Starbucks, Spanx & Sugar Pretzels 🥨
This Week in Review☕: People are hitting the gym harder | The latest fashion brand to file for bankruptcy | US passes sell-or-ban TikTok bill | Food items that make us happy | Climate Change risks job
Quick Bites:
Business 💰: Companies want people to cheer up.
Feeling sad? The solution might be air freshener, scented body butter and sugar pretzels- and it's all part of a marketing push to boost our mood, The Wall Street Journal reports.
No surprise that people are miserable globally. A broccoli substitute has replaced all the carbs we love and the only joy we get is watching shows about murder 😩
💡Anyone know a good substitute for happiness and personal fulfilment?
💡Instagram: McChicken and French Fries
We’d love to take that advice tbh but we’re at that age where going to McDonalds requires a day of planning.. 😳
“Make sure you tell them less cheese. Is there a Walmart near there? We'll need toilet paper, Imodium and flushable moist wipes, some Pepto-Bismol and preferably a new Bible"
"Proctor & Gamble", a pioneer in consumer research since a century, has determined that consumers are craving more human connection with each other.
(If you've been washing your hair, used a brand-name toothpaste, applied ointment to your throat to relieve a cough or put on a face mask, it’s almost certain that you’ve used a Proctor & Gamble product.
Think- Head & Shoulders, Pantene, Crest, Vicks, Olay.. Ring a bell?)
This is especially among young adults who feel more disconnected and unhappy in a world increasingly driven by technology, WSJ reports.
The top global companies marketing products to cheer us up:
💡Febreze: launched a "Romance & Desire" air freshener, with a rose-and-champagne scent. The product line is intended to remove feelings of disconnectedness
💡Clorox: thinks it can offer “a spark of fun and joy” via fragrant, fizzy “toilet bombs”
💡Spanx: the shapewear giant is literally going soft, understanding that people are just “trying to survive” right now
💡Pepsi: has combined its ready-to-eat popcorn with the flavours of a chocolate-glazed doughnut to lift our mood
Our Thoughts💡: Are people truly lost in a post-pandemic world? Is it the constant barrage of notifications that makes us feel overwhelmed and burnt out?
Have we lost all human connection "offline" in a pressure to stay connected "online"? And are big brands benefitting off our misery?
Email us back and let us know your thoughts!
Big Tech📱: US passes sell-or-ban TikTok bill.
The House of Representatives voted 360 to 58 in favor of a bill that will require:
TikTok to divest from its Chinese parent company 'ByteDance' in 270 days or face a national ban, The New York Times reports.
We're gonna call it💡: Trump will win because Biden will sign the ban and 18-25 year olds will finally realize the government does not represent them 🙏🏻
Also, does the US want a WAR with GenZ ?! 💣💣
TikTok influencers:
💡TikTok might be banned bc the Chinese Communist Party uses it to spy on us
💡We don't care
💡China's not gonna do jack to us
💡We're more worried about American Big Tech scooping it up and spying on our baloney
💡The government is the real threat to democracy
💡WAKE THE F**K UP PEOPLE
PS. Also, TikTok "influencers" potentially going back to their old lives in a few days👇🏻
The House has agreed upon a potential TikTok ban as part of a $95 billion series of foreign aid packages.
By attaching the ban to funding for Israel and Ukraine, there is pressure on lawmakers to consider the whole package in a single vote.
TikTok's response:
“It is unfortunate that the House is using the cover of important foreign and humanitarian assistance to once again jam through a ban bill that would trample the free speech rights of 170 million Americans, devastate 7 million businesses, and shutter a platform that contributes $24 billion to the U.S. economy, annually.”
Our Thoughts💡:
Current POV:
Watching 16-year olds get paid for boogieing to Taylor Swift while we we get ready for our fifth 10-hour shift this week
We tired of making money the hard way.
BAN TIKTOK🖕🏻🖕🏻🖕🏻
Coffee☕️: Your morning cappuccino is about to become more environment-friendly.
With summer around the corner, rising iced lattes means more plastic waste. So, coffee giants like Starbucks are redesigning their cups to use 20% less plastic.
When someone dumps a plastic bottle by the bin👇🏻
Starbucks is taking steps to reduce its carbon footprint by 2030, CNN reports. However, customers will also need to cooperate by remembering to recycle their plastic cups or opt for an alternative.
Speaking of Starbucks.. when we said we had a hot date there, we meant with a Chile Mocha ☕️
PS. We don't always drink iced coffee, but when we do, we splurge. Stay thirsty y'all ✌🏻
In addition, Nespresso and Keurig are also expanding their compostable or plastic-free coffee pod offerings.
According to AP News, even fast-food chains like McDonald’s have introduced McFlurry cups without plastic lids, and salad boxes and cutlery made from renewable fiber.
Late last year, Coca-Cola said it had developed a bottle made entirely from plant-based sources. Coke produced a limited-run of 900 bottles to show that the technology can be commercially scaled.
Fitness🏋🏻♀️: People in finance are hitting the gym harder.
It's not just about financial gains anymore, but muscle gains too, Bloomberg Opinion reports.
Having a six-pack and tracking your macros in an Excel spreadsheet is the new rich y'all 💯
Key Highlights, reported by Bloomberg:
💡There is more awareness of the need to be physically active and mentally strong- especially for those who manage risk in return for investments
💡It is not just for men as women are getting on board too. A few years ago, there was a misconception that weight-lifting made women bulky. However, that has now changed with most women doing strength training today
💡Most banks today are investing in top of the line gyms and some even provide workout clothes
💡“This health movement in finance started partly due to increased productivity. People thought: I could stay up longer, I could be more alert! But then they noticed they were also getting on better with their families and kids and becoming better people.”
-Jason H. Karp, a former hedge fund manager turned entrepreneur tells Bloomberg
Global Leadership is getting on board too. According to Bloomberg:
💡Goldman Sachs boss: 'David Solomon' has often spoken about his early morning fitness routine
💡Morgan Stanley’s Executive Chairman: 'James Gorman' admitted last year to struggling with "nausea-inducing stress" early in his career which he overcame by getting much fitter
💡Denmark’s Saxo Bank's CEO: 'Kim Fournais' is a known weightlifter and self-defense
💡Deutsche Bank AG’s investment arm's boss: 'Stefan Hoops' carries around a chest expander and hits the weights most mornings
Our Thoughts💡:
Fitness: The BEST investment with the HIGHEST return💯💯💯💯
Climate Change🌍: 2.4 billion workers face climate risks.
This comes as just 17% of CEOs have invested in climate risk protection for workers, according to Forbes.
Key Highlights, according to a new report from the International Labour Organization (ILO):
💡Around 70% of the global workforce is exposed to health hazards caused by climate change
💡That's more than 2.4 billion workers facing pesticide poisoning, office air pollution, solar UV radiation and other challenges
💡In addition, nearly 23 million occupational injuries a year can be caused due to excessive heat
💡Around 26 million people are living with chronic kidney disease linked to workplace heat stress
💡Cancer, respiratory illnesses and mental health conditions have also been linked to climate change
💡Another new study by MIT predicts that some areas of the planet will lose half of their nice weather days by 2100
💡For popular holiday spots such as the Dominican Republic that rely heavily on tourism, the loss of those days could result in significant financial loss
Quicker Bites:
The head of intelligence of Israel’s military has resigned.
Columbia University will hold classes virtually until pro-Palestinian protests at the school continue.
Spain became the latest European country to end a visa program that offered residency to wealthy foreigners who buy real estate.
Heavy rain in south China caused flooding and forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate.
Travel to Europe made easier for Indians with new Schengen visa rules.
Opening statements began today in Trump’s historic criminal trial.
Nike is cutting around 700 jobs at its global headquarters in Oregon.
Fashion retailer ‘Express’ files for bankruptcy.