did kourtney kardashian just launch an ozempic dupe?

it looks like starbursts

Brands Of Summer is pop up section of this newsletter where I’ll be talking about all the fun things your favorite brands are doing this summer. I’ll mostly be focusing on experiential activations, and will only do this when brands give me fun stuff to write about. I loathe to mess up my formatting so just know it’s the first point in every newsletter (where included). Lmk if there are any brands you’d want me to include :)

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QUICK HITS

• TikTok wants to be the go-to platform for Swifties

• The crazy economics of the world’s most coveted handbag

• Barcelona to ban Airbnb as hotspots turn against mass tourism

• 1 in 5 young people think political apathy is a dating dealbreaker

• Advertisers don’t seem to be taking the threat of a TikTok ban seriously

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• Over the weekend, Glossier hosted a BalmDot World pop-up in Union Square. There was a photobooth, branded stickers, Balm DotCom vending machine, and customization station. I like the concept and it sounds like they’re making this a “road trip” of sorts and will be popping up in several key cities around the world. The photobooth and vending machine concept is similar to what Rhode did at Coachella a few months ago, and while the marketer in me is tempted to say ughhh we’ve seen this before, I know it's still a novelty for many consumers and has a way of make the “buying” process more exciting. (The products weren’t free; you either had to bring your ownBalm DotCom or purchase it.)

  

  I found it interesting that despite launching a few new products recently, Glossier chose to make Balm DotCom the hero product here and use their usual range instead of the summer collection. I’m thinking this is probably because 1.) Balm DotCom is their most universally appealing product and sort of a gateway drug into the cult of Glossier 2.) there’s a lot of competition in the lip gloss/balm/oil space and it can’t hurt to make a splash or get products in the hands of new customers 4.) they want to reintroduce the market to their new-old-not-vegan formula. Gain back the customers they lost etc. 3.) they’re trying to make the product a 'collectible’ where people have a few of them at a time- thus the charm customization. Overall I think it’s a fun idea- generates tons of UGC, creates excitement about the brand, and furthers the cult of Glossier.

• Girls are so funny because if I said you looked like a rodent and couldn’t understand why anyone was attracted to you, you’d start crying and posting cryptic quotes on your stories. Go read

  Body Type
  ’s essay on the quiet pain of 'ugly' men and repent of your sins. Weirdos.

• Dazed says people are choosing friends to fit their Instagram aesthetic, and the reason I believe is because I’ve heard way too many stories of women asking literal randos to be on their bridal train instead of their actual friends because they want a certain ‘vibe.’  Again, weirdos!

• I can’t wait for Vogue World to be over so it can stop clogging my feed. I stay loving horse girls though.

  

• ‘Boobs are back’, says woman in bra company who wants boobs to be back. “The balconette, or “balcony,” bra — popularized by Marilyn Monroe in the 1950s and revived in the ’90s and early aughts by busty pop stars — has been revived by A-listers who are seemingly responsible for the 61% surge in sales this year at UK retailer, Freemans.” I don’t know, I think girls with a certain cup size are just tired of the free the nip era?

• Something really cool is happening in pop music right now, where we’re seeing a cohort of young, female talent capture the zeitgeist in a way I haven't experienced in a long time. I love it, no notes. Gracie Abrams has been on my timeline a lot in the last month—she dropped some new songs, made her Billboard debut, started a fire with Taylor Swift, and she just got interviewed by Kaia Gerber for Interview Mag. For her album rollout, she held promotional pop-ups in six different spots around LA, dubbed Gracie’s Secret Spots (her album is called Secrets of Us). I like her, I hope she pops off.

  

• So far has Forever21 fallen that they are now asking landlords for a break on rent. Sources say these rent concessions are as high as 50% and that for the last year they’ve been consistently late with paying vendors. After filing for bankruptcy in 2019, Forever21 was bought by a consortium including brand management company Authentic Brands Group and landlords Simon Property Group and Brookfield Property Partners. But in a conference this January, Authentic Brands CEO Jamie Salter said acquiring Forever21 was “probably the biggest mistake” of his career. He’d apparently underestimated the threat of Shein and Temu. As had we all.

• Hollister has more than doubled their sales of white maxi skirts this year, and Garage is producing five times more flowy skirts this year compared to last year. Apparently, this is the skirt of the summer, and everyone has one except me. This is where I tell you guys that I’ve been on a very successful no clothes shopping ban for a year and a half and plan to break it this summer. I learned a lot about myself during this period, but very little had anything to do with personal style. In fact, my most significant learning on the topic was that when I’m not buying clothes, I don’t think about clothes at all. No introspection was had, no personal style was developed. I will simply go on dressing like every other passably well-dressed twenty-something, but armed with the knowledge that I really, truly am just that basic. 

• Vogue published this piece about diffusion lines having a revival but then provided very scant evidence that they actually are. I spent like fifteen minutes trying to write something up before realizing that I’d been played.

• Celine launched a Pilates collection for the same reason LVMH is buying up restaurants and Netflix launched its own popcorn label—every brand wants to be a lifestyle brand. It’s a great way to engage with existing customers across different categories, while creating more entry points for potential ones. Lifestyle brands = brands owning the end-to-end process of your life. And believe me, there’s nothing the best of them would love more. This is great for Celine. Every hot rich girl does Pilates, and every hot rich girl loves to post about doing Pilates. It's status signaling at its best and if you’re thinking, why would anyone buy designer exercise equipment, you’re probably not their target ($$$) market. 

  

• Once in a while, Airmail will publish these deeply researched pieces on famous people, which, if they were the NYT or The Post, would spell PR disaster for the subject. But alas, they are not the NYT and they are not The Post, so it is left to me to disseminate these stories to you. Their most recent piece was on Rebecca Minkoff—long time Scientologist Girlboss, soon to be Real Housewife. It chronicles her rise to success (allegedly helped along by famous Scientologists), her time running the brand (allegedly didn't design anything and can't even draw), working conditions at her company (allegedly a health and safety hazard), support for women in the workplace (getting pregnant allegedly meant you were out), her leadership style (employee Glassdoor reviews allege that Scientology “seeped” into the workplace), and her reasons for joining RHONY (allegedly part of her resurrection and rebrand strategy). This is all “allegedly” because I know Rebecca has a Substack, and if this gets back to her—I'm just saying what I heard!

• Peloton executives, including the CFO, have been selling off their shares over the last three months, according to security filings. Earlier this month, they announced that three of their most popular instructors — Kristin McGee, Kendall Toole, and Ross Rayburn — would be leaving the company. Postmortem coming soon.

• The Metaverse isn't getting funded, and neither is Virtual or Augmented Reality. Per Crunchbase data, roughly $464 million this year has gone into seed through growth-stage funding rounds for companies building AR, VR, and Metaverse startups. That puts 2024 on track for the lowest funding total in years. I know this is how innovation works and all, but the amount of capital that’s been poured into this stuff without any signs of mass adoption, or even market need, is borderline maddening.

• The year is 2024, and beauty and fragrance brands want to replace your therapist. I know some of you will let them. Somewhere in the last year, the vague idea of beauty being self-care began to wear thin, and now there’s a new crop of “high-tech” beauty products claiming to actually influence your emotions with the ingredients they contain. These products are neuro-boosting, they are neuroscience-backed skincare, they are emotionally driven. Neuraé is a skincare company backed by neuroscience, Orebella contains mood-boosting essential oils, and Charlotte Tilbury’s Fragrance Collection of Emotions is made up of six scents blended to boost specific emotions. Snif even partnered with a mindfulness expert (instead of a regular influencer) for its Heal The Way (this name is a joke) perfume. Stuff like this would never fly in places like Germany where there’s universal healthcare.

• Saie Beauty is teasing the launch of their newest product with a private Instagram page and the ‘Club Roseglow’ concept. I requested to follow the page, which has just over 1,000 followers, and got in almost immediately. I saw that my Substack bestie

  Katie Stone
  was also following them and asked her what her thoughts were. We agreed the product was most likely a cream highlighter called “Roseglow” and we liked the decadent, nostalgic allure of it all. The mystery didn't last long because once I clicked the link in the bio, it led me directly to the “Roseglow” product landing page, which turned out to be just a new Glowy Super Gel Shade. Nice concept, but the execution felt weird. I guess they wanted people to get hyped to click that link and be the first to see the product (and get samples), but considering it was just a new shade, and not a new product, the anticipation did not match the payoff. As a consumer, I hate that. I’m still holding out to see if there’s some experiential element planned, otherwise this the lamest Club ever.

  

• Grannies are selling food on Etsy now, and people are ordering. “In the quieter, less shiny corners of the internet, a delicious movement has been steadily simmering away. Home cooks across the country are turning to Etsy, not to build personal brands or sell cookbooks but because they genuinely love cooking for others (and hope to earn some extra cash in the process). You can buy everything from crispy lumpia to spinach and feta börek, Liberian jollof rice, and lasagna on the platform.” No notes, this is wholesome. 

• If you’re thinking of starting a CPG company, you should consider creating a yogurt brand—specifically high protein, low calorie yogurts. Thanks to the 30 million plus Americans who have taken GLP-1 drugs, those things are apparently flying off the shelf. You could also do what Nestle is doing (and what Care/of should have done) (and what Lemme will probably start doing) and start a vitamin and supplement subscription business to address the nutritional shortages for patients on these drugs. Side note: I love how it’s taken the threat of Ozempic for large CPG to focus on making nutritionally rich meals en masse. Ick.

• Okay, no sooner had I finished writing that last point, did I see that Kourtney Kardashian’s supplement brand, lemme, is launching a new product. “Lemme Curb Soft Chews are an innovative and delicious solution to help manage unwanted cravings, overcome metabolic disruption, and support appetite regulation.” Are you thinking what I’m thinking? I haven’t looked into the ingredients list yet, but it sounds like an Ozempic alternative to me. The packaging is cute and reminds me of Starbursts. What Kourtney is building here is actually so wild. I’ll scream if this doesn’t get a bunch of coverage. I just wish I knew more about the business's unit economics and actual sales figures. Anyway, I'm willing to bet they keep plowing this road and develop something akin to a GLP-1 nutrition package.

  

• American Express just acquired Tock, a reservation management tool provider, from Squarespace. They also acquired Rooam, a contactless payment company used by Tock, Resy (also owned by AmEx), and Blackbird. According to AmEx’s President of U.S. Consumer Services, cardholder restaurant spending was $100 billion in 2023. “We’ve been offering unique dining benefits, exclusive access, and special experiences to our Card Members for years through Resy and Global Dining Access by Resy. We will be able to offer restaurants the tools to deliver more personalized hospitality, facilitate pre-paid experiences like tasting menus, and provide more convenient ways for customers to pay the bill.” 

• Dell asked employees to return to the office or else—nearly half of the workers chose “or else.” We are clearly not all experiencing the same job market.

• The next time a white man complains to you about how hard things are for him these days, point him to the Chipotle Boy bowl- a Mexican-inspired dish made just for him. As everyone except Dell employees return to the office, competition for the top fast casual lunch spot is heating up. The front runners are Cava (up 125% in the last year), Sweetgreen (up 165%), and Chipotle, our industry incumbent. Stiff competition usually breeds lower prices, but in this case, it's breeding steak, more steak, and two scoops of chicken (so you don't have to ask). May the best bowl win. 

  

• Why join a WeWork when you can join a gym? Gyms have made a rebound since the pandemic, and they’re bigger and pricier than ever. The most exclusive gyms, where membership can range from $200 to $2000 a month, not only offer state-of-the-art equipment, exercise classes, and spacious locker rooms with cold eucalyptus-scented towels and fancy soaps, but also “third places”—locations outside home and work where people can mingle and socialize. There are salons and spas, hotels and workplaces; some even have childcare. Everyone, at every price point, is looking for community (or exclusivity) right now. I know I always say this, but The Wing 2024 would have ate.

• Someone told me they enjoyed my extensive coverage of Elon Musk, so now I’ll never stop. Bloomberg also loves talking about Elon, and this weekend’s hit piece was about how Elon Musk wants YOU to have more babies. “Musk has become the richest and most powerful person who’s loudly of like mind with the pronatalist movement, a loose confederation of religious conservatives, libertarian techies, and blogger bros.” It’s about time someone addressed this because anyone who’s been following the man has to wonder what he’s doing with 12 kids, why he asked a SpaceX employee to have his babies, and why he can’t stop bringing up population collapse.

• Unfortunately for Elon, celibacy is all the rage now. In fact, if this The Cut article is to be believed, people are getting competitive about how long they’ve been celibate. This is one of the most nuanced takes on celibacy I’ve seen, if only because it doesn't turn it into a joke. What’s confusing for me is whether this is a real trend. I know women are celibate for various valid reasons, but I can’t tell if MORE women are celibate now or if the media has picked this up because celebrities are talking about it and Bumble said we shouldn’t be. Does this make sense? I also think this conversation is being conflated with the whole “Gen Z isn't using dating apps and aren’t meeting people” panic- because trust me, that’s a whole different conversation.

• I feel similarly about this Business Insider article about how fertility clinics are scaring Gen Z women into freezing their eggs. WHO? WHAT WOMEN?!!! I mean, I see those fear-mongering TikToks, and I’m sure my friends see them too. But I promise you egg freezing has never come up in my conversations with any of my friend groups. Imagine worrying about freezing your eggs when you don’t even know if you can afford the wedding. There needs to be more distinction between ‘trend’ and ‘influencers making TikToks.’ Please.

• Janet Planet looks weird and sad and funny and lovely. Summer movie lineup.

  

• I feel like not enough people are talking about how Hollywood is experiencing an unprecedented industry wide slow down. Projects just aren’t happening. People cant find work. And crew members, agents, and managers are all scrambling.

  Kyle Raymond Fitzpatrick
  interviewed a Hollywood art director for his newsletter a while ago, and it has the most insightful takes on the subject I’ve read so far. 

• The Streaming Wars are possibly the most fascinating thing happening in business right now, and this NYT piece on the future of streaming is a great starter article if you're trying to understand the landscape. Here are the main points:

  • The stocks of legacy media companies (Paramount, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery) are at a fraction of their former highs, while shares of the disruptors (Amazon, Netflix) are close to record highs.

  • Netflix is the only profitable streamer, with a profit margin of 28%. Disney maybe made a slight profit last year. The rest are losing insane amounts of $$$ annually. 

  • Industry insiders used to think 100 million was the magic subscriber number needed to make producing original content more cost-effective. The new consensus is that it's closer to 200 million.

  • Sports programming is getting more expensive and might soon be loss-making, but streamers will still acquire rights to draw in viewers to other programming. 

  • Cheaper ad supported tiers are the way to go: Netflix is on pace to generate roughly $1 billion in advertising revenue this year, and Disney has already generated $1.7 billion this fiscal year.

  • We’re going to see more subscription bundling and consolidation happening, but consumers aren’t stoked because isn’t that just cable all over again?!