MIT Sloan recently published an article about a recent talk by Carly Stojsic, professional trendspotter and former Worth Global Style Network market editor, in which she discussed using artificial intelligence (AI) and biomimetics to help predict big upcoming consumer trends.
Stojsic believes trends are “critical to success for brands” and being involved in trends “means understanding what people perceive.”
According to Stojsic, “Garbage is going to be gold,” particularly within the beauty industry, which she explained has begun to “move from reusing packaging materials to recycling ingredients” like protein-rich starch from rice waste.
Stojsic expects decorative masks to be all the rage within five years as people increasingly need to thwart government surveillance technology on a more regular basis.
“Insects are likely the superfood of the future,” particularly in a world where “the rising human population calls for a radical re-evaluation of how humans produce food.” Stojsic also predicts that snail mucin [a protein in mucus] will “replace egg whites as binding agents in baking.”
Stojsic also mentioned Microsoft’s HoloLens and Olli, a self-driving electric vehicle, as two products that are slated to change the games in their respective industries.
Lastly, Stojsic predicted that verisimilitude will become a much more in-demand commodity, particularly in our “alternative facts” moment. “Globally, trust in big business and corporations is waning. Think about this as you build your startups.”