Lil’ Signals: Memes, Morning Routines, and the Viral Spark That Sold Out Saratoga

👋🏽 Hey There

Lil’ Signals is your go-to newsletter for decoding the cultural currents shaping our world.

Powered by Nichefire’s cutting-edge technology, we break down trends, tell compelling stories, and share actionable insights on how to tap into the power of cultural listening.

Stay ahead of the curve—one signal at a time.

In this edition, we’re diving into how a sparkling water brand went viral without even trying. Saratoga Water didn’t run a campaign. They didn’t partner with an influencer. They just happened to be in the right (very meme-able) place at the right time. When hustle culture parody collided with influencer absurdity, the internet didn’t just laugh—they bought.

The result? A 1,379% spike in Google searches and barren shelves across grocery stores.

But this isn’t just a funny moment—it’s a playbook for modern brand strategy. In a world where memes are KPIs and TikToks move inventory faster than TV spots, brands can’t afford to wait for the quarterly trend report. They need tools (like Nichefire) to see culture shift in real time.

That’s why in this week’s Cultural Listening 101, we’re breaking down how to go from dashboards to action. You’ll learn how teams are using automated cultural briefings and even AI-powered podcasts to turn viral chaos into clarity—and culture into strategy.

Let’s dive in!! 🎯

Table of Contents

• Storytime

• Cultural Listening 101

• Content Engines

• Top Cultural Trends

• Lil Surfing

StoryTime

How Saratoga Water Went Viral: When Memes and Morning Routines 

A hilarious morning ritual, a cobalt-blue bottle, and a crash course in why brands need to listen to culture faster.

Sometimes, culture moves so fast it feels like you're watching a meme turn into a stock ticker—live. 

That’s exactly how I felt when I stumbled onto the now-viral chaos surrounding Saratoga Water and influencer Ashton Hall.

It started like many viral trends do: with a random scroll. 

I was seeing meme after meme of people dunking their faces in water, rubbing banana peels on their cheeks, and mocking a certain “3:45 AM to 9:30 AM life-changing morning routine.” 

I had one thought: where is this coming from?

Turns out, Ashton Hall—one of those hyper-productive, hustle-culture influencers—dropped a video outlining his daily routine. 

It wasn’t just your typical “I wake up before the sun and win the day” type of content. 

This video became internet gold because it was borderline ridiculous. 

Picture it: ice baths, banana peels for skincare, face dunks into what appeared to be premium sparkling water, and hilariously specific timestamps (he dives into a pool at 7:36 but hits the water at 7:40… only on the internet does this kind of stuff go viral).

One detail stood out in the chaos: the cobalt-blue glass bottle of Saratoga Sparkling Water.

While most people were cracking jokes, I noticed something else happening—something cultural. 

The memes kept flowing, but so did pictures of empty Saratoga Water shelves. 

People on Twitter and TikTok weren’t just laughing at Hall’s video; they were rushing to their local grocery stores to grab the very water bottle that starred in his viral routine.

In less than 72 hours, Saratoga went from a quiet, niche luxury water brand to a viral sensation, spiking 1,379% in Google searches, according to MarketWatch. 

Social media users documented barren water aisles where Saratoga once stood, while others proudly posted pictures of scoring a bottle, turning it into a badge of honor.

Saratoga’s story is one we’ve seen before: a product that becomes an “it-item” overnight because it gets pulled into internet culture. 

What makes this one fascinating is that the brand did absolutely nothing. 

No campaign. 

No influencer deal (as far as we know). 

Just the perfect storm of culture doing what culture does—find a random object, obsess over it, and drive real-world behavior.

The Meme Economy and the Business of Influence

Here’s where the signal emerges for brands, especially those in retail, CPG, or QSR. 

We’ve known for a while that influencer marketing moves products. 

What’s new is how unpredictable, user-driven virality creates opportunities that are nearly impossible to engineer—but totally possible to catch if you’re listening closely.

Saratoga’s spike didn’t happen because of traditional ads or a polished brand ambassador strategy. 

It happened because Ashton Hall’s video, and the memes that followed, tapped into a long-standing internet behavior: making fun of hustle culture influencers. 

These are the folks who wake up at ungodly hours, meal prep quinoa at 4 AM, and convince us they’ve “hacked” life. 

The internet loves to troll them. And in doing so, they amplified a brand that was just sitting quietly in the corner.

But behind the memes is a deeper truth: cultural behaviors drive business outcomes. 

The internet didn’t just laugh—they bought. 

And Saratoga’s overnight glow-up is proof that consumers are highly influenced by what feels relevant, funny, and shareable in the moment.

Catching Lightning in a Bottle (Literally)

So what’s the takeaway for brands and marketers reading this?

1. Be culturally aware, not just market-aware. A lot of companies are focused on quarterly trend reports, but culture moves in hours, not quarters.
   

2. Memes are KPIs. I’m half joking, but also serious. If people are creating spoofs, remixes, or parodies of your product, you’ve got a cultural signal worth paying attention to.
   

3. Influencers matter—but context matters more. Ashton Hall didn’t make Saratoga go viral alone. It was the cultural context—how his routine played into broader internet conversations around hustle culture—that made this take off.
   

That’s why tools like Nichefire exist—to catch these ripple effects early, map them to behaviors, and help brands activate before the moment passes.

So, What Happens Now?

Saratoga will likely ride this viral wave for a few more days, maybe a week or two. 

But the bigger story isn’t about sparkling water. 

It’s about how culture shapes commerce faster than brands can react if they aren’t paying attention.

Whether you’re a marketing exec at a major CPG or running strategy for a regional QSR chain, the question is the same: How are you listening? 

Are you just watching the market—or are you listening to culture?

Because while Ashton Hall might be dunking his face in cold water at 5 AM, the real early birds are the brands and teams who catch cultural moments before they peak.

Cultural trends don’t follow the rules—they emerge fast, live loud, and move markets. 

The Saratoga Water moment is your reminder that humor, community behaviors, and influencer ripple effects can transform niche products into viral sensations overnight.

The brands that win? 

They’re not just watching—they’re listening, adapting, and moving at the speed of culture.

Let’s keep the conversation going.

Feel free to reach out on LinkedIn or Twitter—I’d love to connect.

Let’s explore the power of culture, one signal at a time.

Cultural Listening 101

🎧 Cultural Listening 101: From Dashboards to Podcasts—Automating Culture at Scale

Hey fam, welcome back to another round of Cultural Listening 101. Today’s topic? Keeping your finger on the pulse without drowning in dashboards.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve walked you through how to use Nichefire’s platform to build dashboards around any topic—from ultra-processed foods to the latest social movements. That’s the foundation. But once you've got those insights flowing… then what?

Here’s how you level up: automated cultural reporting.

Step 1: Build Once, Watch Always

Start with a focused dashboard—like Ultra-Processed Chocolates. Once that’s live, it’s time to make the tool work for you. Set up an automated report that hits your inbox weekly, biweekly, or monthly. Think of it as your always-on cultural briefing.

📥 Monday mornings just got smarter.

Step 2: Democratize the Data

These reports aren’t just for you—they’re for your team, your stakeholders, even your execs. Forward the PDF. Drop it into your internal AI system. Upload it to a shared drive. Some of our users are even feeding these reports into tools like Notebook LM to converse with the data.

Yep, you heard that right.

Step 3: Turn Reports Into Podcasts

One user took our PDF, dropped it into Notebook LM (Google’s AI-powered note tool), and asked it to create a podcast-style summary. Boom: a 25-minute audio deep-dive on snack culture trends. It covered everything from chocolate cravings to the rise of anti-UPF sentiment—framed in a way anyone on a treadmill or train commute could actually absorb.

Why This Matters

Everyone consumes information differently. Some folks want raw data and verbatims. Others just want the TL;DR—those 5 culturally relevant themes to inform next week’s marketing huddle.

This workflow helps you:

• Increase visibility across teams.
  

• Speed up decision-making for your AB and CC personas.
  

• And turn static reports into dynamic cultural convos.

Pro Tip

Experiment with voiceovers, internal newsletters, or even short-form TikTok/Slack audio drops summarizing key trends. Not everyone reads a PDF, but everyone listens.

Until next time—keep listening, keep sharing, and remember:

The best cultural insights don’t live in dashboards.
They live in conversations.

Until next time, stay curious and stay ahead.

Reach out for a walkthrough and start making cultural listening work for you.

See you next week for another installment of Cultural Listening 101.

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Content Engines

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Top Cultural Trends

Stay Ahead with Nichefire
In this new section, we’re diving into Nichefire’s unique tools to explore the top cultural trends shaping our world.

This week, we break down key insights from the Movements Matrix, spotlighting high-growth and emerging trends across 47 cultural categories

• Spot Emerging Trends: Discover niche opportunities before they hit the mainstream.

• Actionable Insights: Leverage cultural data to make faster, smarter decisions.

• Comprehensive View: Analyze trends across 47 pre-trained cultural categories.

Lil’ Surfing 🌊

Just interesting articles I find on “The Internets” 😜

Team manager NIL 

Morning Routine full story 

💬 Your journey into the world of cultural insights starts here!

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