Once a signifier of luxury or novelty, custom products and services are now within reach of the everyday consumer, thanks to the rise of artificial intelligence, algorithm-led platforms, and the COVID-era digitisation boom. Today, everyone wants to be the main character of their brand experience.

With health a high priority as a result of COVID-19, food has become even more central to the way people think about wellbeing, causing many to shake up their diets. Yet this is not the sole reason behind Germany’s shift towards veganism. What’s fuelling the nation’s appetite for plant-based foods?

Face masks may protect people from the coronavirus when they enter a restaurant, but what happens when they want to eat? A French designer has come up with a solution: lampshade-like shields that create private safe spaces, a picture of what eating out could look like post-COVID-19.

A top chef is launching an at-home delivery service that empowers consumers by letting them choose how much to pay. With some people struggling financially and others more socially conscious of how the pandemic affects small biz, they’re looking to brands to adapt to the new normal.

French society is famously food-centric, with long lunches and pre-dinner drinks forming part of daily rituals. But with COVID-19 having confined people to their homes, dining habits have had to change as a necessity. How might the crisis reshape mealtime behaviours in the long term?