[Data] How to Implement 2020’s Trends Into Your Business

A new decade has arrived. With it, a whole new host of consumer trends are cropping up.

The hottest trend for 2020? Wellness. From keto snacks and adaptogen lattes to gua sha and CBD, wellness is now a $4.2 trillion industry; what was once reserved for hipsters is now mainstream. Beyond kale and yoga, consumers are responding to an influx of anxiety and stress with cleaner lifestyles.

We don’t have a crystal ball, but we do have millions of transactions* from Square sellers across the country, and this is what we predict consumers will be spending their money on in 2020.

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These trends are not run-of-the-mill — it goes beyond salads — so we’ve taken the liberty of showing you how you could implement these trends into your business in 2020. Whether you own a coffee shop, spa, grocery, personal training studio, bar, restaurant, or cafe, there’s a way for you to be on the cutting edge of 2020’s newest wellness offerings.

Hungry, Hungry Health Nuts

Elderberry

The vitamin-packed, immune-boosting supplement has gained popularity as a way to fight cold or flu-like symptoms. Sales grew 97% from 2018 to 2019.

• Quick add: Stock an elderberry supplement in your retail space alongside other wellness options, or include an elderberry shot at your juice shop.
• Next steps: Add an elderberry defense tonic to your menu.

Keto

Keto is a high-fat, low-carb diet. From tacos to cauliflower bowls, keto-friendly sales grew 261% in cafes and restaurants from 2018 to 2019.

• Quick add: Add a keto-friendly dish to your menu, or include a few keto-friendly grab-and-go snacks for fitness clients.
• Next steps: Switch out Whole30-friendly menu items for keto-optimized options (Whole30 sales decreased by 25% from 2018 to 2019).

Meat Alternatives

It’s not just for Meatless Monday anymore. Meat alternatives such as Impossible® and Beyond® meat have begun to show up on menus in restaurants nationwide. Sales increased 136% from 2018 to 2019.

• Quick add: Include a meat alternative for breakfast protein items or as an option to sub out for a burger menu.
• Next steps: Implement a Meatless Monday menu to cater to your vegan, vegetarian, or curious carnivore customers.

Piping-Hot Tea or Beverages

Milk Alternatives

Options to replace dairy have been on the rise for the past few years, with new types of milk popping up each year. Look for macadamia milk in 2020. Its sales grew 171% from 2018 to 2019.

• Quick add: Include macadamia milk on your menu for smoothies or coffee drinks, or include macadamia nut milk in your grocery’s dairy section.
• Next steps: Remove rice milk as a milk alternative. Rice milk sales decreased 26% from 2018 to 2019.

Adaptogen Lattes

Adaptogens are non-toxic plants with potential health benefits. They have become increasingly popular, as sales grew 247% from 2018 to 2019.

• Quick add: Add a chagaccino (mushroom coffee) to your menu. Its sales grew 126% from 2018 to 2019.
• Next steps: Include a full adaptogen add-in menu for smoothies or coffee, or offer adaptogen supplements for sale in your wellness retail shop or online store.

Flash-Brew Coffee

Cold brew has exploded in popularity in the last few years. The newest iteration? Japanese flash brew, which is a traditional Japanese method for ice-cold coffee. Prepared with hot water and chilled immediately, flash brew blends its unique arctic temp with the taste of hot coffee.

• Quick add: Add Japanese flash brew as an option for your customers to try as an alternative to their usual iced coffee or traditional cold brew. It’s a no-brainer, since flash brew sales grew 308% from 2018 to 2019.
• Next steps: Install nitro flash brew on tap, or host an educational “cold brew chill,” where loyal customers can learn more about special brewing methods.

Low and No-Alcohol Beverages

Overall, worldwide alcohol consumption has lowered in recent years. In response, low- and no-alcohol beverages are on the rise. But it’s getting more creative than mocktails, and has instead created new beverage categories.

• Quick add: Include hard seltzer for sale at your brewery, bar, or restaurant (sales grew 500%).
• Next steps: Consider stocking hard kombucha (sales grew 85% from 2018 to 2019), or creating a full cocktail menu with hard kombucha, seltzer, and other no- and low-alcohol beverages.

Beauty: More Than Skin Deep

CBD Skin Care

The CBD skin care industry is projected to hit over $1.7 billion by 2025, and a recent Google Trend report shows a major spike in CBD skin care queries, so it’s no surprise that the non-psychoactive strain of hemp has become a hot commodity across the county.

According to a 2021 New Frontier and Square data survey, nearly 1 in 5 Americans (18%) have tried CBD, and 40% of CBD consumers use CBD weekly, if not more often. In addition to this, topical products make up 36% of all CBD products sold in the U.S.

• Quick add: Include CBD add-ons into your spa or beauty bar services, like a massage with CBD oil or a facial with a CBD-infused lotion.
• Next steps: Offer CBD skin care at your retail space, gym, or eCommerce shop for wellness enthusiasts to use at home.

Hydrojelly Face Masks

These jellylike masks can be applied at home or in a spa as a facial add-on, and they are known to hydrate, exfoliate, and tone the skin. Their sales grew 1,700% from 2018 to 2019.

• Quick add: Offer hydrojelly face masks as an add-on treatment with massages, lashes, or beauty bars, or include them in your wellness take-home offerings.
• Next steps: If you already have in-house skincare lines (spas, we’re looking at you), develop your own hydrojelly mask for a personalized take on a burgeoning skin care product.

Gua Sha

Gua sha is an wave shaped rose quartz or jade stone that is rolled across the face to boost blood flow, encourage lymphatic drainage, and promote skin elasticity. Sales grew 125% from 2018 to 2019.

• Quick add: Satiate beauty enthusiasts by offering their very own gua sha tools for purchase to conduct the practice at home, at your yoga studio, spa, or retail space.
• Next steps: Add a gua sha facial or gua sha massage to your service offerings.

Square’s predictions are based on growing (or declining) sales metrics from 2019. We analyzed thousands of trends to estimate what will hit it big in 2020, and what will ultimately become so 2019.