There’s no doubt that brands are working to develop long-lasting brand platforms and are focusing on emotional connection and consumer benefit. But somehow, we’ve all ended up in the similar positive progress, get the most out of life, be the best version of yourself territories. In the age of inflation and uncertainty, people aren’t buying the dream of who they could become in 10 years but buying relief from who they are right now.
We’ve confused long term brand building with thinking that consumers need to see long-term aspirations in our brand. And not only have our products gotten lost in the message (remind me again how a bar of soap will make me a better person?), but it’s also not what people want right now. For years, we’ve focused on futures that feel increasingly unattainable—unlock your potential or transform your life. When every brand promises the same thing, no brand is believable anymore.
The allure of a better now
In the current landscape, overwhelmed by negative news of inflation, wars, politics, health crises and general anxiety, people aren’t looking to spend on things that make the next 10 years better, they want something to make right now better.
The numbers tell the story
75% of APAC consumers are actively trading down or seeking better value in the face of rising cost of living, according to a McKinsey ConsumerWise survey. Yet at the same time, we see spend on ‘non-essential’ things like eating out, coffee and beauty remain resilient.
The region’s $64 billion snack market is growing at 10%, led by confectionery and ice cream. The fastest-growing beauty markets are Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines, according to a 2025 OnCosmetics Global Cosmetics Market Insights. Meanwhile, a 2025 UOB ASEAN Consumer Sentiment Study found that one in three ASEAN consumers has increased spending on dining and drinking out, despite economic pressures.
So, whilst we might give up on our dream for a new car, we’ll be damned if we need to give up our bubble tea too.
And for those higher value purchases? Well, people aren’t entirely giving them up either. 42% of SEA consumers say they will maintain spending on luxury goods and experience spending has rebounded to 1.5x pre-pandemic levels. Buy Now, Pay Later schemes are booming, with 21% of shoppers in APAC using them, demonstrating the appetite for now and worry later. The message is clear: consumers aren’t abandoning the desire to feel good but are restructuring how and when they indulge.
Little treat culture: The new consumer reality
What we’re seeing isn’t new, originally termed the Lipstick Effect, it’s the tension between cutting back on spending and needing to feel good in stressful times, leading to a “little treat culture”. These treats give us a dopamine rush, they help us stabilise our emotions, and we rationalise the spending by telling ourselves we deserve to feel good, especially when everything around us isn’t.
What accelerates this trend even more in the region is the rising middle class, where discretionary spending is projected to continue growing by 40% over the next decade. This means not only do people feel an increasing need to treat themselves, they feel an increasing ability to do so.
Behavioural economics has long told us that humans are wired to prefer immediate wins over future gains, also known as present bias. Those immediate wins are more meaningful and valued in the current climate. So why continue to focus our brand stories on intangible, future-focused, higher-order benefits?
We have an opportunity to break free from the same old story. Focusing on aspiration, transformation and “a better you” is overdone. The brands that will win are the ones that help consumers feel okay as they are, right now. We need to connect our products to an immediate win people can feel, give the emotional stabilisation they need, and offer a fleeting escape from the realities of now.
A bar of soap might not make your customer a better person, but maybe it can make help them forget about their responsibilities and ignore that the world around them is burning—even if for a brief moment.
The tension: Enhancement or exploitation?
There is, of course, a tension here too.
This industry is no stranger to engineering immediacy, from impulse targeting and scarcity tactics to feeding the algorithm and reward loops. We’ve built systems to leverage on moments of vulnerability, which, in an age of anxiety, is everywhere.
The truth is, when it comes to tapping into ‘little treat culture’, the line between enhancing and exploiting is fine. We shouldn’t confuse being a treat, boost or well-deserved break, with exploiting impulses and creating coping mechanisms.
If you’re unsure, ask yourself—are you designing for satisfaction or stimulation? Is the immediate win you promise meaningful or trivial? More importantly, does your product genuinely deliver relief?
In this age of anxiety, people are looking for emotional relief. To feel good and deserving. To treat themselves. Brands should connect their products with the needs of now, not the potential of later. Those that do it authentically will build loyalty through genuine, consistent delivery of what people actually need, which is a moment of stabilisation in an uncertain world.
Daisy Huang is head of strategy at OM Singapore.
