Collectable Brands
Plus: a high-tech trash can, trading cards for brand people, and more đ
Hello and welcome back to Brandscape!
I hope your week is off to a great start.
The one-year mark (!) of Brandscape is quickly approaching. I started this newsletter after receiving lots of inspiration and encouragement from other Substack creators.
When I first started publishing, I could have never imagined being able to connect with such a great community, much less one that spans 29 U.S. states and 45 countries (thanks, Substack analytics!). Thank you so much for continuing to open my letters in your inbox. It means a lot.
Onto this weekâs storiesâŠ
PEOPLE BRANDS AND THINGS, a popular Instagram account and Substack publication, released collectable trading cards in collaboration with some of the buzziest consumer brands. People, Brands, and Things has built a reputation around staying current with brand news, and now, theyâre expanding beyond a news source. The cards, which retail for $11.99, represent the evolving way in which consumers interact with brands. They donât just buy productsâthey buy the story behind the brand. They follow their favorite brands like a team, helping to co-create its future. Brands included in the PBT card pack include Sweetgreen, Away, Vacation, and others.
Peec AI just raised a $21 million Series A round. The Berlin-based startup takes a different approach to GEO by allowing customers to choose the search prompts with which they want to align themselves (e.g. âbest water bottle for hiking) and providing recommendations to achieve that.
Gen Z is projected to spend 23% less this holiday season, according to a survey of U.S. consumers by PwC. Furthermore, 39% of Gen Z membersâ holiday budgets will go towards âself-gifting.â This is a great opportunity for brands to lean into little luxuries that are priced right.
Matt Rogers, a cofounder of Nest, is continuing to innovate in the home tech space with Mill. Mill is a food recycler that turns scraps into âfood groundsâ (odorless, nutrient-rich powder). By generating lighter food waste, Mill aims to make garbage collection more efficient. The food grounds can also be used as compost in your home garden or collected by Mill to be turned into chicken feed for farms.
Photo: Mill
Thanks for reading!
â Henry
Brandscape is a weekly newsletter covering the latest in marketing, brand, + consumer insights â all through the lens of a college student.