Mintel Little Conversation

[This episode originally aired April 2021]. Mental health awareness, impact, and support have become key concerns in recent years and have been accelerated by the pandemic. Host Edward Bergen sits down with consumer and industry experts in the health and wellness, food and drink, and beauty and personal care spaces to discuss the dynamic consumer landscape of mental health awareness. With the majo...

Host Andrew Davidson assembles a number of consumer lifestyle and marketing experts from across the globe for a discussion about Generation Z—consumers aged 12-25 in 2022. Due to their ages and related lifestyle changes, most Gen Z consumers are in a state of transition—whether entering university, starting their first job or buying their first home. Regardless, it's a time of tremendous volatilit...

To celebrate Mintel Little Conversation's 100 episode, hosts Andrew McDougall and Sam Dover have a discussion about value and how other behaviour drivers like experiences, surroundings and technology impact consumer preferences and purchases related to value, convenience, cost and quality. Later on in the conversation, Andrew and Sam take a look back at past episodes and share their favourite gues...

Host Samantha Dover is joined by packaging expert, David Luttenberger, and author of the Sustainability Barometer, Richard Cope, to discuss the role of sustainability in business. Brands are slowly transitioning from vague sustainability targets to environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) frameworks and, eventually, to commitments to meeting the 17 United Nations Sustainability Goals....

Host Andrew Davidson welcomes Emma Todd, CEO of MMH Technology Group, and Biota Macdonald, Director of Marketing Strategy at Mintel Comperemedia, to discuss the state of crypto currency. Bitcoin is down, the 'crypto winter' is here. The experts dive into what that means for consumers and brands and debate the industry's future in a volatile environment. Who are the current winners and losers? What...

Host Samantha Dover and her guest Rebecca McGrath explore the big themes in influencer marketing. Despite predictions to the contrary, macro- and micro-influencer marketing exploded during the pandemic and quickly became an even more competitive space for both the influencers impacting consumer purchasing behaviours and decisions and the brands with which they work. What are the factors brands nee...

Host Andrew McDougall and his guests track the trajectory of non-fungible tokens, or NFTs—the latest blockchain technology to capture attention—from both the consumer and brand perspective. While much of the noise right now is centred around celebrities and influencers launching their own projects, the technology could hold great value in how they encourage loyalty, display fandom, build community...

Host Andrew Davidson welcomes guests Richard Cope, Lisa Dubina and Scott Stewart for a discussion about consumer attitudes towards sustainability, how they are changing and what brands should do to adapt. Climate change and water and food shortages are rising to the top of global consumers' priority lists as events like the Ukraine conflict and extreme weather play a greater role in their daily li...

Host Andrew McDougall and his guests explore themes of pleasure and escapism and the nuanced role brands play in boosting consumer happiness in 2022. The 24-hour news cycle, climate catastrophe and cost of living crisis (among others) make it more important than ever for consumers to find moments of joy, but how do brands strike a balance between instant gratification, anticipation and mental cont...

Host Samantha Dover leads a discussion about the multifaceted definition of value. Joined by Rebecca Vella, Director of Food & Drink Insights at Mintel, and Andrea Payne, Head of Marketing at Kraft Heinz, the trio debates what creates brand value for consumers and how perceptions have changed since the COVID-19 pandemic. Brands and marketers should consider how, when, and where they communicat...

In today's episode, host Samantha Dover is joined by UK and US retail experts to discuss the direct-to-consumer (DTC) model by defining what it is and making sense of what all the hype is about. They address the key benefits for brands, how to scale, who the best-in-class disruptors are, and what future opportunities exist in the marketplace. But before brands jump in, consider some of the red fla...

In today's episode, host Elysha Yong welcomes consumer lifestyle and marketing strategy experts to discuss astrology. It's has been around since the 3rd millennium BC as a way to explain human behaviour (or so some believe). Today, it's experiencing a resurgence—driven by social media—that began with Millennials and has now exploded with Gen Z. The experts explain why the sudden interest from a co...

In today's episode, host Andrew Davidson is joined by category and consumer trend experts to discuss the metaverse—the concept of a virtual, 3-D, interactive world that has so many of us intrigued. They filter through the hype, break down what it means for consumers, and discuss how brands should think about the metaverse in the medium and long term, including recommendations for how to incorporat...

In today's episode, host Elysha Young shines a spotlight on the science and art of consumer trend forecasting. She is joined by global consumer trend experts to discuss how trends are defined, how companies like Mintel identify new trends and the value of understanding consumer trends. There are a few ways to define a trend - changing collective attitudes, the fluid, forward movement of a landscap...

In today's episode, host Andrew Davidson and Toby Clark, Director of EMEA Research at Mintel, discuss the impact of inflation on consumers in Europe and North America, specifically the cost of living, how it will shape consumer behaviour in the coming months, and the overall impact on brands. Hear from Mintel category and consumer experts on how inflation is affecting the retail, beauty and person...

In today's episode—the official start to Season 4 of Mintel Little Conversation—host Andrew Davidson, Bruce Biegel, Senior Managing Partner at Winterberry Group, and Lierin Ehmke, Insights Manager, Mintel Comperemedia Omni, discuss the marketing and advertising outlook for 2022. In addition to tackling where the industry is headed, what marketers need to pay attention to and what the overall brand...

In today's pre-season special, host Andrew Davidson and Aspiration CEO Andrei Cherny discuss the societal shift that's occurring as consumers shop more consciously and things like the environment and ethics play an increasingly important role in consumer behaviour. Cherny has worked for decades to make the financial system more sustainable and fair; with Aspiration, he offers an 'eco-friendly alte...

As 2021 comes to a close, so too does season 3 of Mintel Little Conversation. In today's season finale episode, the Little Conversation hosts chat about the most fascinating topics from the year and share their picks for what's set to make an impact in 2022. From 'buy now pay later' and climate change to diversity, inclusion and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), hear what these consumer, brand and marke...

In today's episode, host Sam Dover welcomes Jo-Anne Chidley, Founder of sustainable beauty brand Beauty Kitchen, and Richard Cope, Senior Trends Consultant at Mintel and author of the 2021 Mintel Sustainability Barometer, to discuss how recent shifts in consumers' sustainability beliefs, behaviours and purchases are impacting brands. Following COP26 - the United Nations climate change conference t...

In today's episode, host Elysha Young is joined by retail and marketing experts from the US, Europe and China to discuss the rise of social commerce - what it is, the role of influencers and micro-influencers, how it's disrupting traditional e-commerce, and how technology gives certain markets the advantage. There are critical factors driving consumer engagement and proven tactics delivering succe...

In this episode of Mintel Little Conversation, host Andrew Davidson is joined by thought leaders across the telecom and media, insurance and omnichannel marketing industries to discuss Mintel Comperemedia's 2021 trend predictions - what the experts got right or wrong and key lessons for marketers as we emerge from the pandemic. Some industries weathered the storm of 2020 by rising to the occasion,...

In this episode of Mintel Little Conversation, host Andrew Davidson is joined by retail experts Diana Smith and Nick Carroll to discuss the 2021 holiday shopping season. From politics, the economy and inflation to supply chain issues and the Delta variant, they analyse the industry, consumer and market changes that have altered or evolved retail shopping over the last year and the impact on brands...

In this episode of Little Conversation, host Samantha Dover is joined by experts in consumer trends and purchase behaviour for a discussion about brand loyalty and to answer the questions: how has brand loyalty changed, what behaviour shifts are driving those changes, and what opportunities are there for brands to create loyalty in the future? The COVID-19 pandemic saw consumers prioritising needs...

In this episode of Little Conversation, host Edward Bergen is joined by experts in food and drink, beauty and personal care, and DE&I for an honest discussion about whether or not brands should take a stand concerning ethical, environmental, political and/or social justice issues. The data makes for a compelling case: nearly two-thirds of consumers say they prefer to be associated with brands...

In this episode of Little Conversation, host Matthew Crabbe discusses the vast and nuanced concept of convenience with experts in consumer behaviour and trend analysis. As the pandemic has significantly shifted how and why consumers make decisions, they consider how consumer expectations around convenience have changed, what consumers now expect from brands in delivering convenience, and what the...