Our Hunch for 2019

Alongside already broken new year’s resolutions, our growing team at Hunch have kicked off 2019 with a smorgasbord of ideas, topics and trends that not only excite us but that we believe will gain momentum or significance in the year ahead. Whether it’s tailoring your diet to your DNA, feeding the world one stem cell at a time, or saving a life by remote control, let’s take a look at what we are cheering for in 2019.

1. Meals On (Lab Trolley) Wheels - ‘clean meat’ changing the face of farming and meat production

As consumption of meat worldwide continues to rise at pace (demand is set to increase over 70% by 2030), it is widely accepted that traditional methods of farming are fast becoming unsustainable. In parallel, the developed world is seeing vegan beliefs gaining protected status akin to a religion rather than a lifestyle choice, placing the microscope on the ethical issues around meat production.

Could lab-grown meat be the answer?

‘Clean-meat’ as it has been coined, is cultivated from animal stem cells placed in a nutrient rich liquid and then ‘exercised’ like a natural muscle to build up a 3D texture and taste identical to the real thing. Producing meat in this way could use 99% less land and prevent 96% of greenhouse gasses being emitted when compared to normal animal husbandry. This clearly demonstrates the huge potential for ‘clean-meat’ as a method to address global food supply challenges without us having to change our eating habits. In addition, and practicalities aside, imagine the whole new set of culinary possibilities beyond the constraints of today’s livestock options without ever impacting the existence of a species. Panda steak with a side of peacock anyone?

Admittedly, it doesn’t look like 2019 will be the mainstream tipping point for any of the fast food chains to bring out a McLab burger. The technology is yet to be tested at scale and there will, of course, be hefty red tape and food standards to deal with. For example, it is currently hotly debated whether it can be called meat at all! However, with the cost of producing a burger falling from over ￡250,000 to ￡8 in the past 5 years, public perception starting to shift away from the ‘Frankenfood’ rhetoric, and companies such as JUST and Finless Foods both claiming commercial launches of chicken, beef or fish products in 2019, the future may not be as far off as we think!

2. Know Yourself Inside Out – Personalised services based on your DNA

Sequencing the first human genome cost $3bn, today it costs only $200 and if you’re willing to part with your data you can even get it for free. The falling time and cost involved in sequencing the genome is providing the data for significant breakthroughs in the early identification of disease and is opening up new opportunities for a host of personalised premium services.

As the demand for DNA sequencing services increases, the companies collecting and analysing genomic data today will be optimally poised to dominate the market. By leveraging the network effect these companies will continually improve the breadth and accuracy of insights they can generate. Companies like 23andme currently offer services to uncover your personality traits and family history from as little as ￡54.

Our Hunch for 2019 is that personalised diet plans and fitness schedules will begin to gain popularity with the growing number of wellness and fitness consumers looking to get a silver bullet approach to their perfect body. Therefore, whilst the science for such conclusions may be somewhat lacking, consumer demand for unique and personalised services in this space is certainly not.

3. Working 9-5, Not a Way to Make a Living – Our work patterns are changing

A more globalised economy, increasing use of technology to support remote working, and a growing spotlight on employee well-being are all leading to a significant shift in the way we work and what we expect from our employers. These dynamics mean just 6% of UK employees are now working a 'normal' 9-5, 5 days. As flexible hours and working location become the norm, companies will have to start paying more attention to the emergence of more radical changes in working patterns to better meet the needs of their employees.

At Hunch, we have implemented a 9/80 work fortnight effectively giving the team every other Friday back to spend as they wish whether that is more time with the family, renovating newly bought homes, or developing their next big idea as a side hustle. However, this might not be the right solution for all and is only one example of how a company can experiment with compressing the working week to reap the benefits for both the employer and employee. Just as we have seen with the demise of 9-5, it is important to recognise that there will not be a one size fits all approach moving forward and companies need to explore new patterns and constructs to suit.

Currently, these experiments are reserved for smaller businesses and the start-up communities trying to attract talent away from big corporates. However, as firms become more transparent, employees demand a better work-life balance, and as consumers gravitate towards more ethical businesses, we predict that the compressed work week will soon become commonplace at work.

4. The Campaigning Corporate – the importance of having a strong purpose to the ethical consumer

Ethical consumption is fast moving away from being a middle-class indulgence. Identifying with the cause behind a brand is increasingly important to the new wave of Gen-Z consumers, looking to brands as a major source of self-expression. The political stance a company chooses provides a vital avenue to differentiate themselves and create a loyal customer base in traditionally fickle industries such as FMCG. Comparing ourselves and the things we buy to those around us has never been easier. More than ever, the purpose for a brand’s existence can give it a unique selling point on which no one else can compete.

High profile cases this year suggest we are reaching an age where brands will actively take a political stance. Nike’s Kapernick campaign which led to a 31% increase in sales and Iceland’s palm oil campaign named ‘The most powerful Christmas ad’ despite not airing are clear examples of the financial benefit this provides to the company. Conversely, brands such as Google and United Airlines seen to take insufficient action will be exposed to consumer and employee backlash. Companies must truly understand their reason for being, and the purpose behind what they do, and convey this to their customers in order to compete in the next generation of marketing. In 2019, this will see major brands taking differentiated political viewpoints and being vocal drivers of change in areas that appeal to their consumer base. 

5. Creepy or Convenient – Biometrics, the platform for hyper-personalised retail experiences

Nowadays we rarely pay for a morning coffee, transfer money to a friend, board a flight or log on to our computers without using some form of biometric information, be it a finger, face, eye or our voice. Take Singles Day (11/11) in Asia last November, 60.3% of customers paid either by scanning their fingerprint or taking a selfie! It is clear biometric technology is well on the way to truly revolutionising payments and authentication but now could be the time it enhances the customer experience beyond security and efficiency.

Our hunch for 2019 is for biometric information, captured both in a physical and digital environment, to become a platform for firms to unlock hyper-personalised retail experiences and objectively measure the impact of these services in real-time. Concept stores are already pushing the possibility of using face-ID combined with behavioural biometrics (using AI to identify patterns in your interactions and activity unique to you) to immediately recognise an individual as they enter the store and recommend products based on your online wish list and/or previous buying patterns. Others like Walmart are seeking to measure heart rate and skin temperature through your shopping trolley handle to understand distress points in the customer journey. This could be used to not only direct in-store assistance but measure emotional engagement with specific products or store displays.

This level of personalisation based on the stuff that makes us unique could all appear a little intrusive. The technology exists and is well established, however, the immediate sticking point will sit with us, the consumer. Is this one step too far in the big brother effect or are more of us moving towards a millennial negotiation mindset, enabling access to our most personal data in return for enhanced, tailored experiences?

6. Helper Drone – from recreation annoyance to lifesaver

The use of drones to augment our capabilities is not a novel concept; from the early 20th century unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) in the military, to the modern-day recreational drones that are now an affordable, accessible and attractive toy. In fact, we have 10 ￡6.50 drones buzzing around our office right now!

As drone and the ancillary technologies develop, we’re now starting to see some ambitious, innovative enterprise use-cases. One that stands out is the idea of drones carrying defibrillators or other medical supplies to incident sites. This will provide a solution to the slow emergency response times currently impacting the success of treatment for patients who suffer a cardiac arrest. Innovative applications across other sectors are also starting to emerge. Wholesale, retail, insurance, healthcare and education are just some of the industries where drones have been tested with some success, including the rapid advancement in distribution (Amazon Prime Air) or the performance of more effective claims assessments (Betterview). In the US, DroneSeed has been approved by the FAA as the first heavy lifting, swarm-based drone solution within agriculture - a pivotal shift in combining drones, AI and biological engineering.

This is the tip of the iceberg in a shift that will begin to integrate drones into our day-to-day life. If our politicians catch up and provide transparency to companies so they can start navigating the growing regulatory complexities, 2019 could see the use of drones shifting from mildly annoying if not disruptive recreational activity (just ask Gatwick passengers) to game-changing technology delivering societal and business benefits at scale.

7. Internet of Skills – supported by the emergence of 5G

Hot trends in technology like self-driving cars, VR, IoT and drones will be given a massive boost in 2019 with the initial introduction of 5G across the UK. Until now 5G has been reserved for use in the robo assembly lines of big manufacturers that could afford a private network. As of next year, 5G compatible smartphones will start enabling the general public to download cat videos 100x faster than possible on 4G.

But 5G is much more than just a faster network, low latency is what really makes this exciting. Reducing the lag in response from 60ms to 4ms will provide the responsivity needed to make near instant decisions which will change the way we can interact with the world.

Our Hunch is this year will be the beginning of an “internet of skills” economy. Using 5G networks, highly specialised skills or knowledge will start being transferred in real-time across large geographical distances and to people or students in remote locations. Eventually, this could lead to scenarios where a highly specialised medical operation is performed by an expert in the New York, on a patient in a remote province of India whilst providing a fully immersive yet unobtrusive learning experience for trainee doctors in sub-urban China. Although obviously not a realistic expectation for 2019, with the initial rollout of 5G this year we expect to see the first ‘Internet of Skills’ trials. These will be the stepping stones to demonstrate how we can real-time transfer specialised training, knowledge and expertise that was previously reserved for very specific locations, with people from all walks of life, regardless of where they are in the world.

8. Implantables - the new wave of wearables

Wearables are so 2014! Nowadays you need to implant your health tracker if you want to impress your friends. Implants in the form of birth control and pacemakers have been around for decades, but recent technological advances are making a world much closer to what Aldous Huxley would’ve imagined. The miniaturization of monitoring devices and power sources now allow internal body monitoring straight to your smartphone. This data can massively improve early disease identification, as well as liberate individuals who can use the information to self-medicate via bionic organs.

Implantable headphones, NFD chips, compasses and passwords have stolen the limelight to date but the rise of implantables for personal health monitoring is on a path to take centre stage. Empowering patients to actively engage and treat their own health and give doctors access to invaluable diagnostic data will allow highly personalised healthcare. The promise of better health – both for individual patients and, in the event their data is used for medical research, for the wider population is undeniable.

9. Internet of Things Without the Internet – Cloudless skies at the Edge of IOT

IoT, smart home, connected devices… we’ve heard it all before and for a long time now. So, what’s about to change in 2019? With Ericsson’s re-forecast 3.5 billion IoT devices connected by 2023, there are some significant challenges in the pipeline. Bandwidth, security, and operating lifespan continue to be major issues for would be adopters, consumers and businesses alike. With the majority of processing conducted in the cloud, data volumes exploding, and the requirement for low latency in many use cases, the need for high resilience, ‘fat’ pipes is becoming ever greater. With personal data being transferred through the internet and control of devices open to hackers, security continues to be a problem as shown recently with numerous incidents including the hacking of Google’s Nest cameras. The operating lifespan of these expensive devices is also called into question when businesses shut down or move to new technology, closing the servers that operated old systems.

Enter the world of ‘Edge computing for the Internet of Things’, a term that will become more common over the coming year. This represents a shift in which system intelligence is transferred from central data centres to the edge of the network and local devices/hubs. In Edge computing, end devices collect, process and action data in real time without the need to transfer to the cloud. This allows smart systems to respond in real-time and protects against breaches and issues when connectivity isn’t available. It also ensures operation long after the cloud servers that ran the system are switched off which they often are with legacy technology. Providers are catching on fast and edge processing will become the way most IoT systems work.