The Digest 13

Replacing your AM social media doom scroll

Hope you’re hungry…

…more than usual! We have a LOT of food, CPG, grocery, and eating news today. Hope that’s your vibe! Throughout the week, I keep track of all the bits and bobs that stand out to me from the onslaught of media I consume. I take that list from my notes app and turn it into this download of books, bodies, and consumer culture news to keep you in the loop on what I think you should know about this week. I hope you enjoy and take your time to Digest.

Think of this as your curated morning paper, best read with coffee in hand

x Jo

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A bolded section denotes my favorite news tidbits of the week

“What is ‘sexy grotesque’ and what should brands know about it?” From Margiela’s Tabis, to Rick Owens, to The Substance, to food imagery in beauty advertisement - Really interesting read. “As the digital landscape becomes increasingly oversaturated, brands are turning to extreme emotional appeals: ecstasy versus horror, delight versus disgust, appealing or appalling the senses”

Jessica Torres

wrote about the colored tights + socks trend as one that plus size people can actually shop, thanks to the brands and resources she shares

Nylon named the “Bookworm” aesthetic as one of the 3 biggest fall fashion trends to shop right now, citing a “preppy-meets-nerdy craze”

Two things we talk about frequently here- CPG¹ and customization. This (Palestinian!) olive oil brand ships their product with sheets of stickers to customize your bottle to your liking

I often eat things solely for the purpose of having a vehicle for condiments, so I really appreciate this guide to sauce from Grub Street

While in a sprawling suburban grocery store earlier this year (a rare but indulgent experience for me), I noticed that Hellmann’s has drastically leaned into flavored mayo. Molly Baz followed suit and just dropped Ayoh!, a flavored mayo brand (lest we forget this incredible fashion week mayo collab)

In a sickeningly dystopian twist, food is increasingly seen as a status symbol, especially for young people. "It's a form of affordable affluence,"

Snaxshot

said. "We're now getting into this phenomenon of food not as a basic need but as a luxury experience”. We can’t afford to buy houses, so we’ll buy $10 flavored condiments and celebrity hot sauce at Erewhon + Happier Grocery (also, please read this book)

Cosmo also reported on this phenomenon this week - “With young people in the grip of a cost-of-living crisis, TikTok creators are turning grocery runs into rich-girl-coded productions—and followers are eating it up” - and here we see CPG as a luxury signifier via home decor

Currently working on a piece about the intersection of MAHA, GLP-1s, and the recent fashion trends that signaled a rise of conservatism. I’m unsurprised to see this beauty article from The Cut (trad wives are one of those aforementioned trends) about using beef tallow on your face after RFK’s recent crusade to bring it back to fast food establishments (LMK if you’re interested in this topic so I actually get it written)

I’ve read two Colleen Hoover books (Verity + IEWU), and only because my random roommate had them in our apartment when I had Covid and needed something to read. Looks like Anne Hathaway has been cast as Verity… very very interesting choice

“Why are age-gap relationships everywhere right now?” We talked about this recently

SKIMS’ willingness to partner with Dolce and Gabbana is one more piece of evidence that we culturally have the memory of a goldfish. D&G’s involvement in anything is the biggest possible red flag. When brands show you who they are, believe them

I have yet another unusual candle drop for you! This time, it’s KFC x Homesick

The “flippy hair bob” of the 60s is hot right now. This feels very Jetsons to me (made in the 1960s about the 2060s), solidly landing in a category I like to call “retro-futuristic chic”, representative of a future beyond us that was conceptualized before us. It feels right for the times we’re living in, ushering in new technological advances like robots while we see society taking several steps backwards socially and politically

In the sci-fi vein, longevity is still the obsession of choice for the ultra-wealthy. Just ask David Beckham and his new nutritional supplement brand

“The snob effect” was one of the most memorable things I learned about in fashion school. The ruling class turns their nose up at what is largely accessible to the masses, leading to a reversal of trends. Interested to see how this might play out in the near future. “Beauty standards are a reflection of economic status, even in insidious ways”

Some people have Meredith Hayden or Martha Stewart - I have Hailee + Chuck, an unbelievably charming culinary couple. I am beyond thrilled to see that Hailee has a cookbook coming out (and the cover is to die for)

“Ozempic Could Crush the Junk Food Industry. But It Is Fighting Back” - while I am extremely averse to the idea that GLP-1s are the godsend we see them positioned as, I am acutely interested in how their proliferation will inevitably impact a variety of industries (the “Ozempiconomy”)

(Side note: I was very shocked to see that Phillip Picardi, formerly of Teen Vogue + them, is now Chief Impact Officer at… wait for it… Weight Watchers. Why, Phil?)

Trend writing can be so silly - move over loafers! The new it girl shoe? Loafers! But with square toes, don’t get it twisted

Rent the Runway (my former employer) is working overtime to regain market share and cultural relevancy after their fall from grace during the pandemic. I do think that partnering with Sami Miró, a circularity + upcycling expert, is very synergetic and strategic: “Together, we’re proving that style isn’t about always having something new — it’s about expressing yourself in a way that’s both thoughtful and impactful, seeing the beauty in what already exists."

If you’ve been tracking along with the increasing travel product launches + advertising thematics: Calpak opens their first ever brick and mortar, and popular phone case company Casetify launches luggage as a new category

I honestly think this is hilarious and will appeal to the gaming community (an unlimited area of opportunity for brands), an audience that’s also probably more likely to have 3d printers. Twitch was the only platform to debut this on, that’s for sure

The Fantasy of Cozy Tech: “From the “cozy gaming” trend to a new generation of A.I. companions, our devices are trying to swath us in a digital and physical cocoon” - this quote in particular stood out to me and reminded me of

Leslie Stephens

’s dystopian novel: “The Apple Watch monitors your vital signs; AirPods can now function as hearing aids. All of them provide the coziness of a technological second skin, a diaphanous filter that regulates your sensory input, insuring comfort before you even have to think about it”

Yes, I followed an Olsen twins-inspired smudged liner tutorial this weekend, I’ll admit it. So it was interesting to see this today

I love to hate Lululemon, but this whole thing feels bizarre even for them. Makes me feel like they’re grasping at straws to improve the business. Also, the comment section is veeery telling

Couple interesting takeaways from The Cut’s Book Gossip newsletter this week about post-election publishing: Hachette employees publicly protest and quit over the launch of a conservative imprint helmed by a man with ties to Project 2025. It also seems that there is a continued appetite for dystopian fiction (wonder why)

I really like this Klaviyo campaign that features Fishwife + Alison Roman. “Fishwife was the right fit for the campaign because it’s a “great representation of the brands that [Klaviyo] is trying to look for: a fast-growing, founder-led, female[-run], sustainable company.”

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1. consumer packaged goods (food + bev, typically)