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Beauty mogul and Rhode founder Hailey Bieber recently posted a a series of editorial photos on her Instagram to tease an upcoming collaboration with Fila. One of the pictures is not like the rest. In it, Bieber is caught mid-gasp as an artful collection of vibrant carrots, ripe bananas, and glossy tomatoes tumble from a brown bag cradled in her arm. The image has ignited an impassioned discussion on social media. One X user wrote of Biebers post, That one influencer that predicted fresh food would become part of fashion in 2025, because groceries are too expensive, & its a status symbol to waste fresh produce ate so bad. The influencer in question is TikTok user @kfesteryga, whose account is dedicated to tracking where food is being positioned as a status symbol, from the Instagram accounts of the Kardashians to the bodice of Zendayas Met Gala outfit. While this theory is finding traction online (the aforementioned tweet has already racked up 507,000 likes), produce-as-status-symbol is a trend thats actually been cooking in various forms for years. According to Andrea Hernández, author of the food and beverage trends newsletter Snaxshot, Its not new so much as its now getting more attention because of conspiracy-style TikTok videos. Food industry experts may have sniffed this out years ago, but now, flexing with vegetables is primed to go fully mainstreamand the reality of the phenomenon is pretty depressing. How did we get here? Groceries as a fashion statement can be traced all the way back to the 1930s, designer Elizabeth Goodspeed points out for Its Nice That. But the trend has seen several revivals over the years, including the bacon craze of the 2010s or the twee cupcake fad of the same era. In 2014, the grocery store itself became a site of high fashion when Chanel hosted a supermarket-themed show that was basically unavoidable on fashion Twitter. Months later, Kristen Stewart was photographed by Elle magazine sandwiched delicately between rows of lush green lettuce and processed peanut butter. In the past few years, the trend has trickled down from runways and magazine spreads into the hands of the average consumer, most often in the form of kitschy novelty goods. There have been bags inspired by Heinz packets and pizza boxes, hand-beaded butter purses, and enough tomato-inspired prints to last a lifetime. The food-inspired design frenzy has historically been unoffensive. Recently, though, a bleaker take on the trends appears to be emerging, and it strips away the glitz and whimsy to reveal the unfortunate truth: Fresh produce is increasingly considered a luxury good. Carrot-chic Ongoing inflation has consistently ranked as a central concern for Americans in the years since the pandemic, and 2025 is no different. According to a report this month from the Labor Department, the consumer price index increased 3% year-over-year. The index accounts for rises in key purchases like gas, cars, and groceries. [Groceries-as-luxury] is definitely a post-2020 sentiment, and as were halfway in the decade, its no surprise to see it permeate into the mainstream, Hernández says. Food scarcity and grocery prices skyrocketing is real, and our generation made fancy smoothies a form of affordable affluence. Its Gen Zs avocado toast trope. Indeed, despite outrage over the ever-increasing cost of living, Gen Z seems almost morbidly fascinated with trends like Erewhons $20 smoothies or, more recently, the stores viral $19 strawberry. You cant afford a house, but you can splurge on $25 smoothies, Hernández quips. Meanwhile, on social media, Gen Zers are earnestly romanticizing a frugal adult life, one that still seems out of reach in the current economic climate: One day youll be buying groceries to cook dinner in the small apartment you rent, a viral aspirational tweet reads. As grocery prices surge, luxury foods gain more mystique and social clout. Now, though, prices are so prohibitive that access to plain old produce is becoming a wealth signaler. Biebers recent Instagram post is one example of this shift, but, on her TikTok account, @kfesteryga has documented plenty of other recent instances of the trend. These include an Instagram story from Kim Kardashian highlighting an untouched plate of out-of-season grapes; a Stylist cover of Adam Brody next to a cake topped with bright red cherries; and a photo shoot of Pamela Anderson enjoying a multitier fruit platter. These posts show that theres no longer the need for the aesthetic trappings of the supermarket or the eye-catching repurposing of processed foods into leather handbags to convey a sense of exclusivity. A simple brown bag of carrots and bananas can do that all by itself.
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E-Commerce
Alexander Balan was on a California beach when the idea for a new kind of drone came to him. While tossing a football, he realized that its form factor could translate into a lightweight unmanned aerial system (UAS) designed for rapid deployment and autonomous targeting. This eureka moment led Balan to found Xdown, the company that’s building the P.S. Killer (PSK)an autonomous kamikaze drone that works like a hand grenade and can be thrown like a football. To create the PSK, Xdown teamed up with several defense companies, including Corvid Technologies, a North Carolina-based military contractor that specializes in the design, development, and prototyping of weapons systems. While the Xdown hasnt completed all the planned capabilities of the drone (it’s currently in the testing phase), its form factor, deployment mechanism, and propulsion system could completely change the way soldiers operate drones. Instead of depending on remote controls, the PSK will be operated by AI. And if the PSK works how Balan says it should, it could change the battlefield as we know it. The Xdown drone stands in sharp contrast to current first-person-view drones (FPV), which require time to set up (you need to put on goggles and gamepads for control) and the expertise to fly them. Balan, an engineer with a background in high-speed vertical takeoff and landing (HSVTOL) systems, has been a keen observer of the increasing use of low-cost drones in Ukraines defense against Russia, a force superior in numbers and equipment. Drones are the future of modern warfare, he says. With an estimated 15,500 Russian armored vehicles lost to Ukrainian FPVs, it’s fair to say drones are the present of modern warfare. But Balan believes that in a world where one second could be the difference between life and death, a drone needs to be more accessible and easily deployable. He says soldiers should be able to grab it, switch it on, and throw itjust like a football. Inside the design According to Balan, the football form factor serves two purposes. Operationally, the shape is so compact and sturdy that you can carry it anywhere. Made of composite material, the drone weighs 1.7 pounds when empty and is capable of carrying another 1.7 pounds, which could be an explosive head or other cargo. The PSK can carry one or two 40 mm grenades commonly used in grenade launchers today. The grenades could be high-explosive dual purpose, designed to penetrate armor while also creating an explosive fragmentation effect against personnel. These grenades can also airburstprogrammed to explode in the air above a target for maximum effect. This allows for multiple mission scenarios. Infantry, special operations, and counterterrorism units can easily store PSK drones in a field backpack and tote them around, taking one out to throw at any given time. They can also be packed by the dozen in cargo airplanes, which can fly over an area and drop swarms of them for targeted bombing runs in which each drone goes for a designated objective. Aerodynamically, the shape is also good for flight, Balan says, as any quarterback can tell you. The PSK has a thrust-vectoring propulsion system, which can both make it fly much longer and change its course as needed. Balan claims it can reach speeds of up to 135 knots and has a range of more than 40 miles. [Photo: Xdown] Once thrown, the device activates within two seconds in the air, deploying articulated stabilizer fins and rotor blades that appear from thin slots on its sides. The PSK is a throw-and-forget drone, Balan says, referencing the fire-and-forget missile that, once locked on to a target, can seek it on its own. The PSK is designed to autonomously identify and strike high-value targets such as armored vehicles, enemy UAVs, and personnel. He tells me that once Xdown finishes its development, the drone will eventually operate through multiple layers of targeting logic. The PSK is programmed with mission parameters and general target signatures, he says. This means that the AI knows what to look forsay, a Russian T-80 tankand go for it. Once deployed, its onboard AI processes data from optical cameras, infrared sensors, radar, and lidar to classify and track potential threats, Balan explains, noting that the system continuously evaluates battlefield conditions and selects targets based on predefined threat-assessment parameters. It can also serve as a reconnaissance drone when equipped with a video sensor head. When launched as a swarm, multiple PSKs will be able to communicate in real time, distributing targets among themselves to optimize strike efficiency, Balan claims. This swarm coordination prevents redundant attacks and maximizes battlefield effectiveness. According to Xdown, the PSK will have a wide range of potential applications. It can be an asset in maritime security operations, where it could be used to intercept small, fast-moving vessels, or conduct reconnaissance. The drone could also be employed for convoy protection, detecting threats such as teams armed with shoulder-mounted weapons or roadside bombs before they strike. Special operations forces could use it for high-value targets, leveraging its compact size and autonomous targeting to strike enemy positions with minimal setup time. Counterterrorism units could deploy the PSK for precision strikes in urban environments, reducing collateral damage compared to conventional airstrikes. It could even become a counter-UAV system, capable of autonomously identifying and intercepting enemy drones. Balan says the company is also working on a nonlethal version of the PSK, replacing its warhead with a supply container so that its able to deliver food, medical kits, or ammunition to frontline troops in contested environments (though given the 1.7-pound payload capacity, such packages would obviously be small). [Photo: Xdown] The dangers of AI targeting This targeting and reduced collateral damage is precisely one of PSK’s murky points, however. The drone is preprogrammed to detect certain types of enemy targets, but s Elon Musk or anyone who has tried autonomous driving can tell you, this can be problematic in the known, predictable environments of a city at peace. In the battlefield, where chaos reigns and actors can disguise themselves in different shapes and forms, it can get extremely tricky. AI can get confused and attack innocent civilians who might be near military vehicles or get mistaken for enemy soldiers. Conversely, the enemy can also disguise itself to confuse the AI systems and avoid detection. AI will continue to improve to the point of being able to mitigate these issues, but it’s not there yet. Theres a reason why scientists want to regulate autonomous killing machines and ban the use of AI for kill decisions. Ukraine is already using the HX-2, a kamikaze strike drone with AI capable of autonomous targeting. The medium-size drone, designed and made by German manufacturer Helsing, requires approval by a human to make the kill. But the Ukrainians are in such dire need that its logical to expect these fail-safes to eventually be switched off. As Vincent Boulaninprogram director of the governance of AI at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institutetold me during a recent interview: Its difficult for Ukraine to think of high-level principles about what constitutes the responsible use of autonomy right now, fighting the war. Balan says that the PSK has an abort-and-return function that gets activated if no viable target is detected. The abort function relies on telemetry override and onboard navigation. The drone calculates the optimal return route and either glides back to the operator or enters a controlled descent, he explains, noting that this feature prevents unnecessary munition waste and increases operational efficiency. Xdown claims that the PSK can operate in GPS-denied environments, resisting electronic warfare measures that typically disable other drones, thanks to its AI and visible light and infrared camera sensors. And its so small and so quiet (it has an acoustic signature of 55 decibels at 20 feet), the company contends, that it is nearly undetectable to conventional air defense systems. How far from actual combat? Balan says Xdown has already secured thousands of preorders from both domestic and allied military buyers. The company plans to begin delivery of training models by midsummer, with full-scale production set for 2026. The initial technology readiness levels demonstrated that the design exceeds current requirements, and we believe this is the ultimate tactical UAS for modern and future warfare, Balan says. Xdown is currently refining its aerodynamic performance and guidance systems through controlled throws and simulations. We anticipate multiple test throws over the next two months to optimize thrust vectoring and wing articulation under different conditions, Balan says. Thrust vectoring means that the rotor can adjust the orientation of the blades in real time to correct its course, fly, find, and destroy its target, so it can be operated effectively even by someone who isnt particularly dexterous at throwing a football. Balan says that one Defense Department official told him This is the most American munition I have ever seen. Which, of course it is. Time will tell whether the PSK lives up to its ambitious claims. But if it works as advertised, it could mark a major shift in drone warfare on its launch convenience alone.
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E-Commerce
As President Donald Trump’s threats of a trade war with two U.S. neighbors becomes a reality, Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, is asking Canadians to buy local. The Made in Canada label and other local country-of-origin labeling is about to take on a whole new level of significance. Country-of-origin labels are a helpful way to advertise that a product is locally made, but with the threat of wide-ranging tariffs, these labels could soon also signal to consumers that a product’s price tag isn’t artificially inflated due to Trump’s trade war. Speaking last month after announcing retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. should Trump go forward with his plans, Trudeau said for Canadians, it was the time to choose Canada. "Buy Canadian Instead" signs going up in BC Liquor stores pic.twitter.com/FjgGqKViUO— Riley Donovan (@valdombre) February 2, 2025 It might mean checking the labels at the supermarket and picking Canadian-made products, he said. It might mean opting for Canadian rye over Kentucky bourbon, or foregoing Florida orange juice altogether. Already, Buy Canadian Instead signs went up at a B.C. Liquor Store in Vancouver while in Ontario, a province-controlled alcohol wholesaler pulled U.S. liquor from the shelves. There could soon be more to come, and there are signs other countries are looking to protect their own domestic production. On Monday, the Australian government said it would invest in protecting and promoting the country’s Australian Made, Australian Grown initiative over the next three years. The homegrown boost There’s a benefit to homegrown goods. A 2023 Morning Consult report found nearly two-thirds of U.S. consumers said they seek out products that are Made in America and nearly 50% said they would be willing to pay more. But for some products, like cars, which are made across multiple countries, it isn’t always as simple as slapping on a simple sticker about where it was made. The Canadian government regulates what claims products can make about being made in the country. Its Competition Bureau requires products that claim to be a Product of Canada to have 98% Canadian content while products that claim to be Made in Canada must have at least 51% Canadian content and include a qualifying statement that the product is made in part from imported content. In the U.S., Made in America USA claims are regulated by the Federal Trade Commission which makes its own allowances for products made across borders, like Made in U.S. from Imported Parts for a product assembled in the U.S. with parts from other countries. The rise of economic nationalism could draw more attention to where our products come from and the varied countries that make up our supply chain. Should patriotic purchasing become a higher priority for consumers, then, country-of-origin labels could carry more weight than ever.
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E-Commerce
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