Here’s this week’s list of Latest Trending Topics 2023 May, insights and analysis.
TikTok SEO
TikTok SEO refers to search engine optimization practices used for TikTok.
37% of users discover new products and services on TikTok. And having posts rank higher on search results can significantly increase a product’s or service’s visibility.
Trying to capitalize on this opportunity, TikTok content creators are now learning how to incorporate SEO into their posts.
This explains why videos mentioning “TikTok SEO” have gathered over 1.2 billion views on the platform.
What’s Next
TikTok SEO is part of the TikTok Search Engine meta trend.
A Google Senior VP recently revealed that approximately 40% of Gen Z use TikTok and Instagram as search engines.
And TikTok is currently testing a feature that highlights keywords in comments and links them to search results.
This suggests TikTok is leaning further into their search engine functionality.
More personalized results and videos that quickly summarize information are the two main reasons why TikTok is becoming the go-to search engine for Gen Z.
Foldable Solar Panel
Foldable solar panels are portable panels that can be folded for storage or transport.
Smaller panels are used while hiking and camping, whereas larger foldable panels are usually mounted on RVs to charge devices inside the vehicle.
Jackery and Renogy are trending startups that sell foldable solar panels.
One popular foldable solar panel generates approximately $69K/month on Amazon.
What’s Next
Foldable solar panels are part of the Portable Solar Panels meta trend.
Portable solar panels have been popular with campers and hikers for years.
However, interest in this product category is currently growing among WFH workers that want to work from remote locations or while doing “vanlife”.
Which is why search interest for this product category is growing (consumer interest in “portable solar panels” has grown steadily over the last five years).
CCaaS
CCaaS, contact center as a service, is a cloud-based customer service platform.
These centers are entirely hosted and managed by the provider on an offsite data center.
Interest in this technology is growing mainly because it is cheaper and faster to implement and maintain than a traditional contact center.
The average cost of setting up a traditional contact center is around $15,000. Whereas, on average CCaaS solutions cost up to $200/month per agent.
Furthermore, industry research has shown that for every $1 invested in a contact center infrastructure, approximately $2 will be spent on maintenance.
CCaaS reduces these costs because consumers pay for the subscription, which covers installation and maintenance.
Notably, CCaaS solutions can be installed within five weeks (depending on the complexity required). Whereas it takes a traditional contact center approximately three months to become fully set up.
What’s Next
CCaaS is part of the Customer Care Technology meta trend.
61% of customer care leaders report higher call volumes. And 58% of customer service leaders expect volumes to increase further in the next 18 months.
Notably, around half of customer care centers have reported a rise in employee attrition over the last 12 months.
Companies are increasingly turning to technology to battle these problems.
Which is why the market for technologies like contact center software is forecasted to grow 5x in the next eight years.
Colostrum Collector
Colostrum collectors are tube-like collectors made from silicone.
These cases are used to collect and store colostrum. Additionally, they have a nib that feeds the colostrum to the baby directly from the collector.
Interest in the practice of colostrum collection is growing, which has created demand for products that streamline the process.
(In fact, videos about colostrum collection have over 467 million views on TikTok.)
Additionally, growing demand for this product category can be partly attributed to a startup called Haakaa.
(Searches for colostrum collectors made by the startup have increased by 420% in the last two years.)
One set of Haakaa colostrum collectors brings in around $38K/month on Amazon.
What’s Next
Colostrum collectors are part of the Breastfeeding Tech meta trend.
Breastfeeding is experiencing the “Silicon Valley treatment” with several new, advanced breastfeeding product categories.
Examples of trending products in this space include wearable breast pumps and lactation massagers.
Whereas Bellababy and Momcozy are examples of trending startups operating in this space.
Early bird companies: RankedIn (tournament software), Spline AI (3D design platform), Pabbly Connect (workflow automation tool), Wisecut (AI-powered video editor).
Tomorrow’s products today: Spermidine, blue lotus oil, hair peptide serum, pre-workout gummies.
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Early Bird Companies
RankedIn
RankedIn is a tournament software with several features like rankings, messaging and profile pages.
However, the company is best known for their live-streaming app called SportCam.
SportCam allows users to live stream their events directly to Facebook or YouTube.
Additionally, it adds a scoreboard that lets viewers see who is winning the match.
The app has over 50,000 downloads on the Google Play store.
RankedIn has helped organize over 160,000 tournaments with over 2,000,000 matches played.
What’s next:
RankedIn is part of the Virtual Scoreboard Software meta trend.
The live-streaming market is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 13.5% over the next four years.
And grassroots sports organizations (clubs, tournament organizers, etc.) are increasingly using live-streaming to engage with their community.
This has created a growing demand for inexpensive virtual scoreboard software.
Searches for “virtual scoreboard” have increased by 100% over the past two years.
TeamLinkt, Livestream Scoreboard and OBS Studio are examples of platforms in this space.
Spline AI
Spline is a browser-based 3D design platform that allows teams to collaborate in real-time.
Interest in the startup is growing primarily because they recently launched the alpha for their AI-powered 3D model generation platform.
This tool turns text prompts into 3D models that can be then edited by the user.
Over 1,000 users have signed up for Spline AI’s waitlist.
What’s next:
Spline AI is part of the AI 3D Tool meta trend.
Searches for “AI 3D tool” have increased by 1000% over the past two years.
Why?
A growing number of companies are launching AI platforms capable of generating 3D models from a few data points.
For example, Nvidia launched Magic3D in November 2022.
(Search volume for “Magic3D” has increased by 900% over the past two years.)
Magic3D converts text prompts into 3D models.
Even OpenAI, the startup behind ChatGPT, launched Point-E, an AI-powered 3D generation platform.
Like Magic3D, Point-E can turn text into three-dimensional objects.
Pabbly
Pabbly Connect is a workflow automation tool.
The platform can automate repetitive tasks such as data entry, file backups, and social media posting.
Pabbly Connect’s main selling point is that they are one of the cheapest workflow automation platforms in the market.
Pabbly’s high-end pricing tier supports multi-step and unlimited workflows for a one-time fee of $699 (whereas Zapier charges $129/month for 10,000 workflows).
The platform supports over 1,000 integrations.
And it is used by more than 9,000 organizations.
What’s next:
Pabbly Connect is part of the Workflow Automation Platform meta trend.
Search volume for “workflow automation platform” has increased by 1500% over the past two years.
Here are some trending startups operating in this space:
N8N open-source, node-based workflow automation tool. The project has over 29,000 stars on GitHub.
Integrately is an automation platform offering a range of pre-built integrations, workflow templates, and customization features to optimize business processes.
Workato is a cloud-based integration and automation platform that allows businesses to connect and automate workflows with over 1,000 enterprise applications.
Wisecut
Wisecut is an AI-powered video editor.
Specifically, the software uses voice-recognition technology to detect and remove pauses.
Additionally, it automatically adds background music based on the content of the video.
Finally, the tool also uses AI to create real-time subtitles for videos.
These features are why it has become popular among social media users, especially for short-form videos like Instagram Reels and TikTok videos.
The startup has raised $250K in funding.
What’s next:
Wisecut is part of the AI Editor meta trend.
Searches for “AI editor” have increased by 1566% over the past two years.
Here are a few trending AI editors:
Krisp is an AI audio editor that reduces background noise for recorded videos as well as during live video calls.
Synthesia serves as an AI video generator with integrated editing features.
Nova AI, similarly to Synthesia, is an AI-powered video editor. Users can add subtitles, translate, and edit videos with a few clicks.
Tomorrow’s Products Today
Spermidine
Spermidine is a natural compound found in many foods, including soybeans, mushrooms, and aged cheese.
Research has shown that spermidine has a variety of potential health benefits:
Spermidine promotes autophagy, a process in which cells break down and recycle damaged proteins. This potentially makes spermidine an effective anti-aging compound.
The compound may also have cardioprotective effects, as it has been shown to reduce blood pressure, improve heart function, and protect against heart disease.
All of this explains why we’re seeing growing demand for spermidine supplements.
In fact, searches for “spermidine supplement” have increased by 200% over the past five years.
What’s next:
Spermidine is part of the Longevity Hacking meta trend.
The number of people older than 65 is expected to reach 80.8 million by 2040 (this represents a 2x increase over 2000 levels).
And this is driving growing demand for supplements that support healthy aging.
Here are a few trending longevity supplements:
Resveratrol is an antioxidant compound found in grapes, blueberries, and peanuts. Certain human trials have shown it to have anti-inflammatory and anti-aging effects.
Metformin is a prescription medication commonly used to treat diabetes, but it has also been shown to have anti-aging effects by improving glucose regulation and reducing inflammation.
Ashwagandha allegedly reduces stress and inflammation, improves immune function, and supports healthy aging.
Blue Lotus Oil
Blue lotus oil is an essential oil made from the flowers of the blue lotus plant.
Regular consumption of blue lotus can help reduce stress and improve sleep quality.
In fact, the apomorphine and nuciferine found in blue lotus elicits feelings of calmness and euphoria.
And the psychoactive properties are one reason behind the increased interest in this product category.
Unlike some other psychoactive compounds, blue lotus is currently legal in the United States.
Growing demand for blue lotus oil can also be attributed to the product’s aphrodisiac properties.
Some limited research suggests that using blue lotus oil may boost sex drive and, in some cases, help with erectile dysfunction.
What’s next:
Blue lotus oil is part of the Libido Boosters meta trend.
We’re seeing increasing interest in natural libido-boosting supplements.
Examples of trending libido boosters include maca supplements and ginseng supplements.
Whereas libido gummies, capsules and powders are popular forms of libido boosters.
This tongkat ali supplement generates approximately $110K/month on Amazon.
Hair Peptide
Hair peptide serums, as the name suggests, are hair care products that contain peptides.
Peptides are known for their ability to stimulate the production of collagen, an essential protein that gives hair strength and elasticity.
These serums are applied directly to the hair and scalp and may improve hair growth, reduce hair breakage and damage, and promote overall hair health.
This product has gained some attention across social media.
Videos about hair peptide serums have over 345 million views on TikTok.
Specifically, we’re seeing growing demand for one serum made by The Ordinary.
Searches for “The Ordinary hair peptide serum” have grown by 3000% over the past five years.
What’s next:
Hair peptide serums are part of the HairTok meta trend.
TikTok has become home to a massive online community dedicated to hair care.
The #hairtok hashtag has over 60 billion views on the platform.
And having a presence in this community has become a go-to marketing strategy for many DTC hair care companies.
Here are a few examples of trending HairTok products:
Heatless curlers can curl straight hair without heat. Specifically, the hair is wrapped around the rod and fixed in place using clips and scrunchies, resulting in wavy hair once the rod is removed.
Rosemary oil is a liquid oil extracted from the rosemary plant. Thanks largely to TikTok (videos mentioning the product have over 200 million views on the platform), rosemary oil is becoming an increasingly popular method of preventing hair loss.
Hair toppers are a type of hairpiece or wig designed to cover thinning hair or bald spots on the crown of the head.
Pre-Workout Gummies
Pre-workout gummies are gummies infused with pre-workout powders or drinks.
The product has gone viral on social media, with videos mentioning pre-workout gummies generating over 4 billion views on TikTok.
Interest in this product category is growing because people are developing recipes to make pre-workout gummies at home.
For example, this TikTok video showing how to make pre-workout gummies has over 21 million views.
What’s next:
Protein gummies are part of the Fitness Gummies meta trend.
Search volume for “fitness gummies” has increased by 342% over the last 24 months.
Gummies are portable and convenient, enabling people to consume them when needed.
Studies also show that chewable supplements are better absorbed by the body.
Creatine gummies and protein gummies are examples of trending workout gummy supplements.
This popular pack of creatine gummies brings in approximately $56K/month on Amazon.