Maybe it's because I work in branding. Maybe it's because I spend a lot of time around the architecture and design industry. Maybe it's because I live in Dubai. But lately, it feels like every single thing I come across has decided it's premium.

The coffee, the residences, the gyms, the meal plans, even the damn dog food. And if premium isn't available, there's, of course, luxury.

Luxury wellness. Luxury coworking. Luxury storage(?). At this point, we don’t even blink at luxury water and premium oxygen.

None of these are necessarily bad products. Most of them are probably quite good. But premium used to be a position, something you earned by being specific and deliberate and actually better.

Now it's just the default setting.

The branding equivalent of a participation certificate. Everyone's elevated. Everyone's curated (ugh). Nobody is just good at a specific thing anymore. I sadly see it constantly in project briefs.

Which fascinates me because premium isn't a brief. It's an aspiration, and a fairly vague one. Nine times out of ten, I think it's what a brand reaches for when they haven't figured out what actually makes them worth choosing. Lazy, lazy work.

And my point is - once everyone is reaching for the same word, what are we comparing against? The slightly less premium option? The premium-plus option? The flexi-premi luxury?

Genuinely premium experiences almost never announce themselves though. You just know.
It's the restaurant that remembers your name.
The software that quietly saves you three hours a week.
The contractor who does exactly what they said they would.
The colleague who solves the problem instead of scheduling another meeting about it.

None of that needs marble or a moodboard full of beige. It just works.

The older I get, the less impressed I am by expensive things and the more impressed I am by thoughtful ones. A clear process. A product that lasts. A brand that doesn't need fifteen adjectives to explain itself.

Maybe the death of premium isn't really about branding at all. Maybe it's about confidence. Because the people and brands that genuinely have it? They're usually too busy being good to tell you about it.

M.

A small thing I loved this week: no structure or theme, just sharing some favourites.

Health: If you know me, you know I prioritise living a healthy life. Not a regimented routine or diet but an overall health-and-wellness-focused lifestyle, because NOTHING is more valuable than your health. So, after four years, I replaced my OG Oura ring with their new model this week. I am a little proud of my continued investment in my well-being. And very much in love with their new, sleek design!

xx

Manuja

Not for everyone. Never was.