Thematic Reads: Week of September 30, 2019
Each week Team Tematica consumes a voracious amount of content as we look to stay on top of the latest data and mine it for tailwind and headwind signals for our 10 investment themes.
Aging of the Population
The global demographic shift towards a more senior population
- The Case for Hiring Older Workers (Harvard Business Review)
- How should California address the needs of its aging population? (San Francisco Chronicle)
Cleaner Living
Growing demand for items that claim to be better for you and the planet:
- Portable Produce Brands at Retail Draw Consumers (Progressive Grocer): Customers want more branded produce snacks available for quick purchase.
- Nestle taking on childhood allergies with investment (Baking Business): Nestle Health Science has taken a minority stake in a manufacturer of products designed to prevent food allergies.
- Natural and organic beverages grow in prominence (Beverage Industry): To keep up with clean-label trends, beverage-makers are releasing a wider array of options that deliver functional benefits in addition to refreshment.
- McDonald’s enters the plant-based burger wars, setting up a showdown with Burger King (CNBC)
Digital Infrastructure
The Buildout and upgrading of our Networks, Data Storage Facilities, and Equipment
- IoT’s Impact On Supply Chains And Security (PYMNTS)
- Logitech acquires popular game streaming tool Streamlabs (TechCrunch)
- India telcos look at $30 billion Capex on 5G (The Economic Times)
- At Qualcomm, 5G is headed everywhere and into virtually everything (VentureBeat)
Disruptive Innovators
Business models designed to transform an entire industry and leap-frog over incumbents.
- Inside Dunkin’s AI-Powered Mobile Ordering App (PYMNTS)
- Turning Voice Assistants Into Medical Assistants (PYMNTS)
- Military Drones Now Common to Nearly 100 Nations (The Wall Street Journal)
- McDonald’s Tech Strategy Should Alert Competitors (QSR Magazine)
Digital Lifestyle
The increasingly digital landscape that now underpins the entire consumer experience.
- Holiday spending expected to rise 5%, but don’t expect bigger crowds at the mall (CNBC)
- Nike Ups Its (Sizzling) Digital Sales Game (PYMNTS)
- Funny or Die Finds New Life in the Streaming Era (The New York Times)
- Economic Impact Of Internet Tops $2.1T In US (PYMNTS)
- Global device shipments to decline by 3.7% in 2019 (DigiTimes)
The products and services people will consume no matter the economic environment.
- Sugar’s day of reckoning may be here (Boston Globe)
- How much candy are you buying for Halloween? This survey might surprise you (USA Today)
- Breakfast Sandwiches Take Over Fast Food (QSR Magazine)
- Americans still need to cut sugar, add healthy fat (NBCNews)
Those things that bridge the gap between want and ability at every socioeconomic level.
- France moves to ban luxury brands from destroying overstock goods (Luxury Daily)
- New Trump Tariffs May Soon Hit European Luxury Exports (Bloomberg)
- Rental, subscription, resale offer opportunities for luxury brands (Luxury Daily)
Consumers trading down when and where possible or looking to stretch the disposable dollars they do have.
- Here’s how long $1 million in retirement savings will last in 10 major U.S. cities (CNBC)
- More Americans go without health coverage despite a strong economy (The Washington Post)
- 29% of Americans are considered ‘lower class’—here’s how much money they earn (CNBC)
Areas around the world where rising disposable incomes are driving demand for a host of products and services.
- Amazon’s Alexa now speaks Hindi (MobileCrunch)
- Chinese parents spend big on education and travel (CNBC)
Reflecting the evolving needs across individual, cyber, corporate and homeland security.
- DoorDash Says May Breach Hit 4.9M Users (PYMNTS)
- More Digital Rewards Create Bigger Digital Risks (PYMNTS)
- Smart Lights Enhance Home Security and Shine a Light on Crime (The New York Times)
- Tech Companies Are Quietly Phasing Out a Major Privacy Safeguard (The Atlantic)
What Else We Are Loving
Other reads, experiences, products, services and the like that we enjoyed so much this past week we just had to share
