Impact Makers

As GLP-1 medications reshape appetite and private label gains ground on taste, quality and function, branded products face a defining question: what can they offer that cannot be easily replicated? Andrew Wardlaw and Caitlin McLean explore why the next era of product design must move beyond ingredients, claims and immediate liking to engineer stronger emotional outcomes across the whole experience.

They examine how aroma, texture, ritual, packaging and sensory theatre can turn ordinary consumption into something more memorable and meaningful. Tiphany Yokas joins the conversation to discuss how Mondelēz is investing in elevated pleasure capable of shifting mood, with Toblerone’s move into luxury, gifting and experience illustrating how a familiar brand can build status, theatre and emotional value.

The episode also considers how creators are becoming a powerful distribution system for feeling, as Katy Hedge looks at the scale of Unilever’s creator strategy and the growing tension between authenticity and AI-enabled “ghost creators”. Together, the contributors set out a practical blueprint for brands seeking to become more distinctive, more rewarding and harder to substitute in a world where consumers may choose less but expect every choice to feel more worthwhile.

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If Rewiring Consumption showed how far GLP-1s have already reshaped what we buy, this episode asks how much further they can go. 

A panel of leading voices in clinical science, behavioural science and sensory science joins Andrew and Caitlin to war-game the next chapter: escalating medical applications, the return of food noise after quitting, the changing rituals of eating together, and a sensory surprise that turns conventional wisdom on its head. 

Part forecast, part provocation, this is the debate that asks brand leaders the only question that matters - not what's happening now, but how big could this actually become?

Credits
Hosts: Andrew Wardlaw, Caitlin McLean
Executive Producer: Alex Berteanu

Production

Social Media

Publicity

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The rules of appetite just changed - and so has the shopping basket. 

In this episode, Andrew and Caitlin unpack exclusive new MMR research across 3,000 consumers in the US, UK, Germany, Brazil and China to reveal how GLP-1 medications are rewiring global demand. From the surprising sales surge in premium chocolate to the rise of "denser pleasure" formats, we explore what happens when immediate gratification stops being the default - and why food, drink, beauty and wellness brands can no longer treat this as a niche, temporary trend. 

Featuring WGSN's Millie Diamond on the strategic opportunities behind premium small bites, plus a first listen to our companion debate on just how big this story could get.

Credits
Hosts: Andrew Wardlaw, Caitlin McLean
Executive Producer: Alex Berteanu

Production

Social Media

Publicity

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The ambient aisle is the backbone of every supermarket, boasting a range of formats including cans, packets, jars and pouches. But in a world of ‘dinner for tonight’ shopping, the proposition risks being left behind. Look more closely, however, and something magical is happening.

We sit down with Tiago Quaresma of The Fantastic World of the Portuguese Sardine, a brand that has turned canned fish into something joyful, collectible and even giftable. We also speak to David Gadd, Design Director at Mars Foods, about how Ben’s Original Street Food has helped create something ambient rarely delivers: genuine discovery.

Plus, the latest and greatest from a supermarket in Brazil, and the rise of the ‘preppers’, a growing TikTok-fuelled subculture that treats ambient food not as an afterthought, but as a survival strategy.

Whether you're a marketer, innovator or simply someone who appreciates a well-stocked cupboard, this episode explores why the future of food innovation may be hiding in the most overlooked aisle of the supermarket.

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Follow Impact Makers for more episodes on product innovation, consumer behaviour, and the future of decision-making.

In our first fully visualised episode, Impact Makers explores a future that is already taking shape.

Two shifts are colliding.

Featuring behavioural science insight from Dr Paulina Lang and AI strategy expertise from Walter Pasquarelli, this episode examines what happens when hunger changes, habits reset, and decisions start happening without us.

Backed by new consumer data and real-world signals, from rapid AI shopping adoption in China to shifting attitudes in Western markets, we ask a bigger question:
If we stop choosing, who, or what, chooses for us?

For brands, retailers, and product teams, this raises a clear challenge, how do you stay relevant when the consumer is no longer the only decision-maker?

Impact Makers is the product-obsessed marketing podcast exploring the future of consumer behaviour, innovation, and product experience.

Credits
Hosts: Andrew Wardlaw, Caitlin McLean
Executive Producer: Alex Berteanu

Production

Design and Presentation

Research

Publicity

Social Media

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If you want to understand just how quickly consumer needs are evolving, look no further than the beauty category. In this research-led episode of Impact Makers, Andrew and Caitlin draw on insights from 2,500 beauty-forward consumers across nine global markets to explore a powerful shift taking place beneath the noise of social media trends and viral product launches. Beauty is moving beyond surface-level aesthetics toward resilience, regulation, and everyday emotional support. From microbiome skincare and neuro-beauty to climate-adaptive formulas and mood-boosting sensory rituals, the episode unpacks how products are being reimagined to help people cope better, not just look better. Featuring Marie Drago, Founder of Gallinée and an early pioneer of microbiome science in skincare, alongside nano creator Caitlin Costello on the future of trust, inclusivity, and AI in beauty, this episode offers a front-row seat to how cultural, emotional, and physical needs are reshaping the future of brands. In a world that feels overwhelming, beauty is being asked to do something deeper, to help us feel steady again.

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Once purely functional, the cleaning aisle is being completely reimagined. In Episode 15 of Impact Makers, Andrew Wardlaw and Caitlin McLean explore how a new generation of “dirt disruptors” are turning home care into something emotional, intentional, and even therapeutic - and how cleaning behemoth Unilever is adapting its marketing.

From refillable systems and planet-friendly formulas to fragrances you actually want in your home, cleaning is no longer just a chore to rush through. It’s becoming a ritual people choose to engage with, a way to restore calm, control, and wellbeing in an increasingly chaotic world.

In this episode, Andrew and Caitlin unpack how cleaning has evolved from background necessity to cultural signal, driven by social media, sensory design, and a shift in how we define self-care.

● Cleaning as culture, not just function
Why cleaning has become content, therapy, and identity - and what restock videos, ASMR cleaning, and Sunday reset culture really signal about modern life.

● The emotional role of cleaning
How control, calm, and emotional regulation are now central to why people clean, and why mood states matter more than germ kill rates.

● Semiotics of clean with Megan Bourner-Powell (Huxly)
How the category has moved on from bleach, citrus, and “domestic goddess” tropes to something more human, grounded, and emotionally intelligent.

● Sensory testing: Kinfill vs SMOL vs GreenCo
MMR sensory expert Matt Barrett puts three disruptors to the test, decoding how sound, scent, texture, and design change the cleaning experience, and why Kinfill currently sets the benchmark.

● The Z-Factor: cleaning on TikTok
Why Gen Z turned cleaning into aspiration, how creators replaced brands as trusted voices, and why “clean” is now shorthand for mental clarity.

● How Unilever is responding
Ammarah Issufo shares how Unilever Home Care is using creators, cultural insight, and new marketing frameworks to make cleaning feel relevant, human, and exciting again.

● The future of clean ✨
Why clean is no longer an outcome, but a state of being, and how emotion, ritual, and sensory design will matter more as AI and automation take care of performance basics.

The brands winning in home care aren’t promising “effortless cleaning.”
They’re rewarding effort with calm, dignity, and emotional payoff.

Kinfill
SMOL
GreenCo
Unilever Home Care
Huxly
MMR Research

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