29 Mar
Trendswatch | New Business Insight From The Past Week
It’s been a funny old week in the land of brands. Brewdog is set to launch a new collab with Tony’s Chocolonely, and there’s a new addition to Silicon Valley royalty…but this time it’s not just a metaphor, as he is quite literally a prince. That’s right, I am talking about Prince Harry who, as announced this week, is joining BetterUp as a senior exec!
In terms of trends, today I will be exploring the rise of B corp, online florists and the phenomenon that is Fortnite.
B corps
So, what is a B corp? Well in layman’s terms, it is a business that meets the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance and has passed the certification.
To become a certified B Corp, a company must first submit its social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency to an independent assessment. If the company scores highly enough, it must then incorporate its social or environmental mission into its governance articles in order to be certified.
Now, the reason I bring up B Corp this week – apart from it being the final week in B Corp month – is because plant-based company Strong Roots has announced that it has achieved B Corp certification.
The frozen supplier said it has been awarded the benchmark for its work on transforming its packaging, supporting charitable initiatives and pledging to reduce its carbon footprint in collaboration with CarbonCloud.
Strong Roots is joining other B Corp businesses including the likes of The Body Shop, Innocent Drinks and Brewdog. and I expect to see many more in the near future! This is a really important consideration for agencies as it’s a wider indicator of the increased commitment to sustainability.
Online Florists
According to online florist Bloom & Wild, many Brits have been sending bouquets of flowers as “substitute hugs” to friends and family during the pandemic.
The growth of Bloom & Wild has been rapid. The pandemic has led to a surge in online shopping with investors keen to back businesses that could benefit from a long-term tilt to the web.
Bloom & Wild recently pulled in £75m from new investors in a fundraising round that brings their total raised to almost £100m. The backers include General Catalyst – an early supporter of Airbnb – and Index Ventures, which has backed Facebook and Just Eat.
Demand for floral deliveries spiked in the first lockdown when high street stores closed but has continued at twice its previous level even in periods without restrictions. This year, Mother’s Day was a runaway success, with the company delivering more flowers in one week than it had in its first three years put together.
Fortnite
Since it launched in July 2017, Fortnite has risen to become the most important video game of its time. The 100-player, last-man-standing video-game shooter is obsessed over by rappers and athletes, hotly debated in school playgrounds, and played by 125 million people.
However, its graphics and narrative are not groundbreaking…so why all this fuss for what is essentially, a simple, endlessly playable cartoon? Fornite provides simple high-risk high-reward gameplay, which is what has led to its success.
This week we found out that Epic Games, owner of both Fortnite and Houseparty, is close to concluding another $1bn fundraising. The company is closing in on another large injection of funding that will value it at about $28bn!
And it’s not just Epic Games reaping the benefits of the lockdown gaming boom, as many video game makers have been involved in a flurry of big corporate deals in recent months, including the takeover of Britain’s Codemasters by Electronic Arts, which has a market capitalisation in New York of almost $37bn.
Come back next week for more insights! 😀