Five Things We Can't Unsee In 2025

Five Things I Can’t Unsee from Q2.

From dairy to scent to sperm this is what stuck.

These aren’t trends. They’re patterns I kept hearing in conversation, spotting on shelves, and seeing shift how people think about health, identity, and everyday rituals.

Oral Health Is Repositioning.

We’ve linked gut health to everything, but how often do we talk about its connection to oral health? At dinner recently, I satnext to Dr. Gerry Curatola, a leading dentist who opened my eyes to just how closely the two are tied. Turns out, your mouth isn’t just the entry point, it’s an early indicator. Consumers are catching on, and they’re starting to look for oral healthcare brands that are too.

Male Fertility, Not Just Her Journey.

Lately, more of my conversations with buddies have turned to fertility: specifically, how they're showing up and participating in their partner’s journey. For a long time, the male side of fertility was a cultural blind spot. That’s finally starting to shift, and many VMS brands are entering the chat.

Moooove Over Alt-DairyDairy is back.

Every time I’m at Meteor Café in Austin with my team, they’re all ordering the real stuff. At the same time, unprocessed milk is showing up on more menus and in more carts. The brands that win here are the ones that lead with transparency: where it’s from, why it matters, and what it does for you.

Ancient Ingredients, New Occasions.

Kava, kratom, mushrooms, and cannabis have been around forever. But now they’re entering the mainstream and are sitting on the bar at your friend's backyard bbq. The real opportunity is in building trust: clear education, honest dosing, and branding that feels credible in a space still cluttered with smoke shop energy.

Functional Scent as a Performance Tool.

Mood-enhancing fragrances, smelling salts, and energy sprays, scent is being reimagined as active, not passive. When I walked into Happier Grocery inNYC and saw a full wall with an emerging scent brand that targets emotions and energy, it was clear: there's whitespace for players who can pair smart claims with cultural relevance.

*These are all my own observations, shaped by what I’ve seen on the ground, in conversation, and sometimes in the wild corners of the internet.

Have you overheard any of these conversations? What brands have you seen show up in these spaces?

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