For Innovation Teams

Spate surfaces search and social data that can help innovation teams spot what consumers are starting to want before demand becomes crowded. Teams often use it to move from emerging signal to potential product opportunity.

Where to Start

Begin with the Lifecycle Stage. Before applying filters, consider asking: Where is this trend in its evolution?

Early and Growth stage trends are very relevant for innovation work:

Early — Consumer interest is emerging but not yet widely validated. This stage can be useful for ingredient scouting, tracking new cultural narratives, and getting ahead of demand before it scales.
Growth — Consumer awareness is beginning to convert into real demand. This is often where whitespace feels most actionable and product concepts have clearer validation.

Lifecycle classification reflects current momentum, not a permanent label — trends can move quickly, stall, or fade before reaching mainstream.

Platform Examples

Once you have a sense of lifecycle stage, here are some actionable use cases:

Scout ingredients before they peak Go to Category Trends and filter by Related Searches → Ingredients. Sort by growth metrics to surface ingredients gaining momentum faster than their overall size would suggest. For example, an ingredient showing rapid growth in search before it appears in mainstream product launches is the kind of signal innovation teams can act on early — before formulation pipelines get crowded.

Validate a product concept before the first lab sample Before committing to development, check whether the trend has momentum on both TikTok and Google. Social signals often reflect consumer aspiration first — someone posting about a texture or format they love — while search lift confirms that interest is converting into real purchase intent. A concept with both signals can be a stronger bet than one with social buzz alone.

Identify whitespace in a growing category Use the Whitespace Opportunity filter to find trends where search volume is growing but branded competition is still low. For example, in a category look for high search growth combined with low branded share of voice can which can indicate room for a new product entry before the market consolidates.

Understand what format consumers want Navigate to TikTok and look at related hashtags filtered by product format. If consumers are consistently engaging with "texture demos" for a specific format — say, balms over serums — that's a signal about how a product should be delivered, not just what ingredient to lead with.

Map adjacent trends for positioning opportunities Use Related Searches filtered by Benefits and Concerns to understand what consumers are searching alongside a rising trend. If a trend is growing and consumers are consistently pairing it with a specific concern — like barrier repair or scalp health — that pairing can inform how a new product is positioned, not just what's in it.

Filters That May Be Useful

Filters can help you narrow down and prioritize once you have a sense of the lifecycle stage. A few that innovation teams often find helpful:

Google: Whitespace Opportunity → Surfaces categories where consumer interest is growing but brand competition is still relatively low
Google: Trending This Year → Helps validate longer-term growth before committing to development
TikTok: Organic Trends → Can help confirm whether consumer interest is authentic vs. paid-driven

How to Sort

Depending on what you're looking for, different sort methods surface different things:

Sort by % Growth → Tends to surface earlier-stage, faster-moving trends
Sort by Absolute Growth (Increase) → Highlights trends driving meaningful shifts at scale
Sort by Volume → Helps give a sense of market size before entering a category

Ways To Use

Some ways innovation teams apply Spate — for example, identifying a rising ingredient before it peaks or spotting a format shift happening on social before it shows up in search:

Validating whether a trend has enough momentum to build against
Identifying which ingredients, benefits, or formats are gaining traction across search and social
Using social signals to spot aspiration early, then cross-referencing search to confirm intent
Mapping adjacent trends to find positioning opportunities within a growing category

A Few Things to Keep in Mind

Early trends can be exciting but carry more risk, cross-referencing search demand can help add confidence before committing resources
Social and search signals often tell different parts of the story; looking at both tends to give a fuller picture
Lifecycle stage isn't static — trends move, and revisiting your watchlist regularly can help you stay current
If a trend is in the Fade stage — declining momentum even at high popularity — it may be worth reconsidering investment and redirecting resources toward trends in the Early, Growth, or Mainstream stages where momentum is still building.

A Starting Point, Not a Formula

Growth-stage trends with strong momentum and low brand competition are often a good place to focus — but every category and team is different. Use Spate as a starting point for exploration, and let your own expertise and context guide where you go from there.