"Taste is the new value signal" says KRPT's Mitun Thaker

In an age defined by abundance, taste is emerging as the most valuable signal a brand can send, says Mitun Thaker, co‑founder at KRPT.

For years, brands believed that visibility was the goal. Show up more. Speak louder. Say something, anything, constantly.

Taste used to be selective and high-brow. Today, it is being democratised.

It no longer lives only in luxury or high fashion: it exists in everything. Your food shop is now a status symbol. Your soap is now a status symbol. The way you travel is now a status symbol. Taste is no longer about what you own; it is about what you choose.

A more discerning audience

In a world where anyone can produce content, launch collaborations or follow trends, the brands that stand out are those that demonstrate judgement rather than volume. Taste has become a form of performance.

The data support this. At KRPT, we teamed up with SIPS Studio to spotlight the societal shifts happening and how brands can adapt. Our Age of Curation Report found that the most valuable thing a brand can offer today may no longer be just a product, but a point of view.

Meaningfully different brands command five times greater market penetration. Difference is a leading driver of pricing power, and brands that stand apart are four times more likely to grow.

When taste creates differentiation, differentiation creates growth.

Stone Island offers a masterclass in this approach. Rather than using campaigns to broadcast an image, the brand uses them to study and deepen its identity through people who already live it.

Musicians, designers, athletes and cultural figures are not cast aspirationally; they are selected because their lives already reflect Stone Island’s values of technical curiosity, independence and substance.

The result is not a campaign about clothing, but a living ecosystem that makes the brand more legible.

A similar logic underpins Corteiz.

For the launch of the Nike Air Max 95 ‘Honey Black’, the brand resisted the pull of scale and began instead with a cypher on NTS: a grassroots platform holding real credibility in UK music culture. Only then did it elevate the moment with Ronaldinho, a figure revered not just for success, but for style and artistry. Local credibility paired with global legend. Sharp choices, rather than loud ones.