With a new year upon us, we’re now in full prediction mode, and when it comes to CPG, there are a lot of trends to keep an eye on: Whole Foods said that a “poultry revolution” is coming, while Pinterest forecasted two-toned hair and micro French manicures will be all the rage in 2023.

As for predictions that are just a tad broader, we rounded up insights from CPG industry experts to see what trends and themes in CPG—specifically across food and beverage, and beauty and personal care products—we’ll likely see this year.

Food and beverage trends to watch

Greener pastures: Consumers continue to seek out sustainable products, and—just like in the fashion industry—food and beverage brands are turning to regenerative agriculture to help cut down their carbon emissions by improving soil health and preventing erosion, according to CB Insights.

• Brands like Nestlé, General Mills, and PepsiCo have invested in regenerative agriculture, and we’ll see more of that in 2023, Thomas Sineau, associate director of consumer retail at CB Insights, told us.

“It’s a matter of survival for these companies to adopt more sustainable/regenerative practices,” he said. “The second thing is, I think there’s a bit more awareness on the consumer side, sometimes organic may not be just enough.”

Shop to it: Food and beverage brands are likely to participate in more shopping events, like Amazon Prime Day, to boost sales, Coresight CPG analyst Arun Sriram said. Per Numerator, CPG categories saw the largest increase in sales compared to previous years, with the number of shoppers buying grocery items during the event rising two points to 17% in 2022.

Keep reading here.—EC

“It’s that time of year again—when lofty resolutions are made, and every post, blog, article, and ad reminds you of ways you could be optimizing. But this year, some brands are taking a different approach, encouraging people instead to maybe take it easy and have more of a low-key new year rather than set difficult goals,” writes Marketing Brew’s Katie Hicks:

[Vitamin company Care/of] created the Anti-Planner as a way to encourage focusing on emotional well-being rather than checking off tasks.

Another vitamin company, Nature Made, decided to steer away from “scare-based advertising” and focus on positive messaging for its new year campaign.

Tito’s vodka took a slightly different approach with a tongue-in-cheek, yet (sadly?) relatable take on Dry January in its latest ad with Martha Stewart.

Read the whole story here on Marketing Brew.

Today’s top retail reads.

Tailor swift: A London startup, Sojo, connects consumers with local seamsters and is partnering with brands so their customers get a custom fit. (Wired)

Into Thins air…RIP Stoned Wheat Thins, whose discontinuation some consumers are taking hard. “My only cracker for 50 years!!!” Reddit user Pretty-Agency-8171 wrote on the platform. “Do I have enough time left on this planet to find a suitable substitute?” (Slate)

Spice spice baby: The domestic spice market is small, but growing, with saffron fetching as much as $5,000 a pound. (Civil Eats)

At the mall, it’s where band tees are the only tees. In Retail Brew, it’s where we invite readers to weigh in on a trending retail topic.

A story that broke 16 months ago came to our attention only last week through social media, where it was making the rounds. The Vice story from September 30, 2021, carries the headline “Grocery Store Opens ‘Chat Registers’ for Lonely Customers.” The Dutch supermarket chain Jumbo was planning to introduce 200 cash register lines in its stores for customers who wanted to have lengthy conversations with cashiers.

• Jumbo piloted the “kletskassa” (Dutch for “chat register”) in 2019, and received positive feedback, Vice reported.
• The initiative is aimed at loneliness, with 33% of Dutch respondents over 75 feeling at least moderately lonely, according to Statistics Netherlands data cited by Vice.

You tell us: Would you want your favorite supermarket to introduce slower-moving “chat registers” for shoppers who want to schmooze with cashiers? Cast your vote here.

Circling back: Last week, we noted that the first licensed cannabis store in the state of New York opened in the East Village of Manhattan on December 29. It makes New York the 20th state where recreational marijuana has been legalized, but because it is still illegal under federal law, it can pose a challenge for would-be cannabis retailers to secure loans and other bank services. Because for some it still carries a stigma, we asked if you’d have any qualms about working in the cannabis industry.

The most popular response, with 43.1%, was that you’d have no qualms, and you’d prefer to work in the cannabis industry over other industries. Another 26.2% would have some qualms, but would still take a job in it. Another 23.8% just said no—they would have a problem with working in the cannabis industry and would not take a job in it. Another 3.8% of you already work in the cannabis industry, while 3.1% didn’t know or weren’t sure (or possibly had forgotten the question?).—AAN

Catch up on the Retail Brew stories you may have missed.

• California basically banned fur. So what’s next for retailers?
• Holiday retail sales were up in 2022 as retailers diversified
• Resale Therapy: The secondhand outlook for 2023