We [also did a] snack sommelier event with Pop Up Grocer. Everybody was given a white glove and a monocle. They had to do a written quiz and go through this whole taste-test and then at the end, they would graduate with a diploma. I was in a suit with my white gloves, monocle, a top hat, and I was doing my best monopoly man interpretation. Again, it’s kind of just thinking about how to make things fun and not so industry.

For better or for worse, the pendulum always swings back

Everybody tries to pretend that they know how to [predict things that are coming up], but you have to go pull on the thread to see where it’s coming from.

Two years ago, I said we’re about to get into this “anti-goop” movement and stray away from wellness as we know it. And now it’s here. Cigarettes are back, Zyn (nicotine pouches), super toxic diet culture. It was obvious that there was going to be an unnecessary correction to the extremism of “adaptogenic this” and “meditation in a can.”

[I think] non-alcoholic will eventually subside in lieu of moderation, which is already happening. A lot of these NA brands are now being picked up by liquor stores. They’re kind of living with each other, which is always what it should have been, as opposed to these NA bottle shop versus the liquor shop, especially when you’re starting to see brands get picked up by Target. You also have the inclusive six-packs, which I find very fascinating. There’s this brand called System Seltzers that’s a six-pack, but two of them are 0% alcohol. The other two are 5%, and the third option is 8%, so it kind of gives you options. That is genius. I love that people are thinking that way as opposed to the extremes.

Food and beverage have become external signalers, in the same way that fashion items have, for better or for worse. So those are just a few of my little things that I’ve been picking up, and then for the rest, people can just hire me.