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Each year, Bain identifies a new cohort of insurgent brands reshaping growth in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector. This year marks the 10th anniversary of this report—and a decade of sustained insurgent momentum.
Since 2017, nearly 400 fast-growing consumer products brands have met our criteria for insurgent brands. Together, these brands have generated approximately $60 billion in incremental US retail sales value across NielsenIQ-tracked channels—that’s 50% more than the top three consumer products companies combined. And while they represent less than 10% of the $1 trillion US consumer products market, they have driven nearly one-fifth of total market growth over that period.
Capturing outsized share of growth
This year’s cohort of 113 insurgent brands continues to outperform at an accelerating pace. While the overall market grew less than 2% in 2025, insurgents captured about 36% of market growth in tracked channels across all FMCG categories in 2025.
The impact spans across categories. Insurgents drove 25% of category growth in food and 13% in nonalcoholic beverages. In beauty and personal care, they captured nearly all the sector’s growth.
Importantly, this outperformance was almost entirely driven by volume expansion. Insurgents grew volumes by approximately 55% year over year in a market where overall volumes were largely flat, demonstrating that their growth reflects real consumer demand, not just price inflation.
Shaping consumer demand
Insurgent brands continue to be at the forefront of where consumer demand is accelerating. In food, for example, there’s an ongoing focus on clean and natural positioning, with 44% of the brands featuring natural or organic claims. Nearly 40% of this year’s insurgents highlight high protein, and one in four emphasize elevated or global flavors.
The pattern is clear: Insurgents address core consumer needs through enhanced product performance and elevated experience. These propositions expand household penetration, upscale product offerings, unlock new occasions, and increase purchase frequency, creating incremental growth for their categories.
Scaling into category leadership
The ability to systematically translate consumer demand into differentiated propositions has allowed a growing subset of insurgents to move beyond early momentum and into scaled, enduring businesses. Fifteen current and former insurgent brands have surpassed $1 billion in revenue. Nearly one-quarter now generate more than $250 million annually, and one in eight ranks among the top five brands in its category.
Rao’s and e.l.f. Cosmetics stand out as “scale insurgents”—meeting insurgent criteria in at least one category while surpassing $1 billion in total sales. They demonstrate that insurgency and scale are not mutually exclusive.
These companies have evolved from fast-growing challengers into category leaders through disciplined execution of the insurgent growth model—namely, building velocity ahead of expanding distribution, cultivating highly engaged consumer communities over time, and focusing on core assortments that drive incremental growth.
Fueling growth investments
As structural growth pressures mount for large consumer products companies, insurgents have become a critical lever for portfolio renewal. Over the past decade, approximately 25% of insurgents have been acquired by leading consumer products players, including 11 major transactions in 2025 alone—among them Dr. Squatch, Siete, and poppi. At the same time, several insurgents have successfully accessed the public markets through IPOs, including e.l.f. Cosmetics and Once Upon a Farm.
Sustained interest from strategics, private equity, and public markets underscores both the value creation potential of insurgents and the importance of a tailored post-acquisition growth acceleration playbook (see Bain’s Consumer Products M&A Report 2026).
Further growth ahead
Insurgents are structurally positioned to continue outgrowing the market. Indeed, we expect that brands identified as insurgents (past, present, and future) could capture as much as 50% of market growth over the next five years.
As consumer expectations evolve, purchase journeys digitize, and retailers diversify their profit pools and further digitize amid continued volatility, insurgent brands will reap the benefits of their agile, consumer-centric model. Built on focus, velocity, and adaptability, insurgents are not just participating in category growth; they are shaping its next chapter.
Explore the 2026 Insurgent Brands List
First published in mars 2026