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Aldi is finally putting its name on its products. The grocer, which runs nearly 3,200 stores in the U.S., tells Fast Company that it’s launching its first-ever namesake brand and putting its name on the front of its private-label product packaging for the first time. It’s no small task: More than 90% of Aldi’s products are private label. Generic brands have found new life as customers have traded down from national brands to cheaper private labels to beat inflation. In 2024, retailers sold a record $270 billion worth of private-label products in the U.S., according to the Private Label Manufacturers Association. For Aldi, though, private-label brands don’t just represent a growing slice of the pie, they’re the whole pie. [Image: courtesy Aldi] “Private label is the core of what we do,” says Scott Patton, Aldis chief commercial officer. “I’m not going to say we invented it; I would say we’ve perfected it.” While the grocer has seen a 7.1% year-over-year increase in store traffic this year, it also has a problem: Too many customers who bought Aldi private brands didn’t know those brands were exclusive to the chain. “The overall sentiment was, on average, customers didn’t know that was an Aldi brand,” says Kristy Reitz, the grocer’s director of brand and design. “Now if they shop us a little less frequently, they think they can find that brand elsewhere, and in fact it’s a private-label brand to Aldi.” [Image: courtesy Aldi] Aldi turned to multiple creative partners to handle the job, including Favorite Child, Pearlfisher, Contrast, Equator, and Sun Strategy. The goal was to make the packaging recognizable, but it also needed to be flexible. “If every package shows up in this very tight design system and in the exact same way, it would look kind of boring,” Reitz says. “It would be harder to shop.” [Image: courtesy Aldi] The company’s new portfolio of private-label packaging includes “an ALDI original” endorsement that will appear on the front for brands like Simply Nature and Specially Selected, while some brands will be replaced with the Aldi name, the company says. Aldi’s competitors have already responded to the rise of private labeling by upgrading their generic packaging, like Target’s Up&Up and CVS’s Well Market. Walmart launched Bettergoods, an altogether new private-label brand, to expand its retail reach. [Image: courtesy Aldi] Aldi says its packaging overhaul wasn’t done as a response to that trend, or in response to litigation, like the suit filed by Mondelez International in May, which accused the grocery chain of ripping off its packaging for legacy brands like Oreo and Chips Ahoy. “This has actually been a project we’ve been working on for a couple of years,” Reitz says. But it does represent a concerning development for the company’s competitors. By finally putting its name on its own product packaging, Aldi is making the most of its advantage as a private-label grocer at a moment when customers are more interested than ever in shopping generic.
Category:
E-Commerce
As more candidates seek out neurodivergent employers, theyre struggling to find truly inclusive, accessible work environments. Google searches for neurodivergent jobs those that accommodate workers with conditions like ADHD, autism, dyslexia or Tourettes increased 13% in July, as those candidates often struggle with traditional hiring processes and in traditional work environments. And yet: It is estimated that one in five Americans has learning and/or attention issues; a 2023 survey found that 53%of Gen Z identified as neurodivergent. According to a survey of 900 neurodivergent American employees by career platform Zety, 93% say traditional hiring practices work against them. Plus, nearly half admit to masking their symptoms in the workplace. Fifty-one percent have been subjected to insensitive comments. With 93% experiencing burnout due to unmet needs, and 88% saying they feel they must work harder than their neurotypical peers to be seen as equally competent, the data suggests theres still work to be done, says Zety career expert Toni Frana. It demonstrates the importance of having a conversation. What else can we do? How can we take stronger steps in the direction of accommodating neurodivergent employees? For example, comfort with eye contact might be a little bit different for somebody who is neurodivergent, she says. That doesnt mean they cant complete the responsibilities and do the job really well. It just means theres a difference in how they respond to people, and its important that [hiring managers and employers] understand that. This discussion has become prevalent in the workforce in recent years, and inclusive job postings have increased as awareness has grown, but theres still a long way to go. According to a recent survey of 1,000 US-based hiring managers by resume writing and career advisor platform Resume Genius, just 39% say their company currently offers formal mental health and neurodivergent training. Mental health benefits benefit all employees, because if your team members are getting the help they need, then the machine can work more smoothly, and it creates a culture of dignity and support, says Resume Genius career expert Nathan Soto. It’s getting better, but it’s not sufficient. The disclosure conundrum According to the Zety survey, 66% of respondents disclose their neurodivergence during the hiring process, and 61% share it with their managers and coworkers once on the job. But the decision to disclose is rarely straightforward. The Resume Genius survey revealed that 86% of hiring managers self-report that such disclosures either would not affect, or would even positively affect the candidates chances. In fact, just 8% said it would raise performance concerns. However, only about 22% say its common for candidates to bring up mental health benefits in job interviews, like access to counselling, mental health days, and flexible work arrangements. Candidate comfort also seems tied to the hiring managers age. We found 37% of Gen Z hiring managers said it is common for people to ask about this, but 47% of baby boomers, and almost the same proportion of Gen X hiring managers, said that they’ve never had any candidates ask about mental health benefits in job interviews, Soto says. Its absolutely a possibility that candidates are self-censoring, based on the perceived age of the hiring manager. Soto adds that while most organizations will advertise an inclusive workplace, it can be difficult for candidates to establish which are taking the right steps, and which are just checking the box. If you ask anybody in a management position or C-suite, Do you offer mental health training or neurodivergent mental health benefits for your employees? The correct answer is obviously yes, he says. But, what that looks like in practice could vary widely, or it could just be non-existent. Creating a more welcoming workplace With few universal standards and measurements available, employers need to determine for themselves what qualifies as sufficient accommodations. And candidates are often left to evaluate employers inclusivity policies independently. That can mean scanning job listings for specific references to neurodivergence, checking LinkedIn for relevant posts by company managers and executives, and talking with existing employees about the work environment. One of the key problems is that managers will ask employees how theyre doing, and when they receive a very honest response from someone that is neurodivergent or struggling with mental health problems, they don’t know how to deal with it, says Emily Banks, the founder and CEO of neurodivergent employment resource Enna Global. So even knowing how to have that equitable, honest and inclusive conversations with employees can be a challenge. At minimum, Banks says American employers should educate managers about the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which outlines their legal responsibility to provide reasonable accommodations. It also bars them from discriminating against employees diagnosed with mental disabilities. Banks adds that without special accommodations, neurodivergent candidates and employees face challenges across their professional lives: from high-pressure recruitment and interview practices to loud and distracting open office setups. Its absolutely vital for employers to measure the data at every point of the recruitment and employee life cycle, she says. You should know whether neurodivergent people are making it to interview, if they’re making it to offer, if they are leaving within six months or a year, to determine whether youve got attraction or retention issues with the neurodivergent community. Banks adds that taking the necessary steps to better accommodate neurodiverse candidates offers measurable benefits to organizations, making teams more innovative, creative, and profitable. Having a neurodiverse workforce is better for everybody, she says. Fifteen to 20% of the entire population is neurodivergent. Many are just not diagnosed yet, so you already have a lot of neurodivergent people working with you you just might not know it yet.
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E-Commerce
As many dating apps have been losing users and reshaping their strategies, Hinge has emerged as a brand to beat. In the second quarter of this year, Bumble’s paying user base was down 8.7% year over year and revenue dropped 7.6%. Tinder, which is owned by Hinge parent company Match Group, has lost 1.2 million paid users since the beginning of 2024 and saw revenues drop 4.6% in Q2 2025. Meanwhile Hinge notched a 25% year-over-year increase in revenue and 18% growth in paying users for the quarter. The secret, according to cofounder and CEO Justin McLeod, speaking at the Fast Company Innovation Festival, are two principles that have guided the company since its early daysand one that is emerging alongside broader use of AI. They are: Prioritize the free experience Long before Cory Doctorow coined the term enshittification in 2022 to describe the process by which once-useful online platforms slowly get less user-friendly as they attempt to improve their bottom line, daters on apps had experienced it firsthand. Many apps have added monetization strategies that seem at odds with the goal of connecting singles: They push users to paid versions by degrading the free experience. McLeod said Hinge is different because it actually wants to live up to its “designed to be deleted” tagline. It is absolutely in our best interest to keep the free product experience very good, because if its not, users will start leaving, McLeod said. And the primary value for a dating app is the other people who are on the product. No one will continue to pay if there arent lots of people on the app who are happy and satisfied using it.” Hinge is also selling premium tools, including the ability to filter potential dates based on things like height and political preferences, plus features like Roses (which users can send to express extra interest) and Boosts (which allow someone’s profile to be seen by more people for a limited amount of time). The trick, McLeod said, is being strategic by charging for features that aren’t necessary but that nevertheless improve the experience for people who are willing to pay for them. What we charge for is basically things that we cant give away for free, things that are valuable because theyre scarce, he said. If you had unlimited Roses, then they wouldnt mean anything. If everyone is showing up more [via profile Boosts], nobody is showing up. Build for underserved users One of the newer features McLeod outlined is Match Note, which was built with LGBTQ+ and neurodivergent users in mind. Launched in February, it allows users to disclose certain information with matches before chattingdetails that some might not want to put in a public profile, such as their gender identity or communication style. Its a way for them to avoid hard, awkward conversation with every single person after you match, McLeod said, noting that Hinge worked with organizations TransTech Social and Disability:IN. It was designed for [these groups] but weve actually found that single parents use it, people with STIs use it, McLeod said. All kinds of different people will use this feature, which just increases the general usability and accessibility of the app for everybody. Make AI features useful Though McLeod noted that machine learning has underpinned Hinges algorithm since it launched, he said the company has more recently been using generative AI strategically to improve users’ profiles and how they communicate with others. The new Prompt Feedback feature encourages users to answer profile prompts more fully, preventing short answers that might be unhelpful to potential matches. It doesnt necessarily cut generationally, McLeod explained. But certainly some people, especially in the realm of social media, have atrophied social skills and need a bit more help showing up and connecting with other people. He said Hinge also uses generative AI to help users choose the best photos, and it employs AI for a feature called Are you sure? that double-checks with a user before sending a message that might not be well-received. There are a lot of what we call accidental bad actors, who aren’t quite contextually aware of what’s an inappropriate thing to send at this stage in the conversation, he said. We can help nudge them in the right direction. McLeod said that down the road he sees AI leading to much more personalized matches: Three to five years from nowsooner, honestlyit will feel relatively arcane that you had to go through hundreds of profiles in order to get out on a date.
Category:
E-Commerce
Some good news on the employment front: Job seekers are getting hired in a shorter period of time while sending fewer applications compared to earlier this year, according to the latest findings from ZipRecruiter, which looked at 1,500 new hires. The job search company’s latest quarterly survey of U.S. workers who started their job within the last six months suggests Americans are getting more comfortable with the uncertainty in today’s job market. Also, they are more likely to remain at their current positions (tending toward so-called job hugging), leading new employees to take a “more cautious and strategic approach to their career moves.” “Todays new hires are coming in ready to stay put,” ZipRecruiter labor economist Nicole Bachaud said. The data on new hires is especially relevant because they are often the first people in the job market to experience changes in recruiting and employment offers. As job and wage growth have slowed, new hires face more competition and fewer opportunities to transition to “bigger and better” roles than their peers did over the past few years. As a result, new hires are taking their time to find jobs that meet their long-term needsfrom flexibility to culture to better benefitsbefore hunkering down in new positions. Another interesting finding: 54.4% of new hires stopped their job search after they landed a new roleup from 48.1% last quarter. (ZipRecruiter surveys new hires during the second month of every quarter and compares results accordingly.) At the same time, new hires aren’t changing jobs as fast as they used to: 51.6% moved only once in the past two years, up from 42.7%; while 45.9% plan to remain in their current role for at least three years, up from 44.1%. Workers, especially women, are redefining career expectations “Workers are redefining their career expectations to adapt to todays economic realities,” Sam DeMase, a ZipRecruiter career expert, explained. “They are prioritizing flexibility and fit, and holding out for the right role.” For women, this can mean prioritizing culture and job security over pay. While the gender wage gap has narrowed slightly in recent years, it still remains very real. One contributing reason is that women are more willing than men to accept lower pay in a new role. The survey found nearly 30% accepted a lower salary compared with 18.6% of mena significantly wider gap than the previous quarter. A further look at the data showed that for many women who accepted lower pay, the trade-off was intentional, as their goal was a job with a healthier culture, less stress, and real flexibility. The survey found 24% of women were more likely to accept offers for better company culture (compared to 13.6% of men); 20.4% of women for reduced stress (compared to 13% of men), and 34.6% of women for a flexible schedule (compared to 27.7% of men). The conclusion: For many women, their day-to-day experience at work and the ability to control their time can matter as much as their paycheck. Not surprisingly, the data found men value compensation and opportunity more than women, with 56.2% of men citing pay (compared to 50.6% of women) as the reason for accepting a role, and 21.5% of men citing career advancement (compared to 16.5% of women). More job opportunities for healthcare workers Healthcare industry workers in personal care, nonprofits, and domestic services continue to have more options than workers in some other fields. “Healthcare jobs remain the hottest sector despite industry-wide hiring slowdowns, with public health roles leading growth as authorities navigate rapid policy changes,” Bachaud told Fast Company. Looking ahead to the busy holiday season, Bachaud forecasts accelerated hiring in the transportation sector and for retail, as businesses prepare for peak demand. “With falling interest rates to boost business activity and consumer spending, she added, all eyes are on whether tariff-driven price increases will derail the anticipated economic recovery.
Category:
E-Commerce
Sam Walton, founder of Walmart, declared, “Clear communication is necessary to management success.” The paradigmatic virtues of clarity and completeness have long guided how we define successful business communication. This traditional insistence on precision and transparency is pervasive, guiding our endeavors to craft effective messages. However, as we peel back the layers of this deeply entrenched notion, it becomes apparent that both our personal and professional endeavors often benefit from a more nuanced approach. Ambiguity, often stigmatized as a hallmark of miscommunication and inefficiency, can actually serve as a strategic tool. Below, we unpack the value of strategic ambiguity and explore when and how it can be deployed effectively. The Value of Clarity and Completeness At the heart of business communication lie the principles of clarity and completenessa commitment to the accurate and clear transmission of all relevant information. These are encapsulated in and taught through common tools like the MECE (mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive) principle or the Minto pyramid method, which breaks a central message into a clear and complete hierarchy of reasons and assumptions. The aim of such tools is to provide clarity through logically structuring all relevant ideas and information. In many instances this approach to communication is indeed desirable. Imagine a corporate memo detailing a change in organizational structure. An ambiguous or incomplete message could lead to confusion, unchecked speculation, suspicion or misaligned efforts and would certainly reduce operational effectiveness. Or, envision a one-on-one circumstance such as performance review where important future changes are needed. If the requested change is unclear or the goal amorphous, desired actions and ultimately retention might be in jeopardy. In these cases, clarity and completeness of what needs changing and why would be essential to effective implementation. The Utility of Ambiguity Striving for clarity and completeness is not always appropriate, however. For example, it might inadvertently signal finality and inflexibility when the situation calls for exploration. Or it might lead to bluntness and offense in dealing with sensitive subjects. Purposeful ambiguity can serve as a useful tool in many sticky communication situations. What, then, is the difference between productive and unproductive ambiguity? When and how should deliberate ambiguity be deployed to obtain the best communication outcomes? Probing and Exploring Ambiguity can be used to encourage engagement, dialogue, and collaboration. In situations like negotiating or initiating partnerships, avoiding stating proposals too clearly may signal finality and inflexibility when it can be more productive to ask questions, tell stories, or suggest multiple possibilities. For example, if you are trying to determine your bosss risk tolerance for an innovative idea you have, you might tell a story about another organization implementing a similar idea to gauge her reaction rather than directly asserting your desired course of action. Unlocking Opportunities Ambiguity can act as a catalyst for collaborative uncovering of opportunities and innovation. It provides a fertile ground for multiple interpretations and thus inviting exploration and encouraging creative suggestions. Consider a brainstorming session where a leader initiates ideation by simply posing open-ended questions without defining a clear goal. The ambiguity invites more ingenuity as a productive path to eventual focus and clarity. Face-Saving and Flexibility In scenarios where building and preserving relationships and saving face are crucial, ambiguity can help. Nothing is more corrosive to collaboration and innovation than inducing fear or defensiveness by striking sensitive topics with the precision of a missile, especially when the topic is incidental to the purpose of the communication. Nuanced communication can nurture potential hurt feelings and maintain psychological safety. For example, when giving a superior constructive feedback, the reception and effect may be multiplied if it is combined with positive feedback, if details are sufficient to communicate the point but dont go so far as precipitating a defensive reaction, or if only selective aspects are put forth. An appropriate level of ambiguity maximizes the possibility of the message being embraced, demonstrates goodwill, preserves the working relationship, and increases the probability that best efforts will be applied. Implying Commitment without Taking a Stance Any number of situations exist where we are asked to take a position that might put us at a disadvantage. In such situations, deploying ambiguity can fulfill the requirement to respond and can validate the other parties intent while leaving possibilities open. Making statements like This is an important issue does not clearly delineate a stance, but can signal receipt of the message or respect for the question. Similarly, telling a prospect interested in a currently unplanned product feature would be very useful implies that the feature will be considered without committing to it. When ambiguity can help Here are some examples of specific situations where using ambiguity strategically could be helpful. 1 Negotiations: Ambiguity can prevent deadlock or the premature convergence on a suboptimal outcome, allowing negotiators to explore a broader range of acceptable outcomes. This facilitates a more flexible and adaptable approach to reaching a more mutually beneficial agreement. 2 Marketing: In marketing luxury goods, strategic ambiguity can create an aspirational allure, emphasizing associations and aesthetics over concrete details. A Dior perfume advertisement might, for example, focus on the elegance and prestige conveyed by the product, rather than its chemical composition or price. 3 Intervening in Complex Systems: For processes that are too intricate to detail completely, ambiguity can help focus attention on essential aspects while granting flexibility in execution. For example, in a luxury hotels customer service protocol, specifying core principles of hospitality may be more effective than detailing every conceivable scenario, creating an unwieldy standard operating procedure, which is impossible to operationalize. 4 Inspiring others: To inspire and motivate, sometimes the exact steps are less important than the overall vision and values. A recruit might be more drawn to a companys aspirational, more vague goals rather than specific tactical details. Directionality over specificity allows recipients to more easily hear what they want to find in the message. The toolkit The tools of strategic ambiguity are as varied as the purposes for which they can be deployed. Leveraging the advantages of ambiguity involves mastering som of the following specific techniques. 1 Metaphors, Similes, & Analogies: Convey ideas abstractly by comparison with other situations.Example: Our current financial situation is akin to a battle. 2 Selective Detailing: Choose details that imply your point of view without declaring it in detail.Example: Say, “The room is warm,” rather than requesting the window be open. 3 Reframing: Use higher-level abstractions to focus on broader connections.Example: A specific question about why something is so expensive is reframed as a question about value. 4 Word Choice & Phrasing: Employ strategic word choices to imply, suggest, or cushion.Example: This course of action is certified. 5 Open-Ended Questions: Foster directed dialogue and exploration.Example: What are the criteria for success? 6 Scenarios: Scenario planning can illustrate potential outcomes hypothetically, without commitment.Example: Referencing cases that align with your goal. Deciding when and how to be ambiguous As with all high-stakes, strategic communication, we must consider the goal and context to help craft effective messages. In defining our messages, we must think about what we want our audience to know, feel, and do. Further, we need to consider how they will feel about our discussion topic and its associations. In situations where these might invite concern, confusion, or consternation, making our message more ambiguous might invite better acceptance and engagement. Additionally, all communication occurs in a social context that defines what is accepted and expected. We must consider these norms along with the spoken and unspoken rules around clarity. For example, in the midst of a surgery or when flying an airplane, there is an expectation of clear, concise communication between professionals that outweighs some of the negative repercussions of communicating in such a direct manner. Ethics must be considered While ambiguity can be advantageous, it bears ethical implications. Purposeful ambiguity should not be wielded to mislead or deceive but rather to foster mutually beneficial outcomes. Each communication situation needs to net out the benefit versus potential optics of being ambiguous. While potentially more demanding, this vetting will allow for better socio-emotional and task outcomes. In our pursuit of effective communication, strategic ambiguity offers a valuable dimension to business communication. It can foster flexibility, nurture creativity, and manage relational dynamics, sometimes achieving what unerring clarity and comprehensiveness cannot. By embracing ambiguity judiciously, business leaders and communicators create better paths to eventual clarity and beneficial outcomes
Category:
E-Commerce
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