Pens Are Making Their Marks
People can get pretty excited about boring, everyday products. Take pens: The subreddit r/Pens has nearly 60k subscribers, growing ~50% YoY.
Pens are also a highly successful Kickstarter subgenre. Check out the following campaigns:
- Polar ($643k+ raised): Modular pen made from magnets
- Stilform INK ($497k+ raised): Magnetic fountain pen coated in titanium
- WYN Pen 1.0 ($99k+ raised): Minimalist pen with an internal bronze refill
There’s opportunity to create options for sustainably minded consumers. The Paper Pen, crafted with biodegradable materials and water-based ink, won No. 3 Product of the Day on Product Hunt in 2019.
Influencers in the productivity and life design space are launching their own journals and planners, and pens are poised to become the next white label product for creators.
Take YouTube star Lavendaire (1.35m+ subscribers). She’s launched her own planner, yet still lists Muji pens (which get 49.5k searches/mo, per Keywords Everywhere) in her desk tour.
There are plenty of opportunities to go B2B. Think of any company or hotel giving out cheap pens that immediately run out of ink -- there’s room to create a more lasting model.
As our report on the highly profitable notebook business surfaced, B2B represented ~25% of Moleskine’s revenue in 2019. This shows promise for modern brands to capitalize on providing quality writing tools.
A Royal Aesthetic Is Crowning
Stuck at home with no sense of time? If watching Harry and Meghan on Oprah isn’t enough, perhaps traveling back to the 1800s when kings and queens ruled Great Britain will do the trick.
Interest is soaring in “royalcore,” an aesthetic based on “the visuals of West European royalty,” according to Aesthetics Wiki. Ornate chandeliers, flowy ballgowns, and laced corsets define this style.
The elegant trend is taking off on social media. “Modern day princess” influencer Jordan has 122k+ Instagram followers and 103k+ TikTok followers, headlining the 75m+ TikTok views on #royalcore.
We suggest you weave this glamorous style into events, decor, food, and fashion. Jungle Scout data shows that the brand “Sweetv crown” has jumped 1,398% on 11k+ searches on Amazon in the last 30 days, with this rhinestone tiara raking in $55k+/mo.
The genre is also gaining popularity on Wattpad, with stories like “Romance In The Royal Castle” amassing 479k+ views.
Entrepreneurs could capitalize on the booming business of romance novels (as My First Million highlights) and create podcasts, mini audio series, or newsletters featuring royalty-inspired historical fiction.
Remember that “core” trends tend to stick around. Cottagecore, 2020’s aesthetic breakout star, still gets 405k searches/mo, per Keywords Everywhere.
Clay, Ceramics, and Pottery, Oh My!
Everything clay, ceramics, and pottery is on fire -- from the material to the craft to the aesthetic.
Keywords Everywhere reveals that interest in “pottery classes near me” has peaked in recent months, with 49.5k+ searches/mo.
Creative entrepreneurs have started to take note. This clay figurine Etsy shop has 8k+ sales and 17k+ favorites, while this polymer clay starter kit brings in $45k+/mo on Amazon, per Jungle Scout.
Subscription boxes for different types of clay crafts and jewelry would be a good option. Check out Sculpd or The Clay Box for kids as inspiration.
Also consider capitalizing on the at-home date trend. For example, Happily (total funding: $3.1m) sends a box of couples’ activities for $33-$40/mo.
Entrepreneurs could leverage people’s wanderlust and create pottery kits or classes with materials and/or designs from around the world. Check out this YouTube video of how to make a Japanese clay pot -- it has 1m+ views.
Monthly searches on Google, according to Keywords Everywhere:
- “Chinese ceramics”: 2.9k
- “Portuguese pottery”: 1.3k
- “Moroccan pottery”: 1k
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