Early Summer Social Media Trends CPG Brands Need to Know in 2025
Feeling a bit more pep in your step lately? That feeling of “defrosting” always seems to align with the sun setting later in the day, which means all our favorite early summer moments are just around the corner. There’s the classic tentpole moments: Graduation, Memorial Day, Mother’s Day, and Father’s Day. And while the tentpoles might be classic, the trends tied to each can shift in timing, reach, and relevancy, making it critical for brands to stay ahead of the curve.
Understanding how different types of social media trends—viral, cyclical and evergreen—play into early summer marketing can help brands make the most of these moments. Graduation, Memorial Day, and summer holidays all offer opportunities for brands to leverage cyclical trends, which reliably surface year after year. But within these moments, micro-trends emerge, like this year’s “dad dinners” and moodboard-style inspired Mother’s Day setups, that can create a more immediate impact. Evergreen trends like wellness and gift giving also intersect with these seasonal tentpoles. The key for brands is knowing which trends to activate on and how to align them with consumer behavior. Read on for the early summer trends that CPG brands can make the most of.
Graduation Season Trend Insights
With 3.9 million U.S. students projected to graduate high school this year, this tentpole represents an even broader audience: parents and relatives of graduates, college graduates finding their footing outside of school, and graduation party attendees. Additionally, 34% of parents or loved ones of high school grads plan to purchase a gift for them, so brands having a thoughtful presence during this time is critical.
Trending content is centered around nostalgia with generational storytelling highlighting the emotional bond between parents and their children in the final moments of this life stage. Think: capturing “last” family meals on a school night, that last drive to campus, or final coffee chats as a high schooler. So, while gift-giving inspiration remains prominent, there is an opportunity to expand even further by incorporating food and beverage products for key moments like final exam prep or graduation parties.
Unsurprisingly, 95% of high schoolers are active on social media, so they play a key role in shaping their parents’ purchasing decisions. Partnering with creators in this space can help brands reach both audiences simultaneously.
Content Themes to Leverage for Graduation
Final exam parties: Brands can position coffee, snacks, and study essentials as a must-have for getting through the final weeks of studying.
Self-care: Inspire soon-to-be grads to take a moment for themselves by featuring wellness products in ‘Get Ready with Me’ videos that focus on managing finals stress.
Graduation party planning: Help families and loved ones go out on the highest note possible with party planning content themes like “Donuts and Diplomas” or “Last Disco”.
First apartments: Guide graduates as they move into their first apartments by offering budget tips, essential purchases, and advice on making their new spaces feel like home.
Post-grad job search: Joining the “real world” for the first time can feel overwhelming, so engaging postgrads with content on professional and personal care go-tos can make your brand feel like an essential part of navigating this new stage of life.
Memorial Day Trend Insights
Memorial Day is the true kickstarter of summer: a long weekend dedicated to celebrating in the sun with loved ones, while honoring the significance of the holiday. Naturally, it’s a high-spending event where 46% of consumers take part with food, drinks, and hosting items. In fact, 82% of consumers say food will be the most popular item they purchase for 10 out of 14 key holidays, with Memorial Day being one of the biggest for entertaining.
Price sensitivity and smart promotions are significant drivers as consumers actively look for deals for their Memorial celebrations. Last year, Walmart saw 95% of consumers spending their holiday dollars at the retailer, compared to just 20% at Target, highlighting the power of Walmart’s limited time offers, BOGO deals, and patriotic-themed bundles.
Brands can reach consumers by tapping into storytelling, crafts, and party prep content and stay top of mind by leveraging a pulsed or waved campaign approach. How? First, by building pre-Memorial Day awareness, then, by preparing consumers with product highlights leading up to the weekend, and finally, showing the products in action during the holiday—emphasizing their season-long appeal.
Content Styles to Tap into for Memorial Day Storytelling
Pet mom Mother’s Day gift guide: Showcase easy party prep with curated product bundles to help shoppers visualize their purchases.
Green screen: The green screen format, where a content creator films themselves in front of any piece of content, can cut through noise to highlight deals and product locations in-store and online.
Outdoor adventures: “Get Ready With Me” videos for beach days, hiking trips, or Memorial day parties are perfect for inspiring people to get ready and get outside with brand essentials in tow.
How-to’s: Step-by-step crafting or decoration guides that blend education with storytelling on the importance of the holiday provides sincere, informative insights to viewers.
Mother’s Day Trend Insights
Mother’s Day has historically been a day of cards, flowers and chocolates. But, 2025 will see consumers going deeper with authenticity, inclusion, and celebrating sincere, heartfelt moments. It’s about experiences, connections, and making moms feel seen and appreciated. In fact, 74% of moms say they’d rather spend quality time with their families than receive a traditional gift, giving brands a prime opportunity to highlight shared experiences like brunches, spa days, and cozy movie nights at home.
Motherhood today is vastly different from past generations, shaped by societal changes and advances in tech. Modern mothers navigate unique challenges and expectations, making their experiences distinct and multifaceted. Influencers play an important role in celebrating the diversity of motherhood and Mother’s Day by honoring a variety of maternal figures and their individual journeys. So, naturally, trending content is focused on raw testimonials: unfiltered experience sharing, personal journeys and generational connections. With 47% of consumers likely to purchase Mother’s Day gifts that are unique and create memories, integrating products into gift guides or curated gift baskets is a natural fit to show brand offerings in a genuine way.
Maternal figures in 2025 also include moms with pets, with 91% of Millennials treating their furry friends like children. This shift presents a quality moment to connect with this audience through fun content blending pet products and Mother’s Day gifts.
Content Themes Taking Over Mother’s Day
Celebration setups: Moodboard-style inspiration for celebrations is gaining traction, with themes like “Botanical Tea Party” and “At-Home Spa Day” giving Mother’s Day a stylish upgrade.
Pet mom Mother’s Day gift guides: Imagine a playful mix of fur baby-related goodies alongside classic Mother’s Day gifts wrapped up in lighthearted content that pet parents will eat up.
Brunch setup: No Mother’s Day is complete without brunch. Easy, elegant recipes that look good on camera and taste even better will be a big brand win.
New mom celebrations: Real-life stories that celebrate the feelings, challenges, and joys of the new mom experience will go far for those in this transformative time.
Father’s Day Trend Insights
Father’s Day is all about smart spending and experience-driven gifting like weekend getaways and travel. Subscriptions are also gaining traction, but DIY creations and tailored gifts are still winning dads’ hearts. 65% of US consumers are celebrating Father’s Day this year and 94% plan to purchase something to celebrate the occasion, with food, gifts, and drinks being the frontrunners. Interestingly, 61% of men turn to online recommendations after becoming parents, making content creator partnerships a powerful way to connect with this demographic.
The traditional “breadwinner” father figure has evolved, reflecting a broader shift in gender roles, work-life balance, and family dynamics. Modern dads are multifaceted, engaged, and active in family life, and content should reflect this new reality of what a father figure looks like now.
Content Styles Winning Father’s Day Dollars
Dad’s Day Out: Capture special father-child moments with grilling, sports, and outdoor activity content.
Father’s Spa Day: This stereotype-breaking trend highlights that dads deserve pampering, too, with self-care content of spa routines hosted by daughters.
Value hunt: Appeal to dads who prioritize savings with content that does the homework for viewers in finding the best deals.
Dad dinner: Last year saw the widespread “girl dinner” trend. This year dad dinners are catching on, with content showing simple, nostalgic meals that dads love, often recreated by kids as a Father’s Day tradition.
Trend-Focused Campaign in Action
One standout example of effectively leveraging trends came during a Big Game campaign where Acorn activated content creators to go all in on the “dirty soda” trend—mixing soda with different flavors and creams. The goal? To drive engagement and create a direct path to purchase with an ‘add-to-cart’ link directing users to Walmart.com. The results were staggering: nearly $1 million in incremental sales with a 9:1 return on ad spend and 11.6% sales lift. One influencer alone drove 2.7 million organic engagements by tying her content back to the dirty soda trend. This proves that, when structured correctly, a combination of paid media, organic content, and the right trend focus can massively improve the performance of any marketing program. Engagement is the gateway to conversion. Without it, consumers aren’t clicking “buy”.
Final Thoughts
Early summer is packed with moments for brands to connect with consumers through relevant, engaging content. Whether it’s tapping into graduation nostalgia, helping shoppers prep for Memorial Day festivities, or leaning into heartwarming Mother’s and Father’s Day celebrations, understanding the social media trends driving these holidays is key. The biggest takeaway: Brands that master the balance between cyclical, viral, and evergreen trends, while integrating smart media strategies, will see the strongest engagement and conversions.
