GOOD THINKING 2026 Predictions 🔮 across every category
Welcome to Year 2 of GOOD FUTURE. Everything you should be watching in 2026.
Unlike a typical issue, most of these links lead back to past GOOD THINKING issues, so you can dive deeper into each topic. It’s a rabbit-hole wonderland.
Each prediction comes with a counter-prediction: the pendulum swing. These two realities will live simultaneously, sometimes appealing to the same consumer. This email is long. It might be cut off. Read it in the app.
In the podcast episode, we dive deep into each of these, unpacking them more. It’s not just a reading of the list but a guide to help you understand each prediction more. Hit the titles to skip to the bits you fancy! And this year, we went even BIGGER. Now, if you’re eager to share this with your team, colleagues, boss, mom, bestie, or just want to be even more consumed, we made a site with all the predictions, pics, and examples, explainers and AMAZING guest predictions (that we’ll be discussing and sharing here in the new year!) from so many incredible contributors including Ochuko Akpovbovbo, Matt Klein, Michelle Blaser, ANU, Marie Dollé, Jamie Rosen | Beauty Notes, Devi Rhodes, Fred Hart, Michael Abata, Danielle Greenberg, Jenny Evans, Ben Varquez, Einat Israeli, Victoria Buchanan, and Women in Brand.
Let’s dive in!
05:22 — CULTURE
INNER WORLDBUILDING // Culture is swinging inwards. As the constant availability of knowledge increases, we are reclaiming intuition, privacy, and unshared experience. In 2026, we place more boundaries. Protection from the prying eyes of strangers’ lenses, the near-invisible listening and recording devices that are always on, and AI sleuthing that allows anyone to know anything. This isn’t just about evasion. It’s about valuing your gut, keeping things for just you and your close friends. We’re building inner worlds.
* ‘Camouflage Culture’ rises. “The run you don’t track, the party you don’t post.”
* Group chats become a ‘channel.’
* ‘Algorithmic Evasion’ sounds sensible and not sci-fi.
* No-camera zones become standard practice.
* ‘Intuition’ regains validity. Improvisation is seen as a valued skill.
The pendulum swing?Radical spectacle rises. As inner worlds get gated, shared experiences get bigger. Brands build wonderlands to compete with AI for attention. Building brand in this era will be about showing up. And our expectation is brands go big or not come home with us.
13:13 — F&B
BIOLOGICAL DINING // Food becomes a protocol. Biology is replacing diet culture. Think: mitochondria health, hormone regulation, vitamin absorption, glucose-safe, recovery enhancing. We want our food to be working for us, not against us.
* ‘Deuterium-depleted’, ‘hydrogen-packed’, we get comfortable with scientific terms.
* Patented ingredients like low-absorption fats become power plays.
* Non-glucose-spiking becomes a strong position.
* Creatine-infused milks arrive from a major player, not just a niche brand.
* The wearables are everywhere, and smaller. Tooth-worn wearables aren’t extreme.
* DoorDash or [insert delivery brand here], powered by AI, allows you to customize biology-supporting meal delivery.
The pendulum swing?Food bites into entertainment experiences. As many brands turn to hard facts, other swing toward lore, play, and worldbuilding. Every surface and touchpoint is an opportunity. Character IP booms. Restaurants become cinematic extensions. Brand mythologies become an essential brand-building tool.
18:45 — DRUGS & BOOZE
HIGHLY USEFUL // Drugs will get rebranded as productivity and recovery tools. The stigma dissolves, and we shift our perception from escape to enhancement.
* Psychedelics get longevity framing.
* Ketamine is increasingly recognized as a focus/ADHD aid.
* More states fund Ibogaine trials for PTSD and more.
* ‘Clean’ nicotine mainstreams. It’s on the shelves in offices. And locker rooms.
* GABA gets more energy.
* Even cannabis is getting a more generous lens.
The pendulum swing?Let’s live a little makes a comeback. Vices regain popularity. A glass of wine, a late night, and a cheeky cigarette are no longer counter to your other lifestyle goals. Think: moderation in a more extreme way.
24:21 — SILVERS
POST-DEMO // Age and stage no longer map to behavior. Mindset > metadata.
* Brand books with age demos become laughable.
* Kids are sushi connoisseurs and edit like expert showrunners.
* Silvers are doing Hyrox competitions, gaming nightly, and cruising constantly. Retirement is a sport.
* Millennials and young Gen-X begin electing for part-time retirement as job cuts reframe careers. Fractional work is the new norm in this cohort.
* Senior sports get reinvented. Mixed-age teams and strategy-forward formats built for older bodies emerge and are welcomed.
The pendulum swing?Aging is assisted, but not in assisted living centers. Exoskeletons replace canes. AI lenses for vision makes bifocals history. Hearing gets truly augmented. Regular homes are transformed to allow for longer aging in place. Even advanced healthcare comes in-home as remote monitoring becomes easily accessible, and healthcare distrust/staffing shortages make patients feel safer with loved ones.
30:35 — ALPHAS & ZS
ALPHA AGENCY // Kids aren’t passive consumers anymore. They’re co-authors. Alphas gain real influence at home and in culture. Brands start designing for participation, not passivity.
* Tweens drive family viewing and large purchases.
* Kids focus on soft skills and learn to be persuasive.
* Cars, homes, tech, all have to appeal co-generationally.
* Participation expectations and tools explode. Alphas assume your IP is theirs to play with.
* Kids (and their parent) will craft their own versions of shows to fit their personal interests.
The pendulum swing?They embrace self-selected digital hermit-dom. Not completely, but often. As Alphas’ agency expands online, the countermove is retreat. Post-social media worlds emerge where teens make the rules away from prying eyes. And quiet, analog, real-time experiences and interests rise. They are doing it not for the feed but for the fun. Think long, slow experiences like movies, golf, chess, the list goes on. But don’t be fooled, they won’t be playing it in your old-school ways.
38:38 — RETAIL
FULL SPLIT // This trend is a full pendulum swing in and of itself. Shopping is going to split into two extremes: effortless automation or intentional effort. AI will handle transactions instantly. And, physical retail swings towards immersion and old-school brand building.
* For example: Car dealerships become about the experience and brand. Your AI agents handle the negotiations end-to-end.
* LLMs will get ads. And we learn to ignore them. Brand building is about to become paramount.
* Luxury goes full experiential. Planes, trains, boats, art galleries and hotels are the new retail store. But you can track the price of your purchase before you make it. Spas reach new heights. But AI-tailored treatments enter the chat.
* Vintage thrives (even in luxury) as provenance beats AI slop and tariff-induced cost-cutting measures lower quality to impossible-to-justify standards. Smart brands will take note.
The pendulum swing?Invite-only aisles replace public browsing. Anti-algorithmic, ‘taste-driven’ platforms rise. Friend-vetted, invite-only/members-only, no-website stores become bigger. No digital or AI layering here.
46:58 — TECH
TRUST COLLAPSE // When everything looks real, nothing feels real. AI is making influencers indistinguishable from their digital twins. Trust becomes the word of the year.
* Brands generate perfect AI creators, ushering in a new era of character IP.
* Influencers outsource themselves to clones, and the industry collapses under the fakery.
* Students outsource their taste to AI.
* Human-made and the ‘evidence’ proving the fact becomes a point of pride and a needed standard.
* Brands that breach trust and plant seeds of doubt. A ‘made by humans’ stamp, like ‘Organic’ emerges. But much like the former, we don’t know what to believe.
* Ultra simple, human-focused content surges.
* Recommendations change venues. We trust our train AIs over influencers.
* Brands hire human experts to infuse humanity into robots and AI systems to make them more appealing.
The pendulum swing?Influence shifts to intimacy. IRL, face-to-face, local communities, real experts, and small groups where you know the person in front of you isn’t a clone go wild. Meet-ups, audience gatherings, niche communities (including on group chats that filter bots) get bigger. Disconnection has been predicted for years, but we’re demanding it now.
53:17 — SPORT
AMATEUR GLORY // Amateur sport becomes the main event. Creator leagues, street tournaments, and amateur leagues become the real entertainment. And snag major league ad deals and the glory.
* High-stakes peer leagues grow.
* Fan festivals become competition hubs.
* Neighborhood tournaments get elite-level branding and facilities.
* Everyday-athlete competitions surge, hosted in spectacular venues.
* Fan proximity expectations deepen.
* Fans become the media. Superstars become guests. Amateurs take the trophies and the revenue.
The pendulum swing?Recovery becomes a serious sport. Social saunas, no-workout-full-recovery gyms, and wellness dayclubs turn restoration into the main event. Brain massages, recovery treats, and plunge/bathing pop-ups spread. Smart mattresses and wearables turn recovery scores into status.
58:18 — WELLNESS & BEAUTY
EVERYDAY INTERVENTION // Wellness shifts from self-care to self-intervention. People treat their bodies like systems to tune, upgrade, and augment. Biohacking but commonplace, zero feelings of ‘that’s extreme.’ Self-diagnostics become routine and expected.
* Peptides on every corner, not just in whispers.
* NAD+ is everywhere, but injectables become the only acceptable format.
* Full-body scans, biomarkers and bloodwork become as standard as aspirin.
* Brain health becomes a daily score.
* Apps help people taper off meds as they take health into their own hands.
The pendulum swing?
A rise in ‘Wellness Anarchists’. People want quality without restriction and reject rigid protocols. Doing less grows (not just in wellness), valuing silence, pause, and boredom over optimized routines. And the highest flex becomes the run you don’t track. A move toward unlogged and unposted à la ‘Inner Worldbuilding’ but with a side of ‘f**k-around-and-find-out.’
01:02:02 — TRAVEL
POTENCY ON DEMAND // We’re more desperate to feel things. Travel becomes a way to dose intensity, not escape it. High-effort experiences meet zero-effort logistics. Extreme rituals, niche skills, experimental treatments, without any hassle.
* Extreme retreats go mainstream. Bridesmaids book themselves into darkness.
* Biohacked expeditions are the new extreme ‘travel hack.’
* Medical and cosmetic tourism accelerates. A new ‘Korea’ emerges, possibly stateside.
* ‘Temperament’ tourism begins. Prescribed trips for your well-being.
* Hotels offer unparalleled ‘best money can buy’ amenities, but they better be maximalist.
* AI concierges remove friction. Humans add the ‘human-tested adrenaline’ overtop.
The pendulum swing?Zero-intensity travel. Dead-zone escapes, phone-free spaces, and do-nothing itineraries gain cultural capital. Silence, boredom, and unstructured weekends become the ultimate luxury. Things like ‘knit and chat’ become a week-long affair. The trip where nothing happens on purpose—Bricked on arrival.
01:05:16 — FUN FOR THE YEAR
DISCOVERY SCRAMBLE // AI buries small businesses, but newsletters surface them. AI flattens search and pushes everything toward the same, or worse, aggregate answers. Niche brands and small businesses are harder to stumble upon. But newsletters become the new discovery engine.
MEDIA MUTATES (AGAIN) // Old media will die, and new media fractures more. Substack, newsletters, and creator-led journalism become the new power centers. Until they don’t. Big names want out from under platform fees and rules, causing things to splinter into a new version of the old guard.
HIGH-EFFORT EVERYTHING // Time to lean into: harder to make, harder to fake, harder to find, harder to follow. As AI floods the market with slop, high-effort output matters. People want the thing that took time, skill, taste, or pain to produce. Campaigns look different in this light. High production is no longer synonymous with effort. High creativity is. And don’t forget to document the process.
AI OVERRUN // Rapid AI adoption breaks the bubble (and the workforce). AI goes into overdrive: mass adoption, mass efficiency, and the very real possibility of a bubble popping. Brands confront the idea of doing more with fewer humans. But all is not lost. A new wave of solo entrepreneurs emerges. Think: 5x the Covid entrepreneur-boom, powered entirely by AI tools. 2-person shops become powerhouses.
ROBOT NORMALCY // Little bots are about to go mainstream. Not creepy humanoids but helpers. Tiny, non-threatening robots that water plants, deliver groceries, check inventory, guide guests, run errands, and quietly reshape expectations of convenience. Waymo becomes boring. Doorstep robots become standard.
REACTIVE TO RECOMMENDED // AI is about to flip the script. Fueled by your millions of late-night queries, access to your calendar/email, and your wearable, it will know what you need before you do. An anticipatory underlayer to your life. Gift for your daughter’s friend’s party next week? Ordered when you added it to the calendar. Midnight fever? Genexa at your door in the morning. Recommended is the new reaction.
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That’s all, folx.
I can’t thank you enough for all the love, energy, and support you’ve given the letter this year. This year you’re enthusiasm has had us buzzing. Because of you, we’re speaking at SXSW 2026! Gave talks at Ollie, Brands & Culture and J.P. Morgan this year.
If you feel like giving me a gift this year, give this a share. And give us a vote for SXSW London 2026. And book us to speak at your next event or team offsite. Reach out! chris@weareingoodco.com.
Drop any and all questions into the comments!
I can’t wait to be back in 2026, bigger and better than year. I’ll be back in your inbox early January.
Happy holidays and happy new year!
ABOUTChris and Kirsten are the founders of IN GOOD CO, a consultancy that ignites challenger brands with fearless and proactive positioning.
Chris writes a weekly newsletter for +16K subscribers that shares the best-of-the-best on culture, trends, marketing, etc. What she's dropping to friends on Slack or finding useful in meetings with brands | Follow her on Substack
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