[Jihye Choi's Trend 2025] Order Your Mood... The Era of "Mood Curation"

"What would you like to have today?" "Hmm... I'll have one serving of disappointment, please."

In May 2025, Japanese beverage company Suntory opened a unique pop-up bar called "Glass and Words" in Shibuya, Tokyo. Here, customers order not by cocktail names, but by "feelings." Empty glasses are lined up on the shelves, and coasters are inscribed with phrases representing emotions such as excitement, longing, and annoyance. When a guest selects their current mood, the bartender creates a cocktail to match. After selling out every seat since its first event in 2024 and generating significant buzz, the bar expanded its reservation booths and diversified its menu even further in 2025.

The "mood curation" market has been growing rapidly in recent times. Mood curation refers to a method of recommending products or services as if "prescribing" them, based on the user's current emotional state. While traditional curation relied on objective data such as preferences, purchase history, and likes, mood curation places more emphasis on subjective and momentary feelings.

Unusual bookstores that recommend books based on mood have also emerged. In March 2025, Italian author Lorenzo Marone and Roberta Nicodemo, a former member of a violence prevention center, opened "Luce" in Naples. Instead of classifying books by genre, such as mystery or romance, this bookstore organizes them into four emotional categories: joy, anger, sadness, and anxiety. For those feeling down, books from the "sadness" section are recommended; for those feeling angry, the "anger" section is suggested. It is more than just a bookstore-it is a healing space that cares for emotions through bibliotherapy and counseling.

Now, even movies can be searched by "mood." In April 2025, Netflix began testing a mood-based search function powered by OpenAI. Instead of searching by genre or actor, users can find content using emotional keywords like "movies to watch when feeling down" or "comedies to lift your mood." This feature is currently being tested in parts of Australia and New Zealand and will soon be rolled out globally. By shifting the selection criteria from "What should I watch?" to "What movie matches my mood right now?" this feature is fundamentally changing the way people consume content.

Mood is also becoming an important factor in choosing food delivery. According to a survey by Baedal Minjok, one in three users opens the application without deciding on a menu. Much like the so-called "Netflix syndrome," people spend time unable to decide what to eat. Recognizing this, Baedal Minjok launched a ChatGPT-based mood-personalized menu recommendation service in March 2024. By analyzing accumulated review data, the service suggests food that matches the user's emotions and situation. For example, it learns from reviews like "I ordered spicy tteokbokki because I was stressed after work" and recommends similar menus to users in comparable emotional states.

"Mood curation" is rapidly evolving as it merges with advanced technology. Voice recognition technology is a prime example. Research shows that over 90% of communication is conveyed through nonverbal cues such as tone of voice, facial expressions, and gestures. AI speakers and smartphones can analyze pitch, speed, and tremor in a user's voice to detect emotions in real time. Facial recognition technology can also detect subtle muscle movements-so-called "micro-expressions"-to read even fleeting changes in emotion. When combined with wearable biosensors, it becomes possible to measure stress or tension levels based on biometric signals such as heart rate, skin conductivity, and sleep patterns. Ultimately, technology is evolving from interpreting "physical data" to decoding "emotional data."

In addition to vocal cues, biometric information such as heart rate and brainwaves is emerging as a key indicator for understanding mood. While data generated by wearable devices like smartwatches and smart rings has mainly been used for health tracking, it can now be used to read mood. For instance, information about "What is my heart rate?" can now be extended to "I must be angry right now." The brainwave headband device "Muse 2" is a representative example. As a technology that is in closest contact with the body, it uses brainwaves, breathing, and heart rate to provide real-time feedback on the user's mental state. Depending on the mood, it may suggest meditation or relaxation.

The reason behind this trend is that "emotions" have become something to manage in modern life. People today live amid far more stimuli and information than ever before. Yet, the ability to recognize and express one's own mood in detail has actually regressed. In a society where emotions are put off due to busyness and feelings are covered up with the words "I'm fine," people often repeat cycles of fatigue and emptiness without even knowing their current state. In this context, "mood curation" serves as an emotional bridge that reconnects people with their own feelings. Products are no longer evaluated solely by function. "Does this understand how I feel right now?" has become a decisive factor in purchasing. This is why consumers are drawn to products and services that understand, comfort, and care for their emotions.

For companies, the spread of mood curation signifies a paradigm shift from "data-centric" to "emotion-centric." In the future, the market will be determined not by who possesses more data, but by who can interpret human "mood" more precisely through that data. AI recommendation systems will evolve from simply suggesting "what you have seen before" to proposing "what your heart needs right now." Therefore, companies must go beyond technically collecting consumers' daily data and develop emotional algorithms that read the context of feelings. Furthermore, everything from brand language and spaces to even product packaging should be designed to evoke emotional resonance. The competitiveness of the future will not depend on technology itself, but on how delicately technology can read the human heart.

Choi Ji-hye, Research Fellow at the Seoul National University Consumer Trend Analysis Center

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.