Willemijn van Dolen | Why trendy products like matcha and natural wine are so short-lived
One week we drink oat milk cappuccinos, the next week matcha is popular. Why do we change tastes so often? Columnist Willemijn van Dolen looks into e-bikes, natural wine and sports classes.
In the newspaper I read an interview with journalist Jonas Kooyman about his book, The Havermelkelite (The Oatmeal Elite). Jonas observes the young urbanite and interprets their behavior. The group he focuses on he calls the Havermelkelite; people in their twenties and thirties who hoped to consume themselves to a better planet by eating vegetarian and flying less. That era seems to be over according to Jonas. Instead, this group is now moving toward overconsumption, which is expressed in part through microtrends; fast-changing styles such as motorcycle jackets, soccer scarves or Adidas Samba’s. Fun for a while and then we hop on to the next trend.
We already knew from the literature that consumer attitudes and behavior are constantly changing, a phenomenon researchers call consumer dynamics. Technology and globalization are increasing the pace of these changes; information is spreading faster, and products are rapidly being shipped from all over the world. Why are people constantly changing? First, it is because of changes at the individual level - moving out of home, having a child, traveling, taking up a new hobby. Age also plays a role; young people, for example, are more open to all kinds of experiences than older people, and young singles are more in search of variety.
Second, changes occur at the level of social interaction: peer influences and observational learning. This means that choices are influenced by social media, and (micro) influencers and offline through peers, friends, neighbors and family.
Then there are influences at the corporate level (including through marketing), at the product/market level (e.g., competitive response) and at the macro-environmental level such as economics, culture, technology and government policy. All of these sources cause people to change at different speeds.
With so many factors, it is not surprising that micro-trends emerge alongside larger trends. What is striking is that these changes, as described by Jonas, arise within a group. We know from research that we all like to belong to a group. So we wear the same thing and want to go to the same restaurants. So once the group is formed and has its habits, why change things up and trend again? Is everyone just onto the oat milk cappuccino, matcha becomes popular and then ice cream with olive oil again. Could there be the nasty neighbor effect here?
In a recent study, researchers show, to their own surprise, that people not only prefer to cooperate, but also prefer to compete with people within their own group compared to people outside their group. This suddenly gives a different perspective on your group of friends; they are your friends (friendly neighbors) AND your competitors (nasty neighbors) all in one. Status and scarcity seem to play a role here, although the researchers are cautious about the exact underlying motives.
Back to the oatmeal elite. Because, according to Jonas, they actually convey their status through a certain taste and lifestyle. With an e-bike, natural wine and sports classes. Of course, to maintain that status, you have to keep standing out within your group with the latest trend. So curious about the next micro-trend? Take a good look around you. Maybe a fun game for during the upcoming New Year’s Eve drinks with friends or at work: Spot the nasty neighbor!
