Space is always of interest and an ongoing inspiration for fashion, consumer packaged goods, and travel. Creative food and beverage translations, innovation in new food and beverages that can be consumed in space, and the luxury of space travel in the near future, are the latest activities happening.
SPACE THEMED PRODUCTS
Space continues to inspire creative space themed beauty, food, and beverages. In December 2023, Lush created a space-themed installation at London’s Outernet entertainment venue. Visitors engaged in a multi-dimensional and immersive experience. The Intergalactic Universe scent-infused half an hour holiday campaign animation explored the brand’s intergalactic offering and promoted “out-of-this-world gifts” for the season. Additional holiday brand activations included the Black Hole photo booth in Lush Oxford Street and a glow in the dark scented mural in Whitechapel. In March, Kylie Jenner debuted her first scent Cosmic described as a sweet, warm floral with notes of jasmine, blood orange, golden amber, red peony, vanilla musk, and cedarwood. It is packaged in a sculptural bottle “that was designed to look like a piece of art from another world” and available in three refillable sizes, which each have a unique shape.
Energy drink brand Celsius has added two new flavors to its Space Vibe collection. The Astro Vibe “is inspired by the infinite adventure of space travel” and features the sweetness of blue raspberries. Galaxy Vibe is made with a blend of strawberries and watermelon and “is inspired by the space-themed retro-galactical trend.” Mondelēz International introduced limited-edition Oreo Space Dunk Cookies with a contest for one winner to take a trip into space. The Oreo Space Dunk Cookies are marshmallow flavored stuffed layers of blue and pink cosmic crème infused with popping candies. Each cookie is emblazoned with one of five galactic-themed embossments and has a cutout for consumers to peek at the crème inside. In partnership with Space Perspective, one lucky contestant will win “a space trip with the largest windows ever, a meal, cocktail service, Wi-Fi, and lavatory.” Perry’s Ice Cream released an Over the Moon flavor with a toffee ice cream base, swirls of crushed cookies, and sponge candy pieces. In honor of the April 8 eclipse, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream released the Punk Stargonaut collection in four flavors. The Supermoon flavor was brought back, and features notes of candied violet and marshmallow, while the Nebula Berry is a blueberry-raspberry-elderflower fusion. Cosmic Bloom is a tropical blend of mandarin, kiwi, and passion fruit, and Purple Star Born is a grape ice cream infused with Concord grapes and blackcurrants. In partnership with astronaut and researcher Kellie Gerardi, on April 8, SunChips is releasing The Solar Eclipse Limited-Edition Pineapple Habanero and Black Bean Spicy Gouda for the duration of the eclipse – 4 minutes and 27 seconds.
OUT OF SPACE
In addition to themed food and beverage products, brands are sending products to space. In January 2023, Mystic Farm & Distillery announced it was creating Mystic Galactic a heavily wheated, 100-proof bourbon. According to the brand, Galactic will be aged three years on the ground (ground control version) and then one year in space. For skeptics, buyers will receive a refund of their deposit funds if Mystic is unable to deliver the bourbon. Watchmaker Col&MacArthur has added LUNAR1,622, a NASA-approved titanium watch with real moon dust from a meteorite to its Interstellar collection. The watch honors the Apollo 11 landing and the first steps on the moon. It is available in steel or titanium covered with sapphire glass. When purchased, consumers will receive a link to the laboratory analysis with details about the meteorite and a certificate of authentication.
EATING AND DRINKING IN SPACE
Products that are designed to be consumed or worn in space are an area of exploration. Drinking and eating in space is challenging and a popular subject of interest because of the low-gravity environment. Researchers and scientists are developing products that address the specific conditions of microgravity. Tired of drinking water in a bag with a straw, NASA astronaut Donald Pettit designed the Capillary Cup, an open drinking zero-gravity cup on the International Space Station. According to a Food Navigator article, researchers have developed the ‘perfect meal’ for male astronauts. It is a salad made up of soybeans, poppy seeds, barley, kale, peanuts, sweet potato, and sunflower seeds. The ingredients in the meal can be efficiently grown in space and are nutritional. In the future, researchers will use a similar method to develop a meal for female astronauts. The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) revealed that Maple Cream Cookies, Maple Syrup, Shrimp Curry With Rice, Smoked Salmon, and Strawberry Lavender Superseed Cereal will be the food that will be flying on board Artemis II. In January 2021, NASA started the Deep Space Food Challenge asking companies to propose novel ways to develop sustainable foods for future missions. As part of phase 2, in January 2023, 8 teams of 200 companies were selected and awarded $750,000 in prizes to build and demonstrate their full-scale food technologies. Phase 3 is the final phase of the challenge, and the winners will be announced in April 2024. Air Company, the company responsible for Air Vodka and Air Perfume was one of the eight winners. The company “pioneered a way of recycling carbon dioxide exhaled by astronauts in flight to grow yeast-based nutrients for protein shakes designed to nourish crews on long-duration deep-space missions.”
FASHIONABLE SPACE TRAVEL
From fashion to travel, the cosmic universe is a luxury slowly becoming obtainable by the super wealthy. Fashion house Prada is partnering with Axiom Space to design the spacesuits for NASA’s 2025 Artemis III mission. Christina Hammock Koch will be the first woman astronaut crew member. According to the press release, “Prada’s engineers will work with the Axiom Space systems team throughout the design process, including developing materials and design features that are fit for a mission in the lunar environment.” For the FW24 show, Parisian fashion house Coperni debuted an Air Swipe Bag made of 99% air and 1% glass. Coperni co-developed the Air Swipe Bag with Professor Ioannis Michaloudis using NASA’s nanomaterial silica aerogel. In 2023, French space company Zephalto announced it was accepting bookings for travel in 2025. The company is planning to launch luxury trips aboard Céleste, a high-tech balloon, which can accommodate up to six guests. The entire journey is about six hours, three of which travelers will enjoy meals by French chefs, a guided wine tasting by the onboard sommelier, a view from the stratosphere, and the luxury interior designed by Joseph Dirand. Included in the ticket price is an option to speak to a psychologist before the trip. You can reach for the stars starting at $132,000 per person. Alef Aeronautics, a flying car firm, has received 2,850 preorders for the Alef Model A two-seater flying car priced at $300,000.
With NASA’s target launch of September 2025 for Artemis II (the first crewed Artemis mission around the Moon) followed by September 2026 for Artemis III, and 2028 for Artemis IV, space travel is soon to become a reality. Expect to see more space themed products, food and beverages designed for consumption in space, and luxury travel.
Reach for the stars. Let Trendincite LLC custom-design an out of this world trend excursion, an over the moon marketing presentation, cosmic blog post, or blast off and hire Amy Marks-McGee as a guest speaker.