New York, NY — March 5, 2025 —Bain & Company published today its 2025 Insurgent Brands list, a closely watched annual record of the insurgent brands redefining growth in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector. This year’s list included 120 insurgent brands that are outpacing their categories, challenging incumbents, and unlocking new opportunities for disruptive innovation—43 of which are newcomers to the list this year.

“Bain’s insurgent brands list offers valuable insight into where innovative, disruptive growth is taking place within the consumer packaged goods sector,” said Charlotte Apps, executive vice president of Bain's Consumer Products practice. “While the broader sector continues to grapple with stagnating volumes, limited pricing power, and consumer headwinds, these insurgent brands are unlocking incremental growth by addressing unmet consumer needs in new, authentic, and often founder-led ways. These brands provide a roadmap for sustainable growth in this evolving marketplace, and they showcase the power of compelling consumer-centric value propositions, strong brand engagement, and superior velocity on the shelf. Looking ahead, we anticipate these insurgents will continue to capture an increasing share of category growth and play a meaningful role in shaping the future of the industry.”

Insurgent brands accelerated their impact in 2024 by capturing an outsized, and increasing, share of incremental growth. While accounting for less than 2% of market share in the categories in which they exist, they accounted for nearly 39% of incremental category growth in 2024, compared with 17% in 2023.

Insurgent brand disruption occurred across all categories:

• In food: these brands were responsible for more than 27% of the growth despite accounting for less than 1% of market share. Newcomers to this year’s list in the food category include Cerebelly, cocojune, egglife, Mush, and Mike’s Hot Honey.
• In nonalcoholic beverages: insurgents took more than 32% of category growth while accounting for less than 3% of market share. Newcomers in this category include Bizzy Cold Brew, Counter Culture Coffee, Kuii, and Raw.
• In personal care: insurgents held 3% of market share while taking 45% of category growth. Newcomers in this category include Curology, Eva NYC, Kitsch, and Vanicream.

Insurgents achieved this outsized share of growth almost entirely through volume expansion. While price increases remained low, insurgent volumes grew close to 60% year over year in a market where overall volumes were flat.

The full 2025 Insurgent Brands list is available here.   

Editor’s note: Bain & Company defines insurgent brands as those that generate more than $25 million of annual revenue in tracked channels, have grown more than 10 times their category’s average growth rate over the past five years, and maintained positive growth over the past two years while remaining independent or having been acquired by a large consumer packaged goods company within the past two years.

Please direct media inquiries to Katie Ware at katie.ware@bain.com or +1 646 562 8107.