We’re all feeling it at checkout. The grocery bill keeps creeping up. Instacart estimates a family of four is now spending between $1,100 and more than $1,600 each month on food. Even the most conservative number represents about a 10% jump from last year.

Inspira is thrilled to have won FOUR awards in Event Marketer's Experience Design Awards, taking home:

- Gold in the  Best Mobile Marketing Vehicle (Exterior) category for Blue Diamond Almonds' Bring Your Flavor Tour  

Experiential sampling is one of those wildly underrated tactics that everyone thinks they understand because they once grabbed a free cheese cube at a warehouse club. But that kind of mass sampling is the marketing equivalent of yelling into a megaphone at strangers. Sure, people will hear you…but they’re definitely not remembering your name.

For the 11th consecutive year, Inspira has landed on Event Marketer’s Top 100 IT List, proving that we know a thing or two about longevity.

For the 9th consecutive year, Inspira has been named as a 2026 Chief Marketer Agency of the Year, an honor recognizing the most innovative agencies driving meaningful impact across the industry.

Loneliness isn’t just a fleeting feeling; it’s a growing problem in the U.S. that’s shaping the way consumers engage with each other and with the world around them. According to The Cigna Group’s 2025 Loneliness in America Report, nearly 58% of U.S. adults report feeling lonely, with Gen Z (67%) and Millennials (65%) leading the way. As the holiday season approaches, expectations around what we’re supposed to be feeling and social media posts showing how much fun everyone else seems to be having can amplify those feelings even more. Surprisingly, beyond feeling disconnected, loneliness can have far-reaching impacts, including how they build trust and choose brands.

Halloween is becoming big business. This year, consumers are expected to spend a record-busting $13.1 billion on products and activities related to the occasion (including $3.9 billion on candy), according to the National Retail Federation’s annual consumer survey. But tapping into the holiday is nothing new for experiential marketers. Halloween has long inspired some of the industry’s most creative campaigns, and 2025 was no exception.

2026 is shaping up to be a year where food isn’t just what we eat. It represents who we are, how we feel, and how we connect online and in real life. From the flavors we crave to the experiences we seek, food is becoming a mirror of identity, intention, and imagination. What will replace this year’s protein hacks and fluffy Japanese pancakes? We’re starting to see some emerging trends that will shape CPG marketing in 2026: here are five hot takes.

In a recent CMSWire article, “Why CMOs Must Treat Emotional Engagement as a Core Growth Lever,” Inspira CEO Jeff Snyder shares how brands can win hearts (and drive growth) by making people feel something, spotlighting our work on last year's “I Scream for Yasso” campaign as the perfect example.