What does a term initially used 170 years ago in one of the most influential and compelling books in American literature have to do with the cognitive health category? And what was the term that Henry David Thoreau used his 1854 non-fiction book Walden to criticize society’s tendency to devalue complex ideas in favor of simple ones…seeing this as indicative of a general decline in mental and intellectual effort? Brain Rot. But that term has taken on new significance in the digital age, especially over the past year or two. Brain rot is a term used to describe the phenomenon involving a constant consumption of short, fast-paced content that can overwhelm the brain, leading to decreased attention spans, mental exhaustion, and a reduced ability to engage with deeper, more meaningful activities. Initially gaining traction on TikTok among Gen Z and Gen Alpha communities, brain rot became so widespread that Oxford University Press even named it the 2024 word of the year. But what if I told you that the term “brain rot” gaining mainstream prominence could prove extremely important in further expanding and evolving the cognitive health category? I believe brain rot moving into the mainstream lexicon could have the power to democratize the cognitive health category. And that’s because “brain rot” doesn’t age discriminate, or for that matter…discriminate based on ethnicity, gender, or any other characteristic. In fact, very rarely is anyone completely protected today against experiencing mental fatigue from social media information overload. Now in stating that…purchasing behavior doesn’t necessarily change materially just because a societal problem has been catapulted into the minds of more consumers. And there’s pros and cons to when a functional CPG category is democratized. But something that usually helps push that consumer awareness down funnel through consideration and into purchasing activity is having that category creating brand that unlocks massive commercial success by meeting consumers where they’re at with the ideal product development variables…eventually triggering competition that further evolves the market. And while there’s a multitude of competitors currently within the cognitive health category…it hasn’t seen a Liquid I.V. or Vital Proteins type breakout brand that creates the category by pushing democratized consumer awareness down funnel unlocking massive commercial success. But in stating that…I also acknowledge this business phenomenon could occur in the near-term future from a strengthening sub-segment of the cognitive health category. And then finally, instead of providing you with a typical collection of “retail sales data trends” to validate what you already intuitively assume, that peak performers are more frequently seeking out “fast-acting cognitive-boosting” functional CPG products in convenient formats to improve their daily life, I wanted to end this content a bit differently by adding value through an anecdote surrounding my recent personal journey to minimize “brain rot.”