WTF is Upflation?
Plus the future of retail, J. Crew x The Bear, and Tips on How to Launch a Product
In Today’s Newsletter:
WTF is ‘Uplfation’?
The Future of Fashion Retail is Small
J. Crew x The Bear
How to Launch a Product
We had shrinkflation, a vibecession, now upflation? Bloomberg wrote about a new trend happening in the world of consumer packaged goods: Upflation. During the pandemic, massive corporations like Proctor & Gamble (who make literally everything) found a clever way of selling a product for the same price, but shrinking the quantities using deceptive packaging tricks like a narrower Gatorade bottle. This trend was dubbed ‘shrinkflation’ But as consumers have grown weary to these tricks, they’ve started to just consume less, paring back their spending on some personal care items. (Side note: not wearing deodorant or skimping on body wash is not good for our society)
Now companies are changing their strategy, differentiating certain products by adding unique, specialized features, and marking them up in price. For example, an ‘all over body’ deodorant can sell for $14 as opposed to a normal one that may sell for $7, or a razor meant to ‘target tricky areas’ selling for 2x a normal razor. Whether or not there is a discernible difference in these products, the labeling and positioning is being altered to try to get consumers to spend more. We all fall victim to this in some way or another. Whether that be spending $15 on a Native deodorant because it doesn’t contain aluminum and looks nicer, or stocking our bathroom with Aesop soap because it signals how much money we make. Brand and positioning is the true differentiating factor, and can get consumers to spend a lot more than they probably need to, fueling the $100B personal care industry.
The Future of Fashion Retail is Small. I’ve written extensively on the renaissance of in-person retail, and some of the trends fueling this shift (such as every streetwear store being a coffee shop now) Massive department stores like Barney’s (RIP) and Macy’s have seen diminished sales with the rise of e-commerce, but now even e-commerce companies like SSENSE are struggling. The reality is consumers are just buying less this year, but smaller retail experiences can move the needle by creating a space consumers can’t find online. Business of Fashion spoke with a number of small boutique owners, such as NYC’s ESSX, which curates a hyper local selection of avant garde designs that can really only be appreciated (or found) in person.
There is a shift in retail strategy, rather than trying to stock items for everyone, boutiques are thinking smaller, specializing their offerings to appeal to more niche, passionate consumers.
J. Crew launched a capsule collection with The Bear. Has anyone seen the third season of The Bear yet? I loved season 1 and 2 but I am hearing 3 sort of sucks. Whether its good or bad, The Bear really appeals to a certain type of menswear bro, someone who cares deeply about finding the exact white tee Jeremy Allen White wears in the kitchen, or fawns over Ayo Edebiri’s Thom Browne Chef Jacket. So it makes sense that J. Crew is capitalizing on this demo with a capsule collection inspired by The Bear.
I personally am not a big fan, and find J. Crew’s men collaborations to be a bit all over the place. Remember when they did a collab with Union? I am just not sure if these collabs fit the brands core ethos, and I’d much rather see more retro collection inspired by the brands 90s catalogs that appear on every moodboard.
How Oren John launched Muscle Goo. In the world of e-commerce, I love hearing about how a product actually gets developed: from idea, to formulation, packaging, release, customer acquisition, etc. One of my favorite creators, Oren John, broke down how he created Muscle Goo, a muscle relaxing gel, and shares details on the backstory of the product development.
This part of the industry often feels so gatekept, and I love that Oren, and writers on Substack like
are willing to give us a peek behind how to bring an interesting product to market. Go watch Oren’s video to learn more, and kudos to Tiffanee Wilcox who did the brands new packaging design.
Jake Bell is a content marketing, creative strategist, and designer based in NYC. He specializes in brand building, content creation, branding, art direction, creative strategy, and making things cool.
Want to chat? Email me: jake@jb.studio
I am with you on The Bear collab not really fitting with J Crew's ethos, but damn, I really need that Matter of Fak trucker hat....Oops, too late - it's sold out!