What Can Fads Tell Us About the Market? 

Fads ignite quickly, burn brightly, and crucially signal crowd psychology. In a nation where nearly 70% of retail forex orders now originate on mobile apps, spotting those signals can mean the difference between rupees earned and rupees erased. This blog dives deep into what India’s traders can glean from seemingly trivial crazes, connects them to market trends, highlights recent market trends, and uncovers how to know market trends before they splatter across a price chart. 

Fads vs. Trends: Why the Difference Matters 

A fad is a shooting star: dazzling, brief, and often emotion-driven. A trend is the constellational path it hints at - longer, steadier, underpinned by economic or technological scaffolding. Distinguishing the two matters because fads distort liquidity, amplify volatility, and foretell sentiment reversals that technical indicators confirm only later. 

Fad 

• Lifespan - Weeks to months 
• Indian Example - Viral “dal-gona coffee” pandemic boom 
• Market Reading - Spikes in FMCG sugar imports 2.7% m/m 

Trend 

• Lifespan - Years 
• Indian Example - Shift to plant-based protein  
• Market Reading - Structural demand for soybean meal ↑ 25% YoY 

Structural shift 

• Lifespan - Decades 
• Indian Example - UPI digital payments adoption
• Market Reading - Permanent change in velocity of money  

From Beanie Babies to Labubu: What Toy Crazes Signal About Liquidity 

Just as Beanie Babies foretold late-1990s speculative fever, Labubu figurines selling for $10,585 each point to abundant global liquidity searching for novelty. When excess capital chases collectibles, it often precedes momentum crackdowns in equities or currencies as traders rotate toward perceived “hard” assets such as USD or gold. 

For forex desks, watching secondary-market bids on fringe assets can act as an early-warning system. Rising auction prices typically align with widening risk tolerance; sudden clearance sales may foreshadow deleveraging. 

India’s Own Fad Cycle: Chai in Champagne Glasses and Swicy Snacks 

Domestic fads often bloom first on TikTok, then hit organised retail. In 2025, “swicy” (sweet-spicy) millet snacks and chili-guava mithai trended 312% on Instagram hashtags. Nykaa’s 2024 report shows off-shoulder tops outselling kurtas in Delhi during summer, only to reverse post-monsoon. Each micro-cycle leaves footprints in FMCG futures - pepper, sugar, and wheat basis spreads widen as distributors hedge sudden demand spikes. 

Forex Lens: Translating Pop-Culture Heat into Market Indicators

When a fad goes viral domestically, it pulls imports, foreign capital, and ad spend. The rupee often weakens if the craze is import-heavy (e.g., Korean skincare kits), whereas export-linked fads (e.g., Indian copper-water bottles sold globally) can buoy INR. Tracking customs data for sudden SKU surges offers a leading macro clue well before RBI summaries publish. 

How to Know Market Trends Early - Quick Checklist for Traders 

• Scan alternative data: Google Trends, Instagram hashtag velocity, and Exploding Topics graphs highlight nascent demand curves before mainstream media notices. 
• Watch secondary markets: Auction spikes in collectibles precede equity momentum flips by ~6 weeks on average. 
• Map fad-import intensity: Check import duty receipts for sudden rises in HS codes tied to the craze. 
• Overlay with positioning: Compare fad growth to CFTC non-commercial futures positioning for USD-INR; divergence often signals reversals. 
• Validate with volume: Use on-chain or exchange volume to confirm that chatter translates into rupee flow. 

Beyond the Hype: Sustaining Edge in Volatile Currency Markets 

Blindly chasing a fad mirrors revenge trading: fun at first, costly later. Forex veterans maintain discipline by sizing positions relative to volatility, not headline noise. When Labubu hype peaked, savvy traders shorted HKDJPY carry after noting rising yen call option premiums, anticipating risk-off flow. 

Case Study: The Labubu Curve and INR Volatility 

Between January and July 2025, Google searches for “Labubu” in India jumped 480%. During the same window, USD-INR’s 1-month implied volatility crept from 3.8% to 5.1%. The parallel suggests fads can predict volatility expansion. Once Pop Mart shares slipped mid-July, USD-INR vol mean-reverted to 4.4% within three sessions, confirming the timing linkage. 

Psychological Pitfalls for Indian Forex Traders 

Emotion, not macro, sinks most accounts. Fear of Missing Out fuels over-leveraged entries; revenge trading after a Labubu-linked spike doubles the damage. A pre-defined stop-loss and journaling routine counter these biases

Building a Data-Backed Playbook: Tools and Sources 

Exploding Topics surfaces under-the-radar keywords before they hit CNBC tickers. Semrush’s Market Explorer dissects competitor spend. For real-time sentiment, watch WARC’s consumer-trend feeds focusing on Ayurvedic wellness pivots. Aggregating such feeds into a dashboard ensures that recent market trends flow into trade plans within hours, not days. 

Conclusion 

Fads are not trivia; they are tremors. Each viral snack, collectible, or meme reverberates through supply chains, consumer wallets, and ultimately, forex order books. For traders in Bengaluru or Chandigarh, weaving pop-culture observation into technical and macro frameworks delivers a competitive angle, decoding the crowd a step before the chart confirms it.