Hot themes and top trends

Retail100 Consulting director and co-founder Elaine Hooper takes a retrospective look at some of the themes and trends she spotted at recent trade fairs

Sustainability was the number one focus from the trade fairs that the Retail100 Consulting team has visited this year to date - and rightly so.

It was fabulous to see Spring Fair’s emphasis on sustainability with its Power of One campaign and partnership with Products of Change [a global hub driving sustainable change across consumer product markets and beyond]. This provided an educational aspect and an introduction to the topic for companies looking to take their first steps on the road to sustainable development.

It was clear that many companies have prioritised sustainability and are doing what is possible to make a difference, from overhauls of packaging and product, FSCcertification, and the development of home compostable products, to major moves to reduce the volume of plastic.

What was great to note was that while not everyone has accomplished their goals yet, they were communicating their journey with sustainability: discussing what has been achieved, what’s next, and where they would like to be. Some companies really made an impression, several of which are finalists in the Giftware Association’s Gift of The Year 2023 Awards, which we had the privilege of judging.

The complete journey and thoughtfulness of some of the brands really stood out and encompassed many qualities that we believe are important to customers now. Other themes that delighted us include:

Refillable

Products that are refillable, from stationery to candle vessels - meaning that those products have a much longer lifespan. We loved seeing imagery that would help spark a customer’s imagination - using an empty candle vessel to store make-up brushes, for example. It might seem obvious but it isn’t to everyone!

Giving back

Companies that ‘give back’ by donating a percentage of their profits to worthwhile causes - and firms that have been quick to innovate with regards to the government banning single-use plastic, by providing some great alternatives that are not just ‘worthy’ efforts but are gorgeous to look at, as well as supporting sustainability.

Vegan

We loved seeing more use of ‘vegan’ in companies’ product developmentfrom stationery to beauty and beyond.

Circular

as a force for good’. In a crowded marketplace, this really makes a difference - and we hope we will see a lot more of this in the coming years.

Brights & Highly Decorative

Material innovation

Material innovation includes the use of reclaimed coffee beans, kiwi, cherry and lavender mixed with recycled paper. We get super excited when we see this. There is a huge opportunity to do more in this space, and we believe strongly that this is something that manufacturers should be paying close attention to.

‘Circular’ products have every aspect of their use thought through. For example, a candle brand that has seeded dust covers so when you have finished your candle, you can use the vessel to become a beautiful plant pot utilising the dust cover.

B Corp

The continued emergence of B Corp certified brands is wonderful. It’s a lot of hard work and while I’m not sure all customers quite understand what it means yet, there are companies driving the philosophy of ‘business

Elaine Hooper is a director and co-founder of Retail100 Consulting, which is a consultancy firm with 100 years of retail experience that helps retailers and brands grow.

Coming from a retail background, she worked for John Lewis for 32 years. Categories and roles covered included space planning, project proposition lead, and senior buyer in seasonal, beauty and home categories.

Elaine is skilled in end-to-end strategy, licence and private label product development, sourcing, and maximising brand potential, with experience in leading teams, coaching and mentoring

Email: hello@retail100consulting.co.uk

Visit: www.retail100consulting.co.uk; www.linkedin.com/company/retail100-consulting

It was also uplifting to see home accessories in a variety of styles including ‘Brights & Highly Decorative’. We know that 2023 will continue to be challenging for the furniture sector, which has seen quite a significant amount of demand pulled forward from the impacts of the pandemic, so it was inspiring to see how accessories are so impactful in terms of style and colour. We love a bright hue here at R100, so it was wonderful to see the variety of shocking pinks and luminous yellows among the halls.

A lot of companies have really got it right: customers still love to shop in stores and be inspired by newness and new stories. However, they want to do so more locally, more sustainably, and more collaboratively. And with the fabulous stories we saw at the fairs from a lot of brands, they are perfectly placed to support this. We can’t wait for the upcoming fairs to see what’s next.