Riding the Trend Wave

I can't think about trends without having a few scary flashbacks to my haircuts in the '70s and '80s. You see, my mother the fashion-forward Boomer loved trends. That meant my sister and I had all the latest clothes and hairdos, whether we wanted them or not. Think feathered cuts in the '70s while Mum rocked a Purdey cut à la Joanna Lumley. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, count yourself lucky - or perhaps you were just a victim of a different decade!

Maybe it's those formative years of trend trauma, but I’ve grown into something of a late adopter. I tend to eye trends from the wings, cautiously waiting to see whether they blossom into something meaningful or burn out like a sparkler at Hogmanay.

Take for example: Air fryers, matcha, Bop It, jeggings, crypto, cold plunges, cauliflower everything, intermittent fasting, TikTok dances... and yes, I eventually caved to a couple of those. But only after careful observation and a few raised eyebrows.

At The Highland Weigh, we approach trends the same way. We observe. We assess. And if something looks like it’s here to stay and aligns with our values (health, sustainability, and reducing waste) we get involved.

When Trends Have Staying Power

Take oat milk. What started as a niche alternative has become a café standard. While it’s popular with vegans and those with lactose intolerance, plenty of folks simply prefer the taste. That said, oat milk has its controversies...it’s still a processed product and can spike blood sugar levels depending on the brand. But there's no denying its foothold in the market.

We asked ourselves: how can we support this trend in a way that aligns with our mission?

The answer came when one of our board members discovered oat milk powder; a compact, lightweight product in a soft plastic pouch (recyclable with your other soft plastics) that can be mixed with water to produce up to 10 litres of oat milk. That’s 10 fewer Tetra Pak's in circulation per pouch. It also contains fewer ingredients than many ready-made oat milks, making it a healthier and lower-waste choice.

We're currently trialling it in-store and hope more customers will make the switch. It’s sustainable, sensible, and dare we say...on trend in all the right ways.

Clean Beauty, Without the Waste

Another trend that’s proved more than a flash in the pan is micellar water, a gentle cleanser loved by skincare enthusiasts. It ‘captures’ dirt, makeup, and excess oil without harsh rubbing or rinsing. While it’s widely available now, most bottles are single-use and plastic-heavy.

We asked again: how can we offer this trend, sustainably?

Enter Fill, a UK-based company making eco-friendly micellar water in bulk. We now stock it in-store, delivered in 5L refill containers that customers can decant into their own glass bottles. It’s zero-waste skincare in action, part of a circular economy that works for us and our planet.

Trends with Intention

At The Highland Weigh, we're not interested in chasing every passing craze. But we do keep an eye on the ones that have the potential to shift habits for the better. If a trend can stick around and make sense for health and sustainability, then we're happy to give it a closer look, and find the most responsible way to offer it to our community.

And who knows, riding the trend wave, maybe one day I’ll even warm up to jeggings (or did that trend pass!).