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Written in collaboration with
Written in collaboration with
In “The Road Forward to Value Creation in Consumer Products,” we noted that insurgents and private brands are already capturing a significant share of US growth, and in a fast-shifting media landscape, brands without purpose and relevance for consumers risk extinction.
But not all big brands are doomed to slow growth. Partnering with NIQ, we analyzed the performance of nearly 500 scale consumer products brands in the US and identified 71 that have outgrown their macro-category every year since 2022 in a tough US consumer products market. In 2025, these brands represented just 8% of market share but generated 44% of net growth in traditional grocery, mass, and other channels tracked by NIQ’s extended all outlet combined plus convenience. In their core categories, they outgrew their peers by at least three times.
Here’s how these big brands continue to beat the odds.
These winners do not have clear structural advantages
On average, they look similar to other large brands in size, market position, and category breadth. They are not just smaller high-growth brands with more room to grow. Some are scaled insurgents recently acquired by consumer goods companies. Most, however, are long-standing legacy brands with broad distribution and deep consumer awareness.
Their category isn’t their destiny
Brand winners are not simply riding category tailwinds; they appear in faster-growing macro-categories such as beauty and personal care as well as slower-growth spaces (which account for nearly half of all brand winners) such as food. Even in slower-growing categories, winners delivered a median compound annual growth rate of nearly 12%, underscoring that brand strength, not category momentum, drives outsized performance.
They are not simply taking price
While their peers have relied almost exclusively on price increases (median growth of 2% per year) and had declining velocities and distribution, brand winners have unlocked velocity and distribution gains (7% per year and 1.5 percentage points per year, respectively) while also capturing greater pricing growth (3% per year).
Brand winners differentiate by engaging with and converting an expanding consumer base
We see evidence of brand winners differentially reaching new audiences and occasions through outstanding execution paired with modern marketing levers such as:
- increasing consumer engagement with relevant audiences across a broader set of touchpoints, including one and a half times higher engagement than scale peers on Instagram and nine times higher engagement on TikTok;
- consumer-back innovations that resonate with growing segments, with eight brand winners recognized across NIQ’s 2025 Breakthrough Innovation Award and Wavemakers lists; and
- investing to outpace competitors, not just in grocery and mass channels but also in high-growth channels such as Amazon and Costco.
How brand winners maintain momentum
Looking forward, sustained outperformance will require continued adaptation. As AI augments the ability to reach a broader set of consumers with increasingly relevant messaging, LLMs reshape consumer journeys, and retailers reimagine what is possible at shelf, brand winners looking to sustain their outperformance will need to continue adapting and reinvesting where there is greatest value.
About NielsenIQ
NielsenIQ (NIQ) is a leading consumer intelligence company, delivering the most complete understanding of consumer buying behavior and revealing new pathways to growth. NIQ’s global reach spans more than 90 countries, covering approximately 85% of the world's population and more than $7.2 trillion in global consumer spending. With a holistic retail read and the most comprehensive consumer insights—delivered with advanced analytics through state-of-the-art platforms—NIQ delivers the Full View. For more information, please visit www.niq.com.