No. 025: White Lotus is really hoping you liked all those Barbie collabs...
plus, creatine for the girls, vets are hot, & Alix Earle brings back a millennial fave
Hi!
Somehow, it’s still January.
Thanks for all the love on my last post & welcome new subscribers to a more (regular) edition of Brandiose. In case you missed it, I broke down the 11 trends I’m predicting will be huge for 2025.
But today, back to our regularly scheduled programming.
xx
Sabena
🧲 OBSESSION OF THE WEEK
Arrae, the supplement company that counts Hailey Bieber as an investor, just launched a new product. It’s called Tone, a creatine gummy that’s supposed to help women build muscle without bulking.
While I can’t speak to the product claims, I love this launch for a few reasons:
Innovative: There’s a ton of conversation about protein right now (I’ve written about its oversaturation) — so starting a conversation about creatine—specifically for women—feels fresh and exciting. It reminds me of the early colostrum days, before every influencer started telling you about how ARMRA *changed the game*.
Bold: Instead of just launching another product, this one starts a conversation. Why should women be interested in creatine? The content they’re putting out is designed to get people talking.
Aspirational: Snagging supermodels Jasmine Tookes and Elsa Hosk for this campaign is big. The word that comes to mind with both of these women is class, and they’re each selective with the partnerships they take on, so this feels a bit more credible than a traditional partnership. The campaign imagery also feels dreamy and editorial, which elevates the product.
🍿 BRAND NEWS
With Season 3 around the corner, we need to talk about White Lotus’ upcoming collabs, because there are…a lot. It’s giving Barbie, it’s giving Wicked and I’m simply not sure how to feel. There’s a collection with Abercrombie, a cocktail book, a mango flavored Iced Tea with Saint James, a Coffee Mate Thai Iced Tea Creamer, a resortwear line with Bloomingdales brand Aqua, another line with Banana Republic. And soon, there will be Away suitcases, more resortwear with Brunch, kaftans with Camilla, swimwear with Fair Harbor, eyewear with Diff, and shoes with Roccamore. Plus, a chocolate bar with Compartes and cocktail kits with Ketel One and Tanqueray. Give or take.
Flip, the live shopping app, launched a fund thats giving away $1M/day to Creators — and a total of $100M over the next 5 years. They really, really want to beat TikTok Shop… wonder if this strategy is working.
Heaven Mayhem, a jewelry brand I have written about many times in this newsletter, launched Lab Grown diamonds in collaboration with Real Fine Studio. A smart move considering the lab grown trend is not going anywhere. The proof? The collection sold out in a week.
Oreo, in an attempt to be relevant?, launched a collab with Post Malone, featuring a custom flavor with his logo etched on the cookies. I’ve got to be honest, I don’t know why they launched this, but a salted caramel and shortbread cream with a golden cookie combo sounds amazing.
Barnes & Noble has figured out a differentiation strategy when it comes to Amazon. Sales are up, stores are expanding, with 57 new stores across the U.S in 2024 and 60 more in 2025. Good for them, good for us!! I think I need to dig into this one deeper.
Adam Brody is starring in a Super Bowl commercial (!!!) for Pringles. Plus, Nick Offerman and James Harden. This teaser is kind of all we get. Ask, and you shall receive (more Adam Brody). Also, shameless plug for my upcoming Super Bowl ad recap.
Millennial readers — Kidz Bop is still around, and they are on their 50th album. Do you feel old yet? Because I do.
In case you’re wondering just how much caffeine is too much caffeine, I loved this calculator, which gives you your ideal daily intake…and how much would kill you. Honestly, helpful.
Ok, we really did NOT ask for this — but Cinnamon Toast Crunch decided to launch Pizza Cereal in collaboration with Totino’s Pizza Rolls. Can someone please try it and report back?
After stepping down last year, Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd is coming back as CEO in March. The company’s performance has been a bit rough, so I assume she’s been tasked with turning things around. This will be interesting to watch. I just hope they listen to user feedback this time.
As mentioned previously, I’m a gummy candy fiend and am a big fan of what Rotten is doing as a lower-sugar alternative to traditional gummies — somewhere in between Smart Sweets and Swedish Candy.
AG1, after selling the same thing for 14 years — may be ready to expand into new categories. Honestly, the fact that they’ve built a $600M business on a single SKU is pretty amazing, so excited to see what they do in this next chapter.
Netflix subscriptions are way up — they added 300 million new subscribers last quarter (a 30% increase) and are now raising membership by $1. This is good for them, as they’re gearing up to a launch an ad-tech platform, so more eyeballs = more ad revenue.
It’s flu season, which means it’s soup season. Progresso took that very seriously and launched Soup Drops, which frankly gross me out. They’re chicken noodle soup flavored hard candy. Like Halls, but savory?
🆕 TREND REPORT
Skinny Jeans. Yup, they’re back. Because Alix Earle says so — thanks to her collab with Frame Denim. The campaign is giving 2000 in the worst way, but apparently it worked… they completely sold out and had “EXTRAORDINARY LEVELS OF DEMAND.” While I don’t understand how this happened, I do think it’s a smart move for Miss Earle. *Adds “brings trend out of retirement” to resume.
Champagne problems. Apparently, people don’t feel like poppin’ bottles right now, and champagne sales are suffering. Down 10% last year, champagne manufacturers are gearing up for another potential down year. This feels like a job for Emily in Paris…
Vets are hot. Like, as a job. Per an Indeed report, Gen Zs ranked “Veterinarian” as the No 1. “best job” in 2025, winning against attorney, mechanical designer, and realtor.
Flavortown. Apparently, Peruvian spice ají amarillo (yellow hot chili pepper) is McCormick’s flavor of the year — which the company says will appear on 44% more menus in the coming years.
Corpcore. If it feels like corpcore is literally everywhere, it’s because it is. Between TikToks making fun of Revolve’s “corporate siren” collection (i.e. clothing that would send you straight to HR) and endless campaigns that harken back to the 90’s office vibe, I don’t think it’s going anywhere.
Pinterest Palette. Move over, Mocha Mousse. Pinterest’s Colors of the Year include butter yellow, cherry red, indigo aura, alpine oat, and dill green. Cute colors, cute names — why is everything so food coded lately?
🎲 ONE LAST THING
Last night, I finished Ina Garden’s memoir, Be Ready When the Luck Happens. It’s the story of her life, and because I am platform-agnostic when it comes to books, I listened to the audiobook. She narrates. It was SO GOOD.
Whether you’re a fan of this domestic goddess or not, the story of her life is pretty remarkable. I won’t give too much away, but I do want to leave you with my two favorite mantras:
“You never know your good breaks from your bad ones.” - Jeffrey (Ina’s husband of 56 years). Basically, the idea that we don’t know why something is happening until we can connect the dots much later; and often, what seems like a “bad break” is actually the best thing for us.
“How easy is that?” - Miss Ina Garten. Needs no explanation, but what a great way to walk through life.
Anyway — if you read it, are reading it, want to read it, I’m here to discuss. I’m Ina’s newest #1 fan.
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have a great week.
- Sabena
Alix Earl's Frame collab is giving Jenny Humphrey's goth fashion designer era someone please tell me I'm not the only one
Some of those White Lotus collabs are super smart - like Away, for example, is a natural fit. (The Coffee Mate one is a no for me). But I wonder what the execution is like for Away? I haven't seen anything yet on their socials. For Beis x Wicked, it was just luggage, in pink or in green, which just seemed like a cash grab. There needs to be a new job out there called "Collab Editor" - someone who puts the brakes on ridiculous collab ideas before they get out of hand and tells people to go back to the drawing board - to say: "No, that's not creative enough!" - because we're well beyond peak collab at this point.