[비즈한국] In an era where brands are remembered beyond their products through sensations, experiences, and attitudes, people now prioritize what they are drawn to and which experiences they remember over what they are simply buying. Bizhankook, together with the brand community BeMyB, presents the 'Brand of the Month' each month. We share the new senses and trends of brands captured by BeMyB and delve into the context of why brands currently in the spotlight are being chosen.
Brands are no longer consumed solely for their products. It is an era where the scenes they create and the experiences they are remembered by are more important than what they sell. The brands that received attention in April clearly demonstrated this trend. Running has expanded through collaboration and community, while champagne has become a scene that binds gastronomy, art, and architecture together. Saunas have been reinterpreted as a taste for relaxation, and music has gained a new narrative through the choice of an independent label. Generative AI is now moving beyond being a tool for specific job roles and is emerging as a brand that changes the very way everyone performs their work.
The domestic brand community BeMyB has selected New Balance, Veuve Clicquot, Sisu House, AKMU, and Claude as the 'Brand of the Month' for April 2026. The categories are 'Wearing', 'Eating', 'Staying', 'Enjoying', and 'Using', respectively. BeMyB selected the most noteworthy brands this month based on criteria such as brand identity, timeliness, differentiation, communication, and buzz.
Wearing: New Balance, Which Transformed the Running Trend into a Community Experience
New Balance, selected for the 'Wearing' category in April, was one of the brands that utilized the running craze in the most multi-dimensional way. On April 10th, New Balance partnered with webtoon artist Kian84 to open pop-up stores simultaneously at its Seongsu direct-operated store and Lotte Time Villas Suwon. Both spaces were equipped with collaborative clothing, shoes, and supplies, as well as photo booths, exhibitions, and experiential content. It was a method that allowed people to experience the brand offline, rather than just stopping at selling limited-edition products.
The highlight of the event was the running event held in Yeouido on April 21st. Participants selected from customers who purchased running shoes ran along the Han River with Kian84, experiencing the worldview of the collaboration physically. It effectively created a structure where purchasing a product leads to participating in a community. The assessment was that New Balance's brand identity, which has long emphasized 'balance' and 'sincerity toward actual runners,' was clarified once again through this collaboration.
Eating: Veuve Clicquot, Which Planned a Scene Beyond Champagne
The 'Eating' category brand, Veuve Clicquot, caught eyes with a strategy that makes one remember the experience before the product. The 'Picnic at the Museum' held on April 1st at Museum SAN in Wonju, Gangwon-do, was closer to a sophisticated lifestyle production than a champagne brand event. By applying its signature yellow color onto a space designed by Tadao Ando and adding elements of music, gastronomy, fashion, and celebrities, it created the very landscape in which the brand resides.
This event was planned to commemorate the launch of the 'La Grande Dame 2018' limited edition. The packaging reinterpreted by Jacquemus is read as a way of folding the narratives of two women—Madame Clicquot and the designer's mother—into a single bottle. The history of the brand started in 1772, the pioneering narrative of 'Madame Clicquot,' and the heritage symbolized by the yellow color were all translated into today's sensibility. The fact that Veuve Clicquot is rapidly increasing its points of contact with design, art, and lifestyle in Korea this year also aligns with this trend.
Staying: Sisu House, Which Suggested ‘Reset’ Rather Than Just ‘Bathing’
In the 'Staying' category, Sisu House is considered the space that has embraced the recent sauna trend in the most sophisticated way. This private sauna, which completely renovated a red brick building in Sinsa-dong, consists of 6 rooms that can only be used by one person at a time. The step-by-step flow, including a Finnish-style dry sauna, cold shower, warm bath, and ice fountain, is elaborately organized, and devices that increase the density of recovery and sensation are densely placed throughout the space.
What makes Sisu House special is that it does not leave the sauna as a function of simple washing or rest. It suggests itself as closer to a 'reset space.' It is a method of reorganizing the overcrowded senses in urban life through the contrast of senses such as warmth and cold, light and darkness, and scent and touch. Considering that 'SISU' means resilience and strong spirit in Finnish, Sisu House can be considered an example of translating the fatigue and recovery needs of contemporary urbanites into brand language beyond being just a wellness space.
Enjoying: AKMU's New Scene with Their First Studio Album in 7 Years and an Independent Label
AKMU (Lee Chan-hyuk, Lee Su-hyun), who were listed in the 'Enjoying' category, released their 4th studio album 'Flower Bud' on April 7th, marking their 12th anniversary since debut. It is their first studio album in 7 years since their 3rd album 'SAILING' in 2019. The fact that the album title released after such a long hiatus is 'Flower Bud' creates a narrative in itself. It is a story of finally blooming after sailing, as it condenses the current state of the team completed over time.
A more noteworthy point in this activity is the change in their agency. AKMU left YG Entertainment, whom they had been with for 12 years, and released their first studio album under their own new label, 'The Fountain of Inspiration.' It is a choice to maintain existing partnerships for distribution while taking the initiative in creation and operation themselves. It is also impressive that they created a high-density point of contact with fans through a 550-seat listening session 'AKKADEMY' instead of a large-scale event where tens of thousands gather. It can be said to be a symbolic example showing the contemporary trend of artist IPs evolving into independent brands.
Using: Claude, Aiming to be Everyone’s Tool
Claude in the 'Using' category was one of the AI brands that grew its presence the fastest throughout the month of April. Anthropic's terminal-based coding tool, 'Claude Code,' released over 30 versions in just 5 weeks from March to April. In addition, interactive learning systems, progress monitoring, team onboarding automation, and skill-based handover functions were added one after another, rapidly pushing the transition from a simple chatbot to an actual work tool.
In particular, 'Claude Design' unveiled on April 17th further widened the application range of generative AI. It is a structure where, if a user enters requirements in the chat window on the left, prototypes, presentations, and marketing materials are generated in real-time on the canvas on the right. The interesting point at the brand level lies in the direction rather than each individual function. Claude is moving toward reducing the time spent learning specialized tools for each job and narrowing the distance between intention and result. It has become one of the brands that has most rapidly visualized an era where one can design without being a designer, and participate in development decisions without being a developer.
April’s Brand ‘New Balance’
The reason New Balance was selected as the Brand of the Month for April is not simply because it is a beneficiary brand of the running craze. Through its collaboration with Kian84 in April, New Balance tied everything from product sales to offline space and community experience into a single flow. The pop-up stores held at the Seongsu direct-operated store and Lotte Time Villas Suwon did not stop at displaying collaborative products, but functioned as a venue to directly experience the brand by adding photo booths, exhibitions, and experiential elements. In addition to the event where participants selected from running shoe purchasers ran the Han River with Kian84, this collaboration was completed as an 'experience of running together' rather than just a limited-edition release.
A more important point is the fact that such steps are in line with New Balance's long-standing brand identity. New Balance has long emphasized its history as a brand that started from the balance of the foot, a fitting system considering various foot widths, and sincerity toward actual runners. From the operation of the Bukchon Run Hub and running classes to the Kian84 pop-up, the movements in April are a scene that reaffirmed running not as a temporary buzzword, but as a language that shows the essence of the brand. In that sense, New Balance is read as one of the cases that designed the brand experience in the most multi-dimensional way in April.