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From the sober curious trend to the growing mushroom decor craze, consumers have already begun foraging for fresh and new finds in 2023. Now, as we turn from winter to spring, searches in the Faire marketplace are showing a new set of sprouting trends, proving that spring shopping is currently at the forefront of retailers’ minds. Searches for “spring” already reached almost 10,000 in January of this year, topping 2022’s record monthly high of 7,000.
Like most years, Easter-related searches are currently topping the charts, and popular Easter products on Faire include bright and pastel-forward decor, greeting cards, and, of course, lots of sweets and chocolate. (We’ve got a whole Easter collection you can shop here.)
But what are wholesale buyers stocking up on that’s out of the ordinary? We’ve been scouring global search and buying data from the Faire marketplace to uncover emerging trends for the coming season. Here, we’ve curated a list of five growing trends that are sure to captivate your customers this spring.
Journals, craft kits, and mindful activities
This year, consumers have begun setting their sights on personal development and products that inspire deep thinking. Etsy recently predicted an emphasis on wellness products that will emerge in consumers in the early months of 2023, and Pinterest recently noted a 220% increase in searches for “journal writing prompts therapy” and a 3755% increase in searches for “art journal therapy”. On Faire, January saw the highest number of global orders for journals since the summer of 2022, and searches for “journals” reached around 5,500 monthly searches, almost doubling since the month prior.
UK shoppers are specifically searching for affirmation notes, daily mindfulness cards, and other activities that facilitate mindfulness—all of which were among the most popular products in the Stationery & Writing category this year.
But it’s not just mindfulness memorabilia that’s proving a hit. Creative juices are well and truly flowing, with Crafts & Hobbies taking the top spot in the Paper & Novelty category in both January and December. In fact, 7 of the top 10 products in the UK in the past three months have been home crafting kits that encourage focus.
Shop journals, craft kits, and products for mindfulness from LSW London, Mål Paper, Be Wholesome, Made with Love by Tom Daley, and more.
Adaptogenic Drinks
UK shoppers are putting their health first this year—both mental and physical—and they’re turning to drink to do so. We’re not talking about chugging beers, though. Instead, shoppers are searching for tea and coffee beverages that contain herbal and plant-based ingredients to stimulate mental alertness, increase energy levels, or help them destress. Natural immunity teas, including sleep teas and adaptogenic coffee blends, were some of the most popular products in the Coffee & Tea category over the past three months.
We’ve also seen an increase in searches for alcohol-free drinks. All across the UK, consumers are ditching the hangovers in favour of alcohol alternatives that taste good without the grim next-day headache. We only have to look at the rise of alcohol-free tasting rooms like London’s Club Soda and the explosion of adaptogenic menus to see this in action. The hashtag #mocktail has more than 770 million global views on TikTok and the hashtag #adaptogens has over 80 million.
At Faire, we’ve seen a 250% year-over-year increase in the number of searches for “non-alcoholic” and “alcohol-free” drinks between 2021 and 2022. In fact, some of the top beverages in the UK in December 2022 and January 2023 were non-alcoholic beers and vegan kombuchas packed full of natural ingredients.
Shop adaptogenic drinks and non-alcoholic beverages from London Nootropics, NUDITEA, Maverick Drinks, Three Spirits Drinks, and more.
Refill shop products
Refill shops—independent stores that aim to reduce plastic waste by offering products like washing powder and washing up liquid in large containers from which customers can fill up their own bottles—have also become increasingly popular over the past couple of years.
On Faire, searches for “refill” peaked in the past year, with a 100% year-over-year increase from 2022 to 2023. UK consumers are ready to say goodbye to one-use plastics for good. They’re actively on the hunt for reusable bottles which have risen in popularity on Faire over the past three months. There’s also been a recent trend in brands collaborating with other brands that offer refill supplies like natural cleaning concentrates in bulk or large containers of makeup remover to increase their sustainability efforts. Take Refill Therapy, for example, a London-based retailer that purchases many of its refill products on Faire.
CTA: Shop products for refill stations from brands like Wild Deodorant, Miniml, Earth Conscious, Home Things, and more.
Tinned fish
Dubbed the “hottest new extremely old trend” by Morning Brew, tinned fish products like canned sardines, tuna, anchovies, and more are soaring in popularity. Some credit this rise in interest to social media. On TikTok, videos using the hashtags #tinfishdatenight and #tinnedfish have raked in over 20 million views, and clips of charcuterie boards featuring artistic arrangements of crackers, cheese, and tinned fish abound. According to a report by Grand View Research in April 2022, the global canned seafood market is expected to reach over £41 billion by 2030.
On Faire, searches for “fish”—which largely yield results for canned fish products—have increased 110% year over year from early 2022 to early 2023. Tinned fish products have also landed among the top five most popular products in the Dairy & Meats category in the past two months. In addition, aside from candy (the most popular category across all of Faire in 2022), tinned fish was among the top 2% of most popular products in the Food & Drink category in December 2022 and January 2023. Finally, between January 2022 and January 2023, there’s been a 130% increase in the number of tinned fish products sold in the Dairy & Meats category.
“Tinned fish is very hot right now,” says chef Sara Hauman, founder of Tiny Fish Co. and self-proclaimed fish nerd. “Tiny Fish Co. has been growing steadily and organically over the past 12 months, and products are selling at a much more rapid pace. Within the past few months, interest in ‘fancy fish in a can’ has been surging, almost doubling from what it had been in previous months.”
Fill your shelves with tinned fish goodness from brands like La Truitelle, Il Fattore, the Tiny Fish Co., and more.
Cowboy apparel, nostalgic styles, and other apparel trends
In the past two months, searches for cowboy-style apparel—clothing that draws inspiration from or celebrates the Wild West—have skyrocketed. In January and February 2023, “western” was among the top 10 search terms of the month. In January, global searches for “western” numbered about 10,000, a 100% increase from just one month prior. On Faire, popular western-style clothing includes ripped or flared jeans, cowboy hats, graphic tees featuring cowboys, horses, horseshoes, and cowboy print tops or pants.
In addition to cowboy apparel, global trend forecasting agency WGSN predicts that bohemian silhouettes and hand-crafted looks will be popular this spring. On Faire, we’ve already seen an increased interest in these styles, with purchases of products like crocheted tops from Mars knitwear and patchwork denim jeans from Hereticnine growing in the past three months.
Many of the popular apparel looks for this spring also draw on the past for inspiration. In their Spring/Summer ‘23 trend toolkit, WGSN states, “Consumers will look to the past for reference, altering our grasp of time, driving nostalgia, and giving rise to a renewed focus on an idealised past.” This nod to nostalgia can also be seen on the Faire marketplace. In the past three months, vintage flared jeans, like those from The Ragged Priest, and styles from the 90s and early 2000s like halterneck tops, short skirts, and slip-on trainers have risen in rank among the most popular products in the past three months.
Shop these apparel trends and more on Showroom, and view the entire WGSN Spring/Summer ‘23 Trend Toolkit.
