🦻 What’s that? A market that’s 86% untapped…?

Happy Trends Tuesday!

Today we’ve got:

• 1 trend alert

• 1 piece of operator wisdom

• 1 startup sector you should know 

Let's get to it.

🚨 TREND ALERT

67%-86% of Americans who would benefit from hearing aids aren’t using them — either because of the price or the stigma of wearing them.

A long-overdue FDA rule recently created a new category of over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids, allowing adults to buy them directly from retailers without a prescription.

Hearing loss is the third most-common chronic health condition in the US (~29m Americans today). And incidences are projected to double by 2060.

That trend coupled with the recent regulatory change spells opportunity:

• Niches get riches. New entrants can create brands that cater to specific demographics (e.g., Gen Z, or Spanish-speaking populations). There’s also an opportunity to offer consumer-friendly form factors and novel design aesthetics for a product traditionally viewed as clunky.
  
  
• Fix the buying experience. Consumers seeking OTC hearing aids are reporting less-than-ideal retail experiences. So, craft a more responsive and compelling buying process — especially for buyers new to hearing aids.
  
  
• Follow an existing playbook. As people become more comfortable with buying and wearing hearing aids, the retail market could evolve into something more akin to glasses (e.g., Warby Parker).

✅ FRANCHISING CHECKLIST

🧠 OPERATOR WISDOM

Candeeze is a small husband-and-wife D2C brand that sells freeze-dried candy online.

They ran a unique launch strategy on TikTok recently, and their most-viewed video got:

• 21m+ views

• 2.5m+ likes

• 12.3k+ comments

• 9.7k+ shares

It also gained them 280k followers in seven days 😳

Trendster Jorden Souza deconstructed the viral video that kicked off their entire account:

• The video starts with great hooks:
  

  • It opens with a topic people like to support (small business).

  • The second frame of the founders’ wedding stops the scroll and makes it personal. Pulling at those heart strings.

  • The third frame brings in the twist: a candy machine?! Tell me more.
    
    

• Then, they stacked viral elements:
  

  • The product itself is eye-catching. It’s fun to see your favorite candies being turned into puffs.

  • When the founder eats the freeze-dried Jolly Rancher, an element of ASMR is added to the video.

  • Their enthusiasm from receiving ten orders is infectious. It’s also an invisible CTA, subtly letting people know they can buy too.
    
    

• Many people go viral, but the conversion to followers is typically low. What did Candeeze do differently?

  • They have an emotional connection with their audience. People want to support them.

  • Their page is structured like a TV-show. Each TikTok is an episode in their show’s season.

  • They take people behind the scenes. Showing not just the candies, but also the ups and downs of building a business.

🔥 STARTUP SECTOR YOU SHOULD KNOW

You’ve likely heard the old adage, “something old, new, borrowed, and blue.”

But today’s couples are focusing on one word in particular: Borrowed.

The average cost of a wedding in 2023 is estimated to hit $29k, a sum that is sure to give anyone cold feet.

To make the walk down the aisle a little less scary, startups are popping up that let customers rent everything from fake flowers to real diamonds for a fraction of the cost.

Read more about the budding business of wedding rentals on The Hustle blog.

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