Here’s this week’s list of rapidly trending topics, insights and analysis.
Mouth Tape
Searches for “mouth tape” have increased by 265% over the last two years.
Mouth tape is an adhesive strip placed on the lips while sleeping.
These strips are designed to minimize mouth breathing, reduce snoring, and improve sleep quality.
Notably, unlike traditional tape, mouth tape doesn’t pull or peel off skin when removed.
Mouth tape has also become popular on social media. The hashtag #mouthtape has over 93 million views on TikTok.
What’s Next
Mouth tape is part of the SleepTok meta trend.
TikTok has become home to a massive online community dedicated to improving sleep quality.
Videos about sleep hacks have more than 545 million views on the platform.
Whereas the hashtag #sleeptips has over 463 million views to date.
And approximately 30% of American TikTok users say they’ve used a sleeping hack they discovered on TikTok.
Embedded Insurance
Embedded insurance is “any insurance that can be purchased within the commercial transaction of another product or service”.
Embedded insurance in itself is not a new innovation.
(In fact, one of the early use cases of embedded insurance was when people were offered life insurance when buying a plane ticket.)
However, recent growing interest in this category is due to the fact that embedded insurance is being increasingly offered alongside Ecommerce purchases.
Also, InsurTech startups are launching embedded insurance solutions, making it easy for online retailers to offer insurance on their products.
Zego, Element and Cover Genius are examples of InsurTech startups operating in this space.
And according to FinTech Global, the market for embedded insurance is forecasted to grow 6x by 2030.
What’s Next
Embedded insurance is part of the Embedded Finance meta trend.
Search volume for “embedded finance” has grown by 925% since 2019.
Some VCs describe embedded finance as essentially “making every company a fintech company”.
Embedded investment and embedded payments are examples of growing embedded finance tools.
The overall embedded finance market is on track to become a $7T industry by 2030.
At-Home STI Test
At-home STI tests, as the name suggests, are tests for sexually transmitted infections that can be done at home.
The US is seeing a rapid rise in certain STDs.
Syphilis infections grew by 26% over the last year (reaching their highest level since 1991).
Whereas HIV cases rose by 16% during the same timeframe.
And at-home STI tests are emerging as one solution to combat this problem as they’re often much cheaper than a doctor’s visit.
(They also provide more privacy.)
Nurx and MyLab Box are trending at-home STI test startups.
What’s Next
At-home STI tests are part of the At-home Lab Testing meta trend.
At-home testing initially took off during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Today, a number of companies have launched at-home lab testing kits to diagnose various ailments.
Blood tests, vitamin tests, and food sensitivity tests are examples of trending at-home lab tests.
Overall, the at-home lab testing market is forecasted to reach $2B by 2025.
One highly-rated at-home food intolerance test kit generates approximately $72K/month on Amazon.
Creator Marketplace
Creator marketplaces are online platforms that connect creators with brands.
Demand for creator marketplaces is on the rise mainly as social media platforms start to launch their own marketplaces.
(For example, Instagram launched a creator marketplace last year.)
But a number of third-party startups are launching their own creator marketplaces where brands can post available positions and creators can apply.
What’s Next
Creator marketplaces are part of the Creator Sourcing meta trend.
There are more than 45 million creators across various social media platforms.
And approximately 77% of marketers have a dedicated budget for influencer marketing.
And, as influencer marketing becomes more saturated, working with the right creator is becoming increasingly important.
Which is why marketers are looking for tools to help them identify the right creators for their brands.
Upfluence, Tagger Media and Collabstr are trending creator sourcing platforms.
Early bird companies: Speechki (text-to-audio AI), PingSafe (cloud security platform), WunderGraph (unified API framework), Cure (electrolyte drink startup).
Tomorrow’s products today: Smart feeder, scar tape, wide toe shoes, glycolic acid serum.
Early Bird Companies
Speechki
Speechki is a text-to-audio AI platform.
Unlike many other text-to-audio AI platforms, they specifically target the audiobook market.
Which is why they charge $120 for a single hour of audio production (a much higher price than the industry average).
Part of this cost is due to human review: after an audiobook is generated, a Speechki employee will “proof-listen” to ensure everything sounds as it should.
The platform offers 341 voices in 77 languages.
The startup has raised $750K in funding.
What’s next:
Speechki is part of the Text-to-Audio AI meta trend.
Searches for “text-to-audio AI” have increased by 3,400% over the past 24 months.
Here are a few trending text-to-audio AI platforms:
Synthesia can turn text into speech in 120 languages. The platform also provides AI avatars for videos.
WellSaid Labs is a text-to-speech platform that allows for real-time collaboration on projects. The startup is largely focused on training and compliance videos.
Murf is an AI voice generator with over 120 voices and supports 20 languages.
PingSafe
PingSafe is a cloud security platform designed to safeguard multi-cloud environments.
According to the company, they have detailed knowledge of how attackers typically operate. Which allows them to scan cloud infrastructures from an attacker’s point of view, and potentially detect vulnerabilities that have the highest probability of affecting multi-cloud workloads.
PingSafe is used by over 400 organizations, including major companies like Facebook, Uber and Twitter.
The startup has raised $3M in funding.
What’s next:
PingSafe is part of the Cloud Security Tool meta trend.
Cloud breaches and leaks are on the rise.
80% of organizations have experienced at least one cloud breach over the last 12 months. And 45% of all data breaches currently occur in the cloud.
Even a single cloud breach can be costly. According to IBM, the average cloud breach costs around $5M.
Which is driving demand for cloud security platforms.
Searches for “cloud security tool” have increased by 271% over the past 24 months.
WunderGraph
WunderGraph is an open-source framework used to build backends for frontends.
The framework creates a unified API that allows developers to access information across all databases and services.
This way, developers can use a single command to create customized backends for their websites, apps, and other software applications.
The startup is growing by around 10% every month.
The project has over 1,600 stars on GitHub.
WunderGraph has raised $3M in funding.
What’s next:
WunderGraph is part of the BFF (Backend for Frontend) Framework meta trend.
Searches for “backend for frontend” have increased by 249% over the past five years.
In a traditional client-server architecture, frontend applications often need multiple requests to different backend services to fetch the required data.
This can result in increased network latency.
The BFF framework involves the creation of a dedicated backend service that serves as a middle layer between the frontend and the various backend services.
It allows frontend developers to work with a single API endpoint that provides all the necessary data in the format and structure required by the frontend.
Cure
Cure is a DTC electrolyte drink mix startup.
The startup sells ten core SKUs. Cure’s main selling point is that their mixes have zero sugar and lots of sodium.
In fact, Cure’s mixes have 240 mg of sodium, which is 2x higher than zero-sugar Gatorade.
The startup’s revenue has grown by 230% annually since 2019.
Cure expects to expand their retail presence to 15,000 stores by the end of 2023 (they were in 4,000 stores in 2021).
The startup has raised $8.2M in funding.
What’s next:
Cure is part of the Electrolyte Mix meta trend.
Searches for “electrolyte mix” have increased by 655% over the past five years.
Electrolyte mixes are emerging as a cheaper, more customizable alternative to traditional sports drinks.
Key Nutrients, LMNT and Ultimate Replenisher are trending electrolyte mix brands.
This popular electrolyte mix tub brings in approximately $200K/month on Amazon.
Tomorrow’s Products Today
Smart Feeder
Smart feeders automatically dispense food to pets on a schedule or through a mobile app.
This helps automate the process of scheduling meals and ensuring the pet is eating the right amount of food each day.
Interest in this product category is growing largely due to the brand Petlibro.
Searches for “Petlibro automatic feeder” have increased by 633% over the past five years.
This popular smart feeder generates approximately $209K/month on Amazon.
What’s next:
Smart feeders are part of the Pet Health Accessories meta trend.
The pet health market is estimated to be approximately $40B.
While pet drugs make up the largest share of this market, health-related accessories are a growing sub-segment of this market.
Here are examples of examples of trending pet health accessories:
Slow feeder bowls have a series of holes, walls, and shapes that make it more difficult for a pet to eat.
Smart dog collars can track various metrics and inform owners when these indicators change.
Elevated bowls are feeding bowls that help release pressure off a pet’s neck when eating or drinking.
Scar Tapes
Scar tapes are chemical-free tapes for treating scar tissue.
Specifically, scar tapes keep the skin tight and covered, which helps speed up recovery.
Interest in this product category can be mainly attributed to TikTok. Videos about scar tapes have over 810 million views on the platform.
Specifically, the TikTok community is interested in scar tapes made of silicone.
(Searches for “silicone scar tape” have grown by 628% over the past five years.)
Whereas videos mentioning silicone scar tapes have over 3.9 billion views on TikTok.
Importantly, silicone scar tape doesn’t pull or peel off skin when removed, making it pain-free.
This box of scar tape generates approximately $110K/month on Amazon.
What’s next:
Scar tapes are part of the MedicalTok meta trend.
TikTok has become home to a massive online community dedicated to at-home medical care advice.
In fact, approximately 20% of Americans consult TikTok before they talk to their doctor for health advice.
Medtok videos have over 3.8 billion views on the platform.
Whereas the hashtag #medicaltiktok has over 5.7 billion views to date.
Wide Toe Shoes
Wide-toe shoes are designed to accommodate individuals with broader feet or those who prefer more room in the toe area of a shoe.
Specifically, these shoes have a wider and more spacious forefront area than standard shoes, providing additional comfort and preventing discomfort or pinching of the toes.
Wide-toe shoes can benefit individuals who experience problems like bunions, hammertoes, or overlapping toes.
This pair of wide-toe shoes generates approximately $40K/month on Amazon.
What’s next:
Wide toe shoes are part of the Toe Adjustment meta trend.
More than 100 million Americans have bunions (making it one of the most common foot problems in the US).
And toe adjustments are receiving growing attention on social media.
In fact, videos about toe adjustment have over 4.2 billion views on TikTok.
Toe spacers are an especially fast-growing toe adjustment product.
(Searches for “toe spacers” have grown by 334% over the past five years.)
Bunion correctors are another example.
TikTok videos about bunion correctors have over 1.1 billion views.
This highly-rated bunion corrector generates around $290K/month on Amazon.
Glycolic Acid Serum
Glycolic acid serums are known for their exfoliating and skin-renewing effects.
(Glycolic acid is a natural compound derived from beets, sugarcane and certain fruits.)
The product is often used to exfoliate because it breaks down the bonds that hold dead skin cells together.
Videos about glycolic acid serums have over 110 million views on TikTok.
Interest in this product category is growing largely due to the brand The Ordinary.
Searches for “The Ordinary glycolic acid serum” have increased by 700% over the past five years.
This highly-rated glycolic acid serum brings in approximately $200K/month on Amazon.
What’s next:
Glycolic acid serums are part of the Glycolic Acid Skincare meta trend.
Glycolic acid is becoming an increasingly popular skincare ingredient because it has a small molecular size, allowing it to penetrate the skin more deeply than other acids.
Examples of trending products in this category include:
Glycolic acid lotions are typically thicker in texture than serums, making them better suited for people with more sensitive skin.
Glycolic acid moisturizers are particularly beneficial for those with dry or aging skin.
Glycolic acid sprays are typically lightweight and fast-absorbing, making them ideal for use alongside other skincare products, such as moisturizers.