❤️ Gen Z Loves NYC
and other things you should know about...
GM everyone! A snow storm is apparently going to pummel NYC today, which feels a bit out of place. I agree with this post on X claiming the storm seems fake. Also, I ran out of pre-workout this morning and I think the company I like is going out of business.
Ladder, backed by LeBron James and Arnold Schwarzenegger offered great pre-workouts and protein powders, but all of the SKUs are sold out on Amazon. I can’t find any news about them closing up shop. It sucks building brand loyalty to a CPG brand and then all of a sudden they’re gone.
Anyway let’s get into some news—
Bitcoin hit $50,000 for the first time since 2021. Hot off recent demand for Bitcoin ETFs, the cryptocurrency is hitting highs not seen since the last crypto bull run. While their is still institutional skepticism, I think BTC is the one crypto that will be around for the long haul.
Kim Kardashian’s VC fund, SKYY Partners invested $79.8M in Truff. This is a mind bogglingly large investment for a truffle sauce. Considering this is PE investment, their sales data must warrant an investment this large. I have tried Truff, and don’t love it. Its a bit overpowering for a sandwich.
Hailey Bieber turned her Erewhon smoothie into an ice cream. The HB smoothie has been an Erewhon Staple for the last 2 years and its not morphed into a soft serve dessert. HB is a master at brand momentum (a concept I’ll be talking about in length later this week) She always has a new project, collaboration, or editorial in the pipeline, ensuring constant media coverage and social buzz. In the crowded information economy, attention is real estate, so you have to keep people hooked, even with small iterations on existing brand universe staples like the Erewhon smoothie.
Does a Super Bowl ad NEED a celebrity? Apparently so. Data shows the vast majority of Super Bowl ads featured a celebrity cameo, far outpacing previous years. I do think people will grow tired of this eventually.
Chamberlain Coffee’s Valentine’s Day creative direction is on point. As always, the new VD collection from Emma Chamberlain features incredibly cohesive photography, packaging, and creative direction.
Gen Z is flocking to NYC, pushing vacancy rates to record lows. New York City is, despite all detractors, the number one city for young people to advance their career, make connections, have fun, and swag out. New renters moving here have pushed housing vacancy rates to 1.4%, a stat not seen since the Mad Men age of the 60s.
The new Supreme collection, which I mentioned yesterday, is coinciding with the 9 year anniversary (WTF I’m so old) of Drake’s beloved mixtape, ‘If You’re Reading This Its Too Late’ and bringing back some major teenage nostalgia for me.
Back in the high school I used to race to the bathroom every Thursday at 11am to buy items from the Supreme drop, some to keep and many to sell. Its how I made the majority of my money at the time.
The new collection features some items that evoke some 2014 core fashion trends I think will see a resurgence 10 years later, the highlight of which being the Futura fishtail parka.
This style of parka was HUGEEE in 2014, as well as all over floral print hoodies. Many other brands are actually bringing back the fishtail parks for Spring. While I won’t cop the Supreme one, this hoodless fishtail from 3Sixteen is calling my name for a rainy Spring day.
Hope you all have a lovely day!
About the Writer
Jake Bell is a content marketing and creative strategist based in NYC. He specializes in content creation, branding, art direction, creative strategy, and making things cool.
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