008 - Midweek Mini-Byte: May 13th, 2024.

May 13, 2025

👋 Hello everyone.

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⭐️ = What excites me most this week.

⭐️ Marketing Brew: More people are searching for Reddit results and some brands are benefiting. Certain marketers are finding success on the internet’s “most human” social platform, but they advise to tread carefully.
- Just for fun:
  - If you are still working corporate…
  - 🥾 A website dedicated to all things shoelaces…
  - MIT News: ~~Ping pong~~ Table Tennis (for the real ones) bot returns shots with high-speed precision. In addition to training future players, the technology could expand the capabilities of other humanoid robots, such as for search and rescue.

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👩‍🎤 Celebrity Brands:

Brunel a new body care line ‘a trio of body oils’ from supermodel Jasmine Tookes [WWD; Instagram].

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🧴 Skin / Personal Care:

⭐️ ⏳ Timebeam Beauty - a new brand focused on skin longevity from Dr. Lamee Hamden. Timebeam offers two topicals and two ingestibles - Skinbeam Milky Serum, $42, Bounce Mode Healthy Pixie, $49, Moisture Melt Serum Balm, $38, and Reset Mode Healthy Pixie, $54. The line uses a combination of NAD+ boosters, peptides, resveratrol, and magnesium [WWD; Instagram].
timebeambeauty
A post shared by @timebeambeauty
Cusp - skincare by your zodiac sign…this feels very 2016…I’m a Leo - I get lots of gold 👀 [Instagram].
Morning Person Beauty - offers a simple three step routine for a well-rounded approach to skincare [Instagram].
Snugglebum Skincare - clean skincare for babies and newborns [Instagram].

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👃 Fragrance:

🇨🇳 Jing Daily: Niche fragrance in China — How to avoid Aesop's fate. As Aesop and Maison Francis Kurkdjian shut their China flagships, the fragrance market enters a new phase. Here’s how to stay relevant in 2025.

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🐕 Pet Care:

🇰🇷 Petora - gentle plant based cleansing & hydration for pets [Instagram].
🇰🇷 Purebble Pet - a line of gentle cleansers and an odor eliminator for pets [Instagram].

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👩‍🔬 Femtech:

Wired: US Customs and Border Protection quietly revokes protections for pregnant women and infants. CBP’s acting commissioner has rescinded four Biden-era policies that aimed to protect vulnerable people in the agency’s custody, including mothers, infants, and the elderly.
⭐️ Very exciting news for Teal Health - FDA approves first at-home cervical cancer screening test, a pap smear alternative, company says. I realize that going to the doctor for a pap smear means you are also receiving a visual exam and a pelvic exam is more than just the pap smear. However, for individuals who may not have access or have other fears/concerns - having access to at home swab testing is a great step forward for screening.

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🛍 Retail: DTC, Brick + Mortar, Social Commerce, and more...

Sorry Mom - Mother’s Day spending has dropped 14%, with many scaling back due to tariffs [Lending Tree].
U.S. and China agree to slash tariffs for 90 days in major trade breakthrough [CNBC]…the agreement partially reduced tariffs for products falling under the de minimus exemption.

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🩺 Digital Health: Wearables, Smart Devices, and more...

⭐️ 🩸 Here we go again…Elizabeth Holmes’ partner has a new blood-testing start-up. Billy Evans has two children with the Theranos founder, who is in prison for fraud. He’s now trying to raise money for a testing company that promises “human health optimization.”
🩻 The Atlantic: DOGE is bringing back a deadly disease. Cuts to agencies that protect workers’ lungs are going to result in the resurgence of a preventable illness.
Healthcare Brew: CVS’s small-format store strategy unlikely to be a game changer, analysts say. Rite Aid tried a similar move, with seemingly limited success.

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🗣 Social Media: News about TikTok, Meta, BeReal, Snapchat, X...

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♻️ Sustainability: Sustainable Design

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💸 M&A, IPOs, SPACs, Bankruptcies, Closings...

Speculation around L’Oreal acquiring Medik8 [WWD].
Church & Dwight is acquiring Touchland® for $700 million plus earn out [BusinessWire].

New research reveals that chronic stress disrupts communication between brain cells and the immune system—specifically in the amygdala—leading to heightened fear responses, but psychedelics may reverse this effect by reducing inflammation, restoring brain-immune balance, and offering a novel therapeutic path for stress-related and neuropsychiatric disorders [Nature].

🇨🇳 Daxue Consulting: How China’s Gen Alpha is reshaping consumption.
Navigo Marketing: Ulta’s Pricing Window - $20-$40.
Spate: Ingredient Trends Report - the Ingredients Defining Beauty in 2025.
- #BeefTallow surged +4,700% in TikTok views YoY — as consumers romanticize heritage emollients in modern skincare formats.
- Collagen-related TikTok views jumped +745%, driven by overnight mask formats from Korean brands like Medicube and Biodance.
- Batana oil searches rose +155.7%, while TikTok views spiked over +7,700%, with creators calling it a natural alternative to minoxidil for hair growth.

💡 Enjoy,

-Anne

The Juicy Byte