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Design-minded home goods brand Simplehuman recently released a product that’s a little out of its wheelhousea limited-edition tequila with distillery Nosotros. It may be the company’s first foray into spirits, but the brand already knows how to work with the Weber blue agave that made the tequila. The agave fibers on Simplehumans Soapwell sponge begin their life cycle by being pressed into Nosotros tequila at the companys distillery in Tequila, Mexico. Nosotros then supplies its leftover agave fibers to Simplehuman. The $100 Nosotros x Simplehuman Blanco tequila is made out of that same agave, and was released to mark a year that Simplehuman has been spinning the fibers into sponges. [Photo: Simplehuman] Simplehuman CEO Frank Yang says the company approached the tequila the same way it does any productand notes that the agave-sourcing partnership shows off the “less is more” approach that guides both brands. We’re trying to create cool things that exist in the world that people would miss if we weren’t doing this, Yang says. [Photo: Simplehuman] High proof, high performance The story of how tequila ingredients became a kitchen product isnt too complicated. It starts with Yangs fondness for tequila. While on vacation in Mexico in 2022, he joined a tequila-making class and learned how agave is used to make the spirit. They were telling me how the fiber is really tough, he says, noting that after the juice was extracted, it seemed like they were throwing the [pulp] away. The Simplehuman R&D team was both skeptical and excited. It was a tricky process, working with jimadores (farmers who harvest agave plants in Mexico) to handpick specific fibers amid the gunky pulp. But after about eight months, they realized it was a solution that could help create a soft sponge that could also scrub without scratching pots and pans. High performance is the most important, he says. Besides the agave fibers, the sponge’s differentiator is a round reservoirthe sponges eponymous soap well. [The soap] seeps down to the sponge so it doesn’t just wash away, Yang says. The circular well is positioned to match where soap comes out of a Simplehuman soap dispenser, and also has a hard outer ring that can offer a deeper scrub for stubborn residue. [Photo: Simplehuman] A tequila influenced by terrain Nosotros approaches tequila like wineeach spirit taking on unique characteristics based on the land where its agave grows. The Nosotros x Simplehuman bottle of additive-free Blanco tequila is not made differently than Nosotross other bottles of Blanco, but is a particular vintage. Nosotros cofounder Carlos Soto describes this specific Simplehuman vintage as mineral-forward. A lot of times with our Blanco, we’ve had the highlands carry a lot of itmore fruity notes and that cooked agave sweetness, he says. Hes referring to the Mexican highlands of Arasco, Jalisco, where 50% of the agave for Nosotros tequila comes from. The other 50% comes from the city of Tequila, located in the lowlands of Jalisco, and comes across as more dominant in this vintage. Lowlands usually have a lot more shade. . . . They tend to have soil that is very rich, Soto says. They become a little bit more peppery, more earthy. The approach that Nosotros takes of utilizing these two agaves not only provides a more balanced taste across its line of additive-free products, but also reduces stress on the environment. The farms that we work with are able to rotate crops a little bit more just because we’re only using 50% from each, Soto says. It really protects the soil, which keeps the quality of the agave. The amount of agave required to yield one bottle of tequila produces enough fibers to make more than 2,000 sponges. Giving agave fibers a second life Soto says he thinks of Nosotros as an agave company, and he is always searching for ways to utilize agave fibers. Even before the Simplehuman partnership, Nosotros used fibers to create the labels on all of its bottles, and often recycles the fibers as fertilizer. But the company still regularly has a surplus. We struggle to allocate [the remaining fibers] sometimes, Soto says. We don’t want to just throw it in a landfill. Simplehuman is Nosotross first agave brand partner, and it sees more opportunity to work with other brands to give agave a second life. There’s so much tequila being produced right now, Soto says. There are more fibers than people who are taking it. The company is in the early stages of creating a bigger market for products that can be made out of agave fibers like bricks, single-use cups, plates, and even glassware. Other tequila brands are also finding creative ways to eliminate the waste of agave fibers. Cazadores uses them, among other ingredients, as fuel to power its distillation process. Jose Cuervo has upcycled agave fibers to manufacture some out-of-the-box products including guitars and surfbards. Though the Simplehuman x Nosotros blanco tequila will only be available until the vintage is sold out, it’s a way to underscore how Simplehuman approaches its product development. Yang notes: If it’s not functional, why is it there?
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Summoning a robotaxi from your phone is not a futuristic fantasy since Waymo achieved full commercial deployment.
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The Fast Company Impact Council is an invitation-only membership community of leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual dues for access to peer learning, thought leadership opportunities, events and more. For years, banks have known their customer experience needs to catch up to the digital expectations set by tech and retail giants. Now, with AI dominating the boardroom agenda, the temptation is to bolt on yet another tool and call it transformation. But real progress doesnt come from piling on more toolsit comes from using AI to intelligently orchestrate smarter, more connected customer journeys. Recently, Ive spent time with several banking leaders exploring how theyre applying AI across their operations, from servicing and support to fraud detection and lending. What Ive seen confirms a pattern: The most successful organizations arent chasing hype. Theyre focused on orchestration. What AI is really solving for in banking For most consumers, banking is about trust, simplicity, and confidence. They want fast answers, frictionless support, and personalized help when it counts, whether theyre applying for a mortgage, reporting a lost card, or just resetting a password. Too often, those journeys are fragmented. Customers bounce between bots, forms, and phone calls. Agents are left trying to stitch together context. The experience is frustrating for both sides, and every one of those missed moments erodes trust. AI has the potential to fix this. But only if its used in the right way. The real opportunity isnt automation for automations sakeits intelligent orchestration. That means building systems where AI helps guide the customer from start to finish, hands off to a human when it makes sense, and ensures everyone involvedespecially the agenthas the context they need. From automation to orchestration In one conversation, a financial services team showed how they reimagined the mortgage prequalification journey. What stood out wasnt just the AIit was how the experience stayed focused, relevant, and responsive across every interaction. AI agents collected essential details, routed inquiries accurately, and passed full context to human advisors. Customers felt supported. Advisors were prepared. And the whole process moved faster. The shift was clear: not more technology, but better design. AI used not as a standalone fix, but as connective tissue across the customer journey. Its not about replacing peopleits about designing better systems Theres still a lot of fear that AI means fewer jobs. In reality, the best implementations are making people better at their jobs. Human agents become “super agents”equipped with real-time summaries, suggested responses, and full visibility into a customers journey. And this isn’t just about contact centers. Product, compliance, and CX teams are increasingly hands on in designing and refining AI-led experiencesoften without writing a single line of code. Thats a meaningful shift in how organizations move from experimentation to execution. Why connected experiences matter more than ever Consumers now expect connectedness, not just availability. In recent banking demos, AI agents were able to detect user intent more effectively than traditional natural language understanding systems, guide conversations toward specific outcomes, and seamlessly escalate when needed, all while maintaining continuity. In one example, a customer exploring refinancing options asked a mix of basic and advanced questions. The AI not only responded accurately, but also captured key qualifying details and facilitated a warm handoff to a human loan officer. The advisor didnt need to repeat questionsthe context traveled with the customer. Thats orchestration in action. From system of record to system of action Traditional systems were built to store data, not act on it. But modern platforms must be systems of action, capable of interpreting signals and responding in real time. This means using AI to go beyond logging interactions and instead drive proactive engagementsurfacing insights, anticipating needs, and guiding the next best action. Whether its a lost card or a mortgage inquiry, the most successful brands are rethinking the architecture behind the experiencenot just layering AI on top. This is a window of opportunity Retail has already started to rethink how it delivers value through AI. Banking is close behindbut with higher stakes, more regulation, and bigger complexity. That makes clarity even more important. This moment isnt about racing to launch the next chatbot. Its about reimagining how every part of the customer journey connectsand whether it delivers the kind of trust, empathy, and outcomes that consumers expect from their bank. AI is no longer a nice to have in the CX stackits becoming the connective infrastructure. But only if its applied intentionally, not reactively. The gap between brand ambitions and customer expectations is shrinking. And for banks that act now, with a focus on orchestration, that gap becomes a window of competitive advantage. The organizations that get this right wont just modernize. Theyll leadbecause customers will follow the brands that make things easier, safer, and smarter. John Sabino is CEO of LivePerson.
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