Rapidly Trending Topics, Insights, and Analysis Update on September 27, 2022

Ferulic Acid

Ferulic acid is an antioxidant typically found in rice, bran, oats and bamboo.

The compound is an increasingly popular ingredient in anti-aging skincare products.

Ferulic acid is also beginning to be added to sunscreens. That’s because certain studies suggest that the addition of ferulic acid boosts the effectiveness of traditional sunscreen.

Peach & Lily, Medix and SkinCeuticals are examples of trending skincare brands that offer ferulic acid-based products.

What’s Next

Ferulic acid is part of the Antioxidant Skincare meta trend.

Searches for “antioxidant skincare” have increased by 166% over the last 5 years.

Antioxidants now account for the largest share of the anti-aging ingredient market.

Interest in antioxidant skincare products is increasing particularly among Gen Z consumers.

That’s because people in this age group have a strong preference for natural skincare brands. In fact, 70% of Gen Z consumers use skincare products made from natural ingredients.

Digital Sustainability

Digital sustainability refers to the use of digital technologies that have a positive impact on the environment.

The global success rate for digital sustainability initiatives currently sits at only 4%.

However, this number is forecasted to grow to 35% in the next few years.

Global interest in digital sustainability is growing due to the fact that environmental concerns now drive many consumers’ buying decisions.

In fact, 70% of US consumers state that they consider sustainability when making a purchasing decision.

And 88% say that they would be more loyal to a brand that implements sustainable practices.

What’s Next

Digital sustainability is part of the GreenTech meta trend.

The global GreenTech market is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 27.2% through 2028.

IoT, AI and cloud computing are some of the core technologies driving this growth.

In fact, according to McKinsey, using green AI to reduce food waste could save organizations $123B a year by 2030.

Sunlight transport and plant walls are examples of trending GreenTech products.

Shower Phone Holder

Shower phone holders are waterproof cases that can be mounted on a shower wall.

Interest in the product is increasing mainly thanks to TikTok: videos mentioning shower phone holders have generated over 120 million views on the platform.

What’s Next

Shower phone holders are part of the Phone Tips of TikTok meta trend.

Brands are starting to use community hashtags to get in front of specific audiences on TikTok.

Specifically, phone accessory brands and app developers are using the phone tips hashtag to help their content reach tech-savvy TikTok users.

In fact, videos focused on phone tips have over 5.6 billion views on TikTok.

Distroless

Distroless is a container image technology developed by Google.

These images are similar to traditional Docker images with one major difference:

Distroless images remove the operating system and contain only a user’s application and runtime dependencies.

By removing the operating system, this “stripped down” version significantly reduces attack vectors that hackers can exploit.

What’s Next

Distroless is part of the Container Security meta trend.

Container technology is currently used by 30% of organizations.

But security concerns are a major reason why many companies remain reluctant to adopt this technology.

In fact, according to a Gartner survey, security concerns are the third most cited challenge when it comes to container management.

This has created a demand for security solutions specific to containers (especially as more businesses adopt container technology).

All this is why the market for container security solutions is forecasted to increase by 2x over the next six years.

Blue Light Sunscreen

Blue light sunscreen is designed specifically to reduce blue light exposure from screens.

These sunscreens contain iron oxide, an ingredient that’s especially potent at blocking blue light.

Demand for this product category is increasing mainly due to growing awareness of blue light’s impact on the skin.

In fact, a survey by Unilever found that 36% of Americans are aware that blue light exposure from screens can negatively impact skin health.

What’s Next

Blue light sunscreen is part of the Blue Light Skincare meta trend.

Searches for “blue light skincare” have increased by 3x over the last five years.

This meta trend initially gained traction when Valkyrae, the currently most watched female streamer, launched RFLTC, a line of blue light skincare products.

Her product line went viral on TikTok with videos mentioning the products generating over 803 million views on the platform.

Although this product line ultimately failed, it kicked off interest in blue light protection products like blue light moisturizers and blue light serums.

Computational Thinking

Computational thinking is the process of breaking down a complex task so that computers can understand it.

This same approach is now being applied to human organizations.The idea being that breaking down a large task into several smaller tasks makes it easier for organizations to solve complex problems.

This practice has gained traction as many studies have found a strong relationship between computational thinking and increased academic performance.

What’s Next

Computational thinking is part of the Microlearning meta trend.

Searches for “microlearning” have increased by 242% in the last five years.

Microlearning (also known as bite-size learning) is an educational approach using short, repetitive lessons.

Studies have shown that microlearning can help students retain up to 17% more information than traditional teaching methods.

While microlearning started in the education space, the practice is also emerging as an approach to improve employee training.

Code of Talent, Disprz and Xpeer are examples of trending microlearning platforms.

Papernest

Papernest is a contract and subscription management platform.

However, Papernest is mainly known for their moving-out management feature. This service allows people to move contracts (electricity, gas, internet, etc.) to their new location.

Basically, instead of dealing with each provider individually, people can use the service to move all their contracts over.

According to Papernest, their platform currently has over 1 million users.

What’s Next

Papernest is part of the Personal Paperwork Management meta trend.

51% of Americans say they have unwanted subscriptions that they don’t cancel because of the hassle it involves.

This situation has created an opportunity for startups that offer automated paperwork management systems that enable people to change or cancel subscriptions with a click.

Simyra, Budg and Monarch are examples of trending personal paperwork management solutions.

Salmon Skin Chips

Salmon skin chips, as the name suggests, are chips made from upcycled salmon skin.

Salmon skin chips are trending mainly because they’re keto-friendly and protein-rich.

Interest in this product initially began as people started baking salmon skin chips at home.

However, a growing number of DTC startups launched their own salmon skin chips in order to meet increasing demand.

One example is GoodFish. The Bear Grylls-supported startup sells eight types of flavored salmon skin chips.

The startup has raised $4M in funding.

What’s Next

Salmon skin chips are part of the Upcycled Snacks meta trend.

The upcycled food industry is forecasted to increase by more than 50% over the next 8 years.

Today, upcycled foods are only sold in 9,000 supermarkets in 10 countries — which indicates potential for significant future growth in this space.

For example, upcycled foods startup Renewal Mill says that they’ve already diverted over 100,000 lbs of food waste through their plant-based milk.

Whereas Pulp Pantry claims that they recovered over 50,000 lbs of food last year.

Cyanotype

Cyanotype is a photo printing procedure that produces a cyan-blue print.

While this technique has been around for over a century, it’s making a comeback largely thanks to social media.

Specifically, cyanotype has gone viral on TikTok. Videos mentioning the product category have over 72 million views on the platform.

Many individual painters and artists have started offering cyanotype art to capitalize on growing interest.

In fact, searching for “cyanotype” on Etsy now returns over 8,000 results.

What’s Next

Cyanotype is part of the Alternative Process meta trend.

Searches for “alternative process” have increased by 50% since 2018.

Alternative processes are a genre of non-traditional or non-commercial photography and film styles.

TikTok is home to an especially large alternative process community. Videos mentioning alternative processes have over 4 million views on TikTok.

Palladium art and salt printing are examples of trending alternative processes.

Collagen Water

Collagen water is water containing dissolved marine or bovine collagen.

The product provides essentially the same health benefits as other collagen products.

However, demand for this product is increasing because it’s a convenient way to consume collagen compared to self-mixing.

A growing number of DTC collagen water startups are also accelerating this trend.

Flow Water (which has seen 700% search growth over the last 5 years) is an example of a trending DTC collagen water startup.

What’s Next

Collagen water is part of the Collagen Beverages meta trend.

Searches for “collagen beverage” have increased by 150% in the last 24 months.

Interest in this product category is mainly for liquid collagen. In fact, searches for “liquid collagen” have increased by 216% in the last five years.

However, this meta trend is also driven by an interest in new collagen-infused drinks like collagen lattes and collagen matcha.

Facial Toning Device

Facial toning devices use microcurrents to tighten facial muscles, which help improve skin tone.

An increasing number of brands (especially DTC startups) are starting to offer facial toning devices.

However, the NuFace device is perhaps the main reason for increased interest in this product category.

NuFace’s device has become especially popular on social media—videos mentioning NuFace have a combined 250 million views on TikTok.

What’s Next

Facial toning devices are part of the DTC Skincare meta trend.

DTC is becoming the go-to channel for natural skin care products.

(In fact, brands such as Coola experienced a 140% YoY growth in revenue last year.)

Other startups, such as Bambu Earth, have seen even better growth, with 25x revenue growth.

While the COVID-19 pandemic helped propel DTC skincare’s growth, signs point to growth continuing post-pandemic.

In fact, by 2023, 48% of all beauty sales are projected to be DTC.

Zero Trust

Zero Trust is an IT framework that requires users within a network to be consistently authenticated, authorized and validated.

At a high level, Zero Trust is a way for organizations to protect their network by not trusting anyone to access their network without ongoing identification.

The rise of remote and hybrid work has exposed networks to new devices, and thus, has accelerated demand for zero trust architectures.

Furthermore, Zero Trust gained increased attention when the White House announced plans to move US government operations toward zero trust architecture.

What’s Next

Zero Trust is part of the Remote Work Cybersecurity meta trend.

70% of remote workers admit using a personal device to access a work-related network.

And this wave of new devices has opened new cybersecurity threats and challenges.

In fact, 74% of businesses say they have suffered cyberattacks because of the remote work shift.

Which is why there is an increased demand for software and architectures that add a new layer of security to an organization’s existing network.

Traced and Akeero are examples of trending cybersecurity solutions designed for WFH organizations.

Berberine

Berberine is a chemical compound derived from the roots of various plants, like Oregon grapes, goldenseal and European barberries.

Interest in berberine is increasing mainly because studies suggest that it has a number of potential health benefits, from controlling blood sugar to lowering cholesterol.

Which is generating demand for the compound in supplement form. In fact, searches for “berberine supplements” have increased 258% over the last 2 years.

What’s Next

Berberine is part of the Root Supplements meta trend.

Searches for “root supplements” have increased by 153% over the last five years.

Examples of trending root supplements include ginger root supplements, maca root supplements and beetroot supplements.

OpenRGB

OpenRGB is an open-source, network-based SDK that allows third-party applications to control RGB lighting settings.

One annoyance PC users face is that each manufacturer has their own application to control RGB settings (for example, the RGB settings of an Asus motherboard need to be controlled through Asus’s software, whereas aRazor keyboard used with that monitor has its own RGB settings).

OpenRGB generated initial buzz when they announced that their SDK works across all major platforms–Windows, Linux and Mac.

The project has over 2,200 stars on GitLab and over 8,600 members on their Discord.

What’s Next

OpenRGB is part of the Increased Open Source Funding meta trend.

The number of funded open source startups is skyrocketing. For example, the Pitchbook database currently tracks 2,387 open-source startups. That’s up from only 800 at the beginning of 2021.

Also, VC funding for open-source startups in Q2 2022 was approximately 13% higher than in Q2 2021.

FinOps

FinOps is a cloud financial management framework.

In other words, FinOps is a practice that allows businesses to better manage and optimize their cloud spending.

68% of organizations say that silos between teams within an organization lead to higher cloud spending.

And FinOps is an emerging practice to mitigate this problem. That’s because a FinOps initiative allows cross-functional teams to monitor, schedule and optimize their cloud usage–essentially removing silos between these teams regarding cloud usage.

This, in turn, helps lower cloud costs because it holds teams accountable for their specific usage and costs.

FinOps implementation is still in its infancy (only around 15% of organizations have an established FinOps initiative). However, 44% of organizations are looking to implement FinOps in the near future.

What’s Next

FinOps is part of the Cloud Cost Management meta trend.

Searches for “cloud cost management” have increased by 57% over the last 24 months.

That’s because cloud computing is getting expensive. Approximately 82% of organizations say that implementing cloud systems turned out to be more expensive than initially thought.

And Flexera estimates that 30% of enterprise cloud spending is wasted. Which has created growing demand for cloud cost management and optimization tools and practices.

Azelaic Acid

Azelaic acid is a skincare ingredient used primarily to help treat acne.

One reason this product category is trending is thanks to an increasing number of azelaic acid-based product launches.

In fact, the Mintel database estimates that the number of azelaic acid product launches increased by more than 45% last year.

The product has also seen traction on TikTok, with videos with the term “azelaic acid” gathering over 70 million views on the platform.

What’s Next

Azelaic acid is part of the Grain-based Skincare meta trend.

Demand for grain-based skincare products is increasing mainly because they tend to be rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants like ferulic acid. Which means they’re effective at cleaning and moisturizing the skin.

This demand has been met with an increasing number of startups and companies launching grain-based skincare products.