The numbers are nothing to sneeze at: In the fiscal year ending in June 2025, Guinness saw a 13% increase in global revenue and a 14% increase in volume. In the UK, one in every nine pints on tap is now a Guinness. And here’s the kicker: its reach among women has risen by 86%, and among those under 34 by 70%. A stout brand that’s suddenly cool with the young crowd. Epic.

Fun Fact: Guinness didn't even invent the game itself. “Split the G” had been going around in pubs for years before it went viral on TikTok. The brand just happened to have the right glass on hand.

And that’s exactly what today is all about. A ritual is something people do over and over again in the same way because it just feels good. If your brand can become part of that, people won’t just buy from you anymore. They’ll celebrate you.

Spotify backs it all up with data.

Every year in early December, Wrapped drops, and suddenly your entire Instagram Story is filled with top songs and listening stats. In 2025, over 200 million people opened their Wrapped within the first 24 hours. The year before, it took 62 hours. It was shared over 500 million times on the first day—41% more than in 2024.

Real Talk: The most exciting developments happened the year before. In 2024, Spotify tinkered with the Ritual and put an AI podcast front and center instead of the stats everyone had been waiting for. The community was not amused. In 2025, the details returned, along with features that let you battle directly with friends.

Lesson learned: Eventually, a ritual belongs to the people who celebrate it. Anyone who messes with it is playing with fire.

IKEA proves that a ritual doesn't even have to be related to the core product.

You go in to buy a shelf and come out with meatballs in your belly—it used to be hot dogs. For many, that’s just part of the IKEA experience—no question about it. According to IKEA, about 1.4 billion meatballs are sold each year, and the 473 restaurants serve roughly 710 million guests. Ingvar Kamprad came up with the idea as early as 1960, based on some pretty smart logic: When you’re full, you shop more relaxed.

My 2 cents:

Most brands blow their budget on features. A new feature, yet another feature, the feature of all features. Let’s be honest—your competitors will copy that in three months. No one can copy a ritual because it lives in your customers’ minds.

And no, you don't have to pour a beer to do that. Rituals work just as well for services:

✅ A kick-off that feels a little bit like an event every time

✅ A handoff that's more than just a WeTransfer link sent by email

✅ A year-in-review for your customers, Wrapped-style: Here's what we accomplished together in 2026

But here’s the thing: you can’t just impose a ritual from above. Often, it emerges on its own—take Guinness, for example. Your job is to take a close look at what your customers are already doing over and over again, and use that to build something that works exclusively for you.

So, here's a question for you: What moment with your brand would your customers miss if it were gone tomorrow?

Stay bullish 🔥
Chantalle

P.S. Does your brand already have a little ritual like that—maybe without you ever having called it that? Hit reply and tell me about it—I’m super curious. And if you want to start one: Let’s talk. ✉️ chantalle@boredbrands.studio