I went to a great trends briefing from Mintel yesterday. And while it was packed with data, one thing stood out: there’s not a lot of new out there. Consumers are still cautious, still buying with care, and still leaning on familiar behaviours. This isn’t a market racing ahead. It’s steady as she goes. And that’s exactly why it’s worth paying attention. So we’ve taken the six key signals from Mintel’s update and turned them into something a bit more interactive - think Choose Your Own Adventure, but for your business. Whether you run a consumer brand, a B2B company or an agency, these are the questions worth asking now across your brand, your team, your operations and your commercial foundations.

I grow tomatoes. Among other things (courgettes, beans, the occasional reckless attempt at a loofah), but tomatoes are the ones that get me every year. There’s something about being in the greenhouse, musing about life while eyeing up the first tiny shoots, that feels strangely close to running a business. You start with a simple idea: you want something to grow. More customers. More revenue. More impact. But real growth doesn’t happen by accident. It’s not about hoping, or liking the idea, or having the best intentions. How you grow, why you grow, and where you’re heading, that’s where the real work begins. It’s exactly like deciding you want tomatoes. The idea’s easy. The outcome sounds delicious. But wanting tomatoes isn’t the same as growing them. And wanting a successful business isn’t the same as building one with real vision. The Dream Without the Doing Some people say they want tomatoes, but they don’t do anything about it. They like the idea. They read articles. They watch inspirational reels. But they never plant anything. They haven’t prepared the soil or even visited the garden centre. The idea just sits there, quietly doing nothing. In business, it’s no different. Teams say they need a vision but carry on exactly as before, too busy, too distracted, always pushing it to 'later' when the mythical perfect moment appears. No tomatoes. No vision. Just another missed opportunity by next season. The Token Effort Others go one step further. They throw a seed into the soil, feel quietly pleased with themselves, and then walk away, expecting nature to do the rest. Sometimes a fragile shoot appears. Most times, nothing much happens. It’s the same when a leadership team sets a vision once, shares it in a PowerPoint deck, and expects the culture to shift by itself. A month later, they’re wondering why nobody seems particularly energised. Because seeds (and people) need more than a one-off announcement to grow. Losing Focus Along the Way Even when you start strong, the danger isn’t over. You water the seed, you watch it sprout, you admire your own commitment, and then life gets busy. You forget. The plant struggles without you. Businesses do the same. They launch a bold vision, full of energy, and then get distracted by the noise of everyday operations. Decisions drift away from the big goal. Growth slows. The energy leaks away. And everyone who was promised an abundant tomato season starts to feel quietly cheated. The Hard Part No One Tells You About Sometimes you stick with it longer. The plant grows tall. It looks healthy. Then the weather turns. Pests arrive. Maybe a bit of blossom end rot sets in (yes, it’s a thing) or your bush is massive but there’s no fruit (insert own juvenile joke here). It all feels harder than it should. And giving up starts to look like the simpler, more sensible option. In business, this is the moment when external pressure, internal politics, or simple fatigue start testing your leadership. This is where a real vision either holds or folds. The Reality of Real Growth Proper growing isn’t glamorous. You don’t get quick wins or shortcuts. You show up consistently. You water carefully (not too much and not too little). You adapt when the weather shifts. You prune back the parts that don’t serve the bigger goal. You don’t just act when it’s exciting. You act when it’s tedious, inconvenient, or frankly, the last thing you want to deal with. And that’s exactly how real business vision works too. Not as a slogan. Not as a launch event. As quiet, steady leadership, lived out when it matters most.