesign its products to align with the growing consumer need for clean-label options?
5.4
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Electrolyte Coffee
Brands are creating RTD and ready-to-mix coffees infused with electrolytes
Trend - Coffee brands are infusing their convenience-focused coffee products with electrolytes. These drinks are positioned as healthier alternatives to regular coffees while being served in a time-saving format. The infusion of electrolytes has been shown to improve hydration and reduce jitters.
Workshop Question - How could your brand expand its consumer base with alternative versions of its products or services?
6.3
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Iced Brew
Appliance brands offer coffee machines with convenient iced options
Trend - Coffee machines designed to brew iced coffee alongside standard options are becoming more popular. These multi-functional appliances help users reduce daily expenses, while still allowing them their everyday convenient indulgences.
Workshop Question - How could your brand help its customers save money as they deal with inflation?
7.2
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
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?
5.9
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Automotive Brew
Portable coffee makers designed for car cupholders are reaching the broader market
Trend - Coffee makers are being created in a compact, low-power form factor fit for in-car use. By connecting to the lighter or USB slot in a car, the coffee makers brew fresh coffee in the car. The purpose of these coffee makers is to be both time and cost-effective compared to purchasing coffee.
Workshop Question - How could your brand factor in the return of the commute when crafting new products or services?
6
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?
7.2
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Regenerative Coffee
Brands are employing biodynamic farming methods to reduce the impact of coffee
Trend - Coffee brands are implementing regenerative farming practices to ensure that coffee farming has a positive impact on the surrounding environment. These farming methods result in cleaner coffee blends while improving animal welfare, worker rights, and surrounding ecosystems.
Workshop Question - How can your brand improve its attraction to the modern consumer by adopting environmentally or socially-positive practices?
7.9
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends