This article originally appeared in The Jakarta Post.

Isotonic drinks in Indonesia, branded edible oils in Sudan, soy fruit drinks in Brazil. Five years ago, local consumers would be hard pressed to find these categories on store shelves. By 2011, however, they generated sales ranging from US$400 million to $900 million.

For companies looking to grow fast along with developing markets like Indonesia, building a new product category or subcategory from scratch can be a game changer, often delivering success just a few years after launch.

One pioneer in sports drinks in Indonesia saw its sales surge from $140 million in 2006 to $400 million in 2011.

It’s also a fast-moving game where anyone has a shot at winning — multinationals and local players, incumbents and newcomers, companies selling premium or mass products. By analyzing the strategies of brands that succeeded in establishing new product categories, we identified five characteristics they have in common.

Read the full article here.