
Exclusive: Amouage Is The First Beauty Brand to Join Aura Blockchain Consortium
The perfume house on Monday announced its entry into the Aura Blockchain Consortium, established by LVMH, Prada Group, OTB and Richemont's Cartier as an alliance to leverage blockchain technology for greater traceability and transparency in luxury goods. Since 2021, the group has logged more than 50 million products from dozens of brands on its private blockchain, creating digital identities — known as digital product passports, or DPPs — for each item which consumers and regulators can access for information such as the product's provenance.
Amouage said its DPPs will be accessible via a QR code on the fragrance's packaging. Customers will get a unique certificate of ownership, as well as access to exclusive benefits such as personalised beauty routines and invites to community events. The brand, which has introduced refillable bottles, is also planning a programme to encourage refills, where the QR code could be scanned at a boutique or refill point and the DPP would be updated with details such as when, where and how the refill took place.
Founded in Oman in 1983, Amouage is the first beauty player to join the consortium, as well as the first brand from the Middle East. In February, L'Oréal took a long-term minority stake in the fragrance house. As of this month, all new products from Amouage will be integrated into Aura's blockchain, and by the end of the month, it will have added existing items produced in or before this year as well, the company said.
'This announcement represents several important milestones for Aura Blockchain Consortium, with a particular focus on venturing into a new vertical, and establishing a strong new footing in the Middle East luxury industry,' Lorenzo Bertelli, chairman of the Aura Blockchain Consortium and head of corporate social responsibility for Prada Group, said in a statement.
Beauty brands have been slower to adopt DPPs than fashion, but much like fashion, the beauty industry is encountering increased scrutiny over issues like the sourcing, sustainability and authenticity of its products. Some brands are starting to look for blockchain-based solutions. Earlier this year, French beauty brand Ulé, part of the Shiseido group, partnered with technology provider Arianee to create DPPs for its C-Bright Serum.
Starting in 2027, the EU will also begin to require many products to be enabled with a DPP as part of a broader push towards sustainability and corporate transparency, prompting companies to begin preparations.
Learn more:
Millions of Luxury Products Have Digital IDs. Is Anyone Using Them?
Brands are attaching the virtual identifiers to their products to comply with upcoming regulations, and see potential side benefits that could make for a better user experience — if they can get customers to notice.
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Business Insider
5 hours ago
- Business Insider
I ordered the cheapest breakfast combo at Denny's and IHOP. The food was similar, but the prices were not.
It turns out that, when it comes to breakfast, not all chains are created equally, especially if you're an early riser. In search of the best value and taste, I recently ordered the same affordable combo (two sausages, two pancakes, two eggs) at breakfast chains IHOP and Denny's. They've always seemed quite similar to me, but I found myself shocked when I paid dramatically different prices in each place for near-identical meals. I also learned a frustrating lesson about timing — it really is everything. I started at Denny's, where the pancakes were massive and the sausage links tiny I arrived at a Denny's in Queens, New York, at 7 a.m. on a weekday. I was the only customer aside from a small family. My order was the cheapest meal on the Denny's menu, which proved to be the Everyday Value Slam. It consists of two eggs cooked however you like, bacon or sausage, and a choice of two pancakes, two slices of French toast, or a biscuit and gravy. I chose pancakes, eggs over medium, and sausage. When my food arrived, I was immediately struck by two things: The pancakes were huge, and the sausages were not. Topped with whipped, airy butter, the pancakes were so big that they even had their own plate. They were fluffy and slightly spongy with more of a pleasant bready flavor than the sweetness I expected. I wish they'd come with a bit more butter, though. The sausages were quite small — I could easily have eaten both of them in one generous bite. They were tasty, with a good savory profile, albeit a bit too salty for me. As for the eggs, they were cooked perfectly, with a bit of browning on the whites but with the unbroken yolks still partially runny. I paid under $10 for my meal at Denny's — and that's with a 22% tip The Everyday Value Slam meal at Denny's was priced at $6.99. The tax was $0.62, and I tapped for a 22% tip for a total price of $9.28. I doubt I could've sourced the ingredients to make the breakfast at home for less than that. The satisfying meal felt so well-priced that I knew I would return to Denny's even if IHOP blew me away. The food at IHOP felt completely on par with Denny's, though the pancakes were smaller The day after I ate at the Denny's in Queens, I went to an IHOP in Long Island on a weekday morning. I got there at about 6:20 a.m. and was seated alongside four or five other tables of guests. Once again, I wanted the cheapest meal, the same one I'd had at Denny's: two pancakes, two eggs cooked over medium, and two sausages. Once served, I was surprised to find all of my food nestled onto one plate. At Denny's, the pancakes were large enough to merit their own. I was surprised that the pancakes at the International House of Pancakes were markedly smaller than the pair I'd been served the morning before. The good news was that the sausage links appeared to be at least 40% larger than those I'd received at Denny's. IHOP's pancakes were sweeter than those from Denny's and were served with twice as much fluffy butter. I appreciated the generous portion of butter, though I slightly preferred the taste of Denny's pancakes since I'm not much of a fan of sweet breakfast foods. That's a totally subjective thing — many people would surely hold the opposite opinion. The eggs at IHOP were also cooked perfectly over medium. The long, narrow sausage links didn't taste nearly as salty as the ones at Denny's. I was charged $15.20 for my IHOP breakfast — before tip Coming on the heels of my Denny's dining experience, I was genuinely shocked to be handed a $15 check covering two eggs, two pancakes, and two sausage links. I added $3 for a 20% tip, so the entire affair cost me $18.20. This means my meal at IHOP was almost twice as expensive as the breakfast from Denny's, despite the two being almost identical. In terms of value, Denny's was my clear winner — but my IHOP meal could've been half the price if I'd dined later In terms of food, the meals at IHOP and Denny's were very comparable and almost a perfect match. Price-wise? Not so much. The breakfast from Denny's was so cheap it almost felt like I was getting away with something — while the same meal at IHOP was so expensive (relatively speaking) that I almost felt like I was being swindled. My feelings were further complicated when I realized this meal is part of IHOP's House Faves deal, which runs on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. With it, popular combos at the chain cost just $6 or $7. In fact, I ordered a meal almost identical to this one for $7 when reviewing the deals at this very location a few months ago. So, had I arrived 40 minutes later, I would've paid half the price for my IHOP breakfast. At certain times, I expect to pay a premium for food — the room-service cheeseburger at a five-star hotel, beer at a baseball game, or even popcorn at Disney World. In those instances with limited choices or added convenience, elevated costs feel acceptable to me. However, it's frustrating to know how much less the chain could've charged me if I'd eaten during what I'd argue are more popular dining hours. In terms of just taste and quality, I can't say I prefer one chain over the other. Denny's had smaller sausages but bigger pancakes. My eggs at both chains were cooked perfectly, and I enjoyed all that I ate. However, if I'm planning to get a basic breakfast before 7 a.m., my money will go much further at Denny's.


Fast Company
7 hours ago
- Fast Company
11 strategies for navigating career plateaus
BY Featured Listen to this Article More info 0:00 / 17:26 Feeling stuck in your career doesn't mean you've hit the end of the road. Instead, it often signals the start of something transformative. In this article, seasoned professionals share real-world strategies for breaking through career plateaus, from embracing discomfort to reconnecting with your purpose. Whether you're navigating uncertainty or craving more impact, these insights offer actionable paths to reignite momentum and unlock new opportunities. Embrace Disruption to Fuel Career Growth I've hit a few career plateaus throughout my journey, and each time, I found growth by intentionally being a bit disruptive. Disruptive in the sense that I actively sought out challenges beyond the title I held, the role I was hired for, or the opportunities typically offered, especially as the only woman asking for that kind of consideration. Early on, I moved quickly through the HR function, building expertise across disciplines until I had a firm grasp on the entire function and felt I could lead others. That season of my career was exciting, fulfilling, and fun. I was thriving, but I still wanted more. So, I started asking for stretch assignments, exposure to the board, and cross-functional projects that would expand my perspective beyond HR and into the business as a whole. One of my most pivotal moments came at the C-Suite level. I found myself craving new ways to contribute and grow, so I stepped into an acting COO role—without the formal title. That shift opened the door to entirely new kinds of problem-solving, deeper collaboration across departments, and the opportunity to serve the organization in a more holistic, meaningful way. But, eventually I hit my final plateau—the kind that doesn't get solved with a promotion or new project. That's when I decided to truly embrace my personal motto: get comfortable with being uncomfortable, and I launched my company. As a solopreneur, my reach is no longer limited. I choose the work I say yes to, the partnerships I nurture, and the impact I want to make. My purpose is ignited, my passion is renewed, and my story is still being written. Becky Kowall, founder, chief HR strategist, 22 North HR Reflect and Align for Strategic Advancement Professionals generally want to work hard, feel valued for what they do, understand how their role connects to the organization they work for, and live a good life. They are so driven to continue to add value to the organizations and teams they work for that they often don't take the time to reflect on their contributions and connect them to where they want to go and what they want to do, which often leads to a career plateau. They end up on autopilot, going through their days doing the best they can until they realize they've plateaued or want something more or different. This awareness is a great opportunity to pause, reflect, and uncover new opportunities for advancement. With clients I work with, we start by identifying what they enjoy, what they want more of, and what they don't enjoy, or what they want less of. We uncover what success looks like for them, and what they want to feel when they step away from their career at retirement, along with what they'd have regrets about not doing at this intersection. This is an important component, as making change is often scary, and taking steps towards the right thing instead of falling into something that's going to have them feeling similarly makes a difference. From there, we take stock of their impact, experience, and leadership so they can reflect on what they've achieved (and why it matters), track success stories, and speak about their work with clarity, confidence, and alignment. Next, we consider how they can stay visible, valuable, and empowered to ask for something more in their current roles or strategize how to look for it elsewhere through avenues like networking. Without this process, clients are often so disconnected from the incredible impact they've had in their careers at this point, from entry level to very senior, that the pause and reflection makes a huge difference and allows one to regroup and determine what advancement looks like for them and how to strategically make it happen. Clients who do this go from being overwhelmed with too many options to finding clarity and confidence about what they really want. This makes the ask for advancement much easier, and they land in roles they feel aligned with and happier about. Shannon Bloom, PCC, leadership & transformation career coach & founder, Radiant Firefly Seek Mentorship to Navigate Career Challenges It is a feeling that can begin to creep up over time, and eventually one may experience career stagnation. To break free of these doldrums within a career, there has to be a strategy created to uncover new opportunities for advancement. One strategy I've seen work is to find a more senior colleague who can serve as a mentor and sounding board for career challenges and opportunities. There are typically formal programs within a workplace where employees can obtain mentorship, and if it doesn't exist, then find an organization outside of work that can provide a mentor. It is important to consider who can best serve as your mentor; some qualities to consider are their current work experience, skills, and companies they have worked for during their career. I have sought out mentorship outside my work environment when I was considering the next steps in my career, and I have also served as a mentor in my work environments. Through one experience, over the course of nine months, I had the opportunity to coach and support the development of a junior professional in a mentoring program where I facilitated 32 one-on-one development sessions. We discussed both challenges and opportunities to address her desire to progress to the next stage of her career. After completing the program, my protégé continued focusing on her strategy to address her career needs, and she went through the process to secure a new role for herself. In my case, I was able to learn from a senior professional and ended the mentorship program with a plan as to how I would seek out new opportunities to advance my career. Another approach to uncover new opportunities and add new skills for advancement is to volunteer. I took this approach, before business school, to gain experiences and transferable skills as a consultant, project manager, and mentor for various pro bono consulting projects. Finally, assess on a periodic basis how you feel about your work environment. Questions to consider are: Are you utilizing your skills to have the impact you desire? Are you doing work in an environment where you can thrive? Are you adequately compensated for the level of work you produce? To avoid reaching a career plateau, conduct an assessment on a periodic basis (e.g., every three or six months) to determine career satisfaction. Conducting these periodic assessments will thwart the possibility of a career plateau because there will be a strategic approach to deflect career stagnation. Andrea Bell, CEO & owner, The Employment Strategist Experiment with AI to Reshape Your Role A few years into running Petners (a nonprofit feeding stray animals in Ukraine), I hit a plateau—not just in growth, but in my own role as a founder and an operator. We were doing the same things week after week: writing posts, sending newsletters, and pitching donors and partners. None of it was broken, but none of it was leading anywhere new either. The shift came from tiny, messy experiments. One of those experiments involved using AI to speed up content creation. That became the spark for building an AI-powered tool that helps nonprofits create donor-centric content. Suddenly, I wasn't just leading a stuck nonprofit—I was launching a tool that could help other nonprofits grow. New conversations started, new doors opened, and I had a new way to grow—not just my organization, but my career. I believe that's the most underrated part of experimentation: it doesn't just improve what you're doing—it can completely reshape who you are in your work. When you start treating stuck moments like playgrounds for tests, your role evolves with the process. Experimentation today is unusually accessible, too. We don't need a growth team or user testing lab—you can use Lovable and n8n to build something within hours, not months. Build Your Personal Brand for New Opportunities I reached my career plateau when I became the head of technology and innovation at Etihad Airways. You might ask, how did I come to that conclusion? The answer is simple—I tried for various positions at the next level, but I kept getting rejections. The math is straightforward. As you climb the ladder, the number of positions gets smaller. The ratio of professionals applying for senior positions compared to the number of available positions is lower. This is frustrating for any professional, and it was the same for me. So how did I address this? There are two ways you can manage this. First, you can sulk about it (which I did for a few weeks), and second, I decided that if I had to stand out, I had to be better than my peers. That's when I learned about personal branding. I started going through YouTube to understand what others were doing to enhance their personal brand. It was clear—I had to show myself as an expert in my field. So I decided to use the most common medium to get my message out there: a website. I created a website under my name, and I started to post articles about my area of expertise. But I wasn't getting any traffic. I learned that my website needed search engine optimization (SEO). It took me a couple of weeks (and a few weeks of trial and error) before I started getting traffic to my website. With all the new traffic coming to my website and the articles that I carefully wrote, I started to receive queries and questions about my expertise. That opened the floodgates of queries from recruiters and senior executives. New opportunities started to come my way, and my confidence began to grow. I finally zeroed in on the opportunity that I wanted and moved ahead in my career. What I learned from this experience: Rather than sulk about the situation, do something constructive with your time and learn new skills. Learning new skills at an older age can be difficult, but with a progressive mindset, there is nothing you can't do. Be prepared to jump outside of your comfort zone. You will be surprised where life takes you. These three lessons might be simple, but they take a lot of effort, patience, and dedication. You will achieve success if you have the right mindset. Noel D'Costa, managing partner of enterprise solutions, DXC Technology Tackle Avoided Tasks to Reignite Growth Follow your avoidance. Most times, you hit a plateau after you become too good—the irony. When I hit my plateau, it was because the system I was working in became too stable. The deploys were smooth, and the team didn't need hand-holding. Nothing felt new; there was no tension, no stretch. I spent 90% of my time doing things I was great at. It felt more like maintenance instead of growth. I decided to do something I avoided and dreaded: handling customer complaints. It is convenient to let the customer care department handle customer complaints. This was my starting point. I delved into user frustrations from the support logs. I started reading comments, replaying sessions, and sitting in on support calls. Hearing the pain behind the metrics we present proved how much my work shaped people's experience. It pulled me into product decisions, pricing, and messaging and gave me the umph I needed. When you feel stuck, follow your avoidance. Try out something you aren't good at. Find a space where you don't feel smart. That way, you learn and grow. Jay Speakman, chief technical officer, CustomWritings Address Skill Gaps to Unlock Progression Addressing a skills or knowledge gap can be an effective way of uncovering new opportunities for advancement. It is beneficial to have a niche and extensive expertise in a particular domain. However, the needs of the organization you work for or the industry you belong to might change over time. Acquiring new skills might become pivotal for success, and a lack of these skills might actually hinder your career progression. Once you find yourself in a career plateau, ask yourself these questions: Who among your peers is experiencing the kind of career progression that would make you happy? What skills do they have that have enabled that progression? What skills are the most valued in your domain/industry at this point in time? Once you have identified the gaps, formulate a plan to gain these new skills. Identify courses you can take or networks you can leverage to get your foothold in the new, unfamiliar territory. I personally used this method when I hit the five-year mark in my career as a software engineer. Even though I had experienced early success, I was still worried about reaching stagnation. I realized that I needed to be more product/domain/business-minded instead of just focusing on my tech skills. I pursued an MBA—which opened up a whole host of opportunities for me. Anuj Mulik, software engineer, Featured Reconnect with Your 'Why' for Renewed Momentum In my experience, when I hit a career plateau, I realized that I was often obsessing over the 'what'—what was next, what my next title would be, what my landing place in the company would be. Instead, what I needed to ground myself in was clarity around the 'why' I do the work I do in the first place. This reframe allowed me to reflect on moments in my career where I felt most energized and in alignment—there are clear patterns and themes in these moments. In this reflection, it became clear to me that I am driven by evolving cultures into those where more people feel seen, where equity is baked into systems, and where leadership reflects lived values—not just business outcomes. I was able to use this clarity to evaluate opportunities differently, advocate for purpose-aligned projects (even within my current role), and move toward designing roles that didn't previously exist. By re-grounding my next move in my why, I was able to make intentional, values-aligned choices that reignited my momentum. Nani Vishwanath, consultant & facilitator, The Courage Collective Leverage Assessments to Identify Career Paths When facing a career plateau, I took a Birkman assessment and found it very valuable. This assessment has high internal validity, meaning that at different points in your life, there's a high likelihood that you'll get the same results. This is important as it is a tool that you can refer back to later on in your professional journey. It looks both at the types of careers that will work for you and at the characteristics of different job environments that will help you excel. As part of the process, you work with a coach to analyze the results and to use them to help with essential tasks like updating your résumé and LinkedIn profile to highlight core findings from the assessment that would make you attractive as a candidate. I was able to use this assessment to improve how I spoke about myself as a team member and what I can contribute to a team. I was able to quickly move to a role that allowed me to grow, build skills, and set me up for what came next. , founder & CEO, Jackalo Pursue Education to Expand Career Horizons One of the tried-and-true methods for uncovering new opportunities in your career is to consider going back to school in some capacity. It doesn't always have to be full-time, but going back to school allows you to expand your knowledge, make yourself even more marketable, and, in some programs, you'll get certain industry certifications that are becoming more essential in a crowded sea of professionals. Not to mention, going back to school while in your career affords you a new networking pool to draw from, helping you make new connections that can help you in your career in ways you can't yet begin to predict. Communicate Career Goals for Internal Moves I learned a strategy from a colleague who used it to successfully change his career. I approached my manager at the time and shared my goals and the type of work I wanted to do. A couple of months later, he informed me about an opening in another department. I already knew the other manager, so I moved internally to that department without any internal job ever being posted. That's how I pivoted from working in the TV studio to working on entertainment marketing campaigns. It's really important to be proactive in your career and tell people what you want. This strategy works because it helps change other people's perspective of you beyond your current role. The early-rate deadline for Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies Awards is Friday, September 5, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply today.

Miami Herald
a day ago
- Miami Herald
This Is What Toyota's Answer to the Ford Maverick Might Look Like
The world's largest carmaker is preparing to jump into the compact pickup market. The small lifestyle pickup will take on the Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz, with a potential launch window in 2026 or 2027. And unlike the Hilux, this one's not being built to pull tree stumps out of bogs - it's aimed squarely at young urbanites, daily drivers, and maybe even your neighbor who already owns three camping chairs and a roof box. Thanks to rendering artist, Theottle, we have some idea of what it might look like. The new model will most likely be based on either the RAV4's TNGA-K platform or the smaller Corolla-based TNGA-C, meaning this ute is more crossover than crawler. The size is expected to be slightly shorter than a RAV4, and powertrains will likely be hybrid-first, including a plug-in hybrid variant capable of over 60 miles (100 km) of EV-only only would this make it Toyota's most efficient pickup ever, but it comes at a time when the company is doubling down on reliability and sheer road presence. Toyota claims over 150 million of its cars are still on the road today - a handy fact when you're trying to win over budget-conscious buyers who don't want to own a disposable trucklet. Although Toyota still holds the overall U.S. sales crown, it's now under pressure from all angles. According to recent Q2 data, Ford is catching up fast. Ford's year-over-year gains are outpacing Toyota's, and with the Maverick continuing to be a runaway success, it's no wonder Toyota sees the need to respond. A hybrid ute that undercuts the Tacoma and gives buyers something between a crossover and a proper truck would fill a glaring gap in their lineup. It's not just the U.S. market Toyota is eyeing. There's also growing speculation - including recent comments from Chairman Akio Toyoda himself - that American-made Toyotas may soon be sold in Japan. This follows new trade agreements that make it easier to import U.S.-built vehicles to Japan by removing complex certification barriers. If Toyota does choose to build this pickup in North America, it could be among the first models to benefit. While Toyota hasn't confirmed specifics yet, early reports suggest the new ute will be based on either the RAV4's TNGA-K platform or the smaller Corolla-based TNGA-C. That means a car-like ride, excellent hybrid integration, and a front-wheel-drive layout with optional all-wheel drive. Powertrains are expected to include both a regular hybrid and a plug-in hybrid, with the latter capable of over 60 miles of electric-only driving. That figure would place it at the top of its class in terms of efficiency. If Toyota's internal timelines are accurate, the truck could launch in North America in late 2026 or early 2027, with other markets to follow. Expect it to slot below the Tacoma in price and size, aimed squarely at buyers who want the rugged look of a pickup without the fuel bills or size penalties. Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.