FIKA is the new trend that's about to bump Hygge and we are slightly biased towards it.. sorry Hygge.
To me, Hygge and FIKA are perfect examples of two key social trends running throughout London, New York and other big cities at the moment:
1. Hygge = self.
The power of social media can be used for great things. The backlash against media outlets that utilise their ability to create self doubt and self deprecation to make sales is one of those great things. Women and men in wellness have created a trend documenting their journeys to self love, self care and self respect and created an online community that encourages and enables others to do the same. The not-so-great thing is that trends tend to go too far one way before they backlash- collectively it can appear to be self promotion and self indulgence.
Hygge encapsulates the self care trend as it encourages people to create small but positive changes to nourish and love themselves. ❤️
2. FIKA = community.
We may look at this 'online community' and realise it has resulted in a lack of 'real life' community in big cities. You can be 'social' without having to leave your house. There's less of a need to physically interact in so many ways that may seem unimportant (food shopping, picking up the phone to ask a friend a question, booking a taxi etc) that build up. This, and arguably the more secular society we live in, has created a lack of community - read Religion for Atheists by Alain De Botton if you're interested in this subject.
One of the reasons Araminta Marketing look like we are out and about having fun all the time (don't be fooled) is because as an agency we focus on marketing & developing fitness, health and well-living, an amazingly powerful industry for creating community- it can be very uplifting.
So - FIKA is a Swedish trend dating back to the 17th Century. We could 'market it up' for you but essentially, it is a mid day coffee break. In the AM office we often find that during busy periods we forget to stop and take a break, we work through our daily coffee rituals but we always remember to bring the rule to stop and take a break back in whether it be over lunch, or over a coffee. During these breaks where we shut our laptops and speak we come up with simple but effective solutions, pivotal ideas, and basically put the world to rights. So important. FIKA is nothing new, it is more of an important reminder. Whether you work in an office or fly solo, ensuring FIKA in to your life can reinstate a much missed sense of community and communication.
This is one of my favourite summaries of what we need in London at the moment, and why FIKA trumps Hygge:
"One imagines what this sort of rooted, meaningful democracy might look like. A political life centered on local schools, town governments, voluntary associations, and churches; a house in the woods with the television turned off. Inside, family members aren’t glued to their phones. They talk, over dinner, about politics, history, and faith, about national movements and local ones; they feel, all the time, that they’re doing something. It’s a pastoral vision, miles away from the media-driven election we’ve just concluded. But it’s not a fantasy." Joshua Rothman, How To Restore Your Faith in Democracy, The Newyorker
p.s. Really we just love an excuse to drink coffee..