One surefire way to commune with nature used to be a walk on a tree-lined path, or looking out the window. Life combines earth, water, air, and the sun to provide sustenance. In a time when air is bottled and the outside world has been transformed into a technological concrete jungle, mindfulness may be the antidote to our estrangement from nature. Brands are now incorporating mindfulness into their offerings. The concept of food, objects, and water having energy dates back to Taoist monks who advocated a natural lifestyle to attain enlightenment. Modern brands are using the natural approach to enhance their products and to express positive messages to create a sense of unity.
Beer happiness
Technology can be a key component in mindfulness. It is as powerful as imagination and can unite the world through digital communications. Case in point, IBM Watson is a powerful tool to expand human capabilities when partnered with the right brand. Havas helia Agency’s team used the super intelligent system to create New Year beer 0101. The team researched all the social media messages posted during the ringing in of 2015 categorized them by emotion. The next step in the concept was to compile almost 3,000 recipes, tasting notes, and reviews to find the perfect formula. Havas Helia concluded the top three ingredients were honey (love and cheerfulness), the Nelson Sauvin hop variety (optimism), and the Hallertauer (thrills), which were all brewed together at High Peak Brew Company, a microbrewery. Based on their social experiment, Havas Helia offered 10 selections that expressed goodwill on the momentous occasion that fit personality types. While we can’t always express the excitement of a fresh start, the beer bottles the optimism we all feel once a year at midnight.
Good vibrations
In the 1990s Dr. Masaru Emoto set out to prove that a word’s vibration can alter natural elements. He tested out this theory on glasses of water. The pioneer froze H2O that had responded to prayers, music, and words and hired photographers to capture the crystalline structure. Tangible evidence allowed for numerous discussions on the impact of words. In multiple religions, a designated holy man speaks over water and proclaims it blessed. The same can be done by a regular person who has only the best of intentions according to the theory of mindfulness. Considering that humans are 60 percent water, there might be a need to refocus energy to light and love to improve the world around us. This experiment has created a wave of new products that focuses around this idea.
Suds up
The shower is a quiet, safe place free of electronics and the noise of the outside world. Many get their best ideas as they soap themselves awake. Given morning rushes, a gentle reminder to think positively might prove beneficial. Soap To Live By brings a mindful element into their soaps. The soaps offers hand-mixed, -poured, and -cut products featuring tree-free labels each with an inspiring word; dream, laugh, hope, joy, live. The soap hopes to create a positive flow of energy; every purchase secures that a tree is planted as a tribute to your patronage. A bar of mindfulness may put everyone on the path to kindness and happiness. Soaps To Live By is one example of a brand that took Dr. Emoto’s idea and infused it into their brand fabric. Many other brands have gravitated towards this idea. Juicera’s original juice label had a cloud of mindful words around the label with the same idea that these positive words would affect the juice molecules inside.
Be Positive
Whether you are using positive mindful words in your packaging or to create your product, positive messaging is another great approach. Some companies like Toms, have created positive brand messaging through donating a pair for every pair sold. Another is Thrive Causemetics who from every purchase made donates to a woman in need, delivering their products + services to women going through cancer treatment at hospitals + events around the world.
Bob’s Red Mill found that “positive messages sell best” and with “the simplest possible packaging” to communicate as “evident truth” that whole are natural. Visually (imagery of wheat fields, golden sunsets, tap into the consumers desire to have natural products) they tap into the idea the this is the closest a consumer can get “without wearing your field boots”. The key to their successful campaign is their authenticity and positive messaging. Whatever you direction you decide is best for your brand, be sure though whatever you do is the real deal or it could haunt you in the long-run
Takeaway
Mindfulness is not just sitting in a cave, chanting in a remote location. It is a pathway in life that should be traveled daily. Beer can be a spiritual experience, as can taking a shower. As Emoto demonstrated with his photographs, the world responds to our intentions both seen and unseen. Whether you choose to put positive messaging in your packaging, in your campaign or through a cause, becoming part of the mindfulness movement by instilling your product with goodwill and compassion will yield positive results and bringing you more sales.
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