Some trends have been a slow burn while others have exploded and extinguished, but all have had an influence on retail sales – even causing global shortages, in the case of matcha - as their appeal translates to a world beyond the feed.
The speed at which these trends take hold - TikTok says its content has a shelf-life of 90 days – makes it tough for the FMCG market leaders, with a typical product development cycle of 18 months, to get in on the act.
While big big food and drink brands led the way in new product development (NPD) in the early noughties (Coke Lemon – Coca Cola’s radical NPD first released in 2001, and Doritos Chilli Heatwave – well ahead of the current swicy trend - are examples) can the same be said today?
Yes, there are instances where large brands have taken the risk in jumping on viral trends, and it has paid off. Lindt & Sprungli had a Dubai Style Chocolate Bar on shelves of its stores in Europe, 12 months after influencer Maria Vehera’s video showing her eating the Can’t Get Knafeh of It bar by Fix Dessert Chocolatier was broadcast on TikTok. The bar was then listed with retailers in Europe, the US and Canada in 2025.
But others, like Coca-Cola, have been slower to react. The soft drinks giant launched a boba style drink - Cappy Bubble - in Turkey last November, following two years of development. The launch was far too late to tap into the thirst for bubble tea, which was mainstream five years earlier.
So, in a fast-paced TikTok age, how can big FMCG – so used to setting the agenda in the past – keep up?
Big brands and retailers are constantly monitoring social and paying attention to what’s trending, says Alex Hayes, food consultant at Harris & Hayes. Some have introduced fast-tracked timelines to push products through faster and catch the hype.
Nevertheless, it can still be a gamble.
“It’s very important for brands to work out what’s the difference between a fad and a trend, because things can move on so quickly,” she says, adding that the stakes are higher due to hefty development costs.
“In order to get that money back and more, you need to sell a lot of it.”
NPD agility is essential to stay ahead
Restrictive guardrails in large organisations and the high development costs present barriers for big FMCG that smaller, challenger brands can swerve.
Plant-based brand Better Nature, which won listings for its tempeh with retailers Rewe in Germany and Tesco in the UK in 2023, came to market just in time to jump on the protein trend. Its marketing – on social media, through PR and brand partnerships – holds up its tempeh as a viable alternative to what we perceive as the king of protein – chicken.
“Particularly in the UK, we recognised that there was a huge reliance on chicken, which we consider a so-so protein,” explains Better Nature CEO Elin Roberts. “We realised that tempeh is a supercharged protein. It not only contains a similar protein content to chicken, but fibre and gut health benefits too.”
Challenger brands’ agility makes them appear more innovative, but Hayes questions whether their success is due to luck, rather than strategy.
“Where you get the success stories is where often something’s in existence already, but needs a bit of a rebrand,” she explains, brandishing Bold Bean Co the jarred beans brand founded by Amelia Christie-Miller in 2021 and which has since won listings in the UK and the Netherlands, as an example.
What might be last year for a trend-leading audience is going to feel really fresh for others. Take Walkers Hot Honey, for example which is currently leveraging the spicy trend
Lorna Hawtin, Zeal
Beans have been sold by other brands for years, she notes, but Bold Bean Co with its premium, jarred beans seemed to tap into the anti-UPF sentiment, protein and fibre trends, as well as scoring highly with foodies.
“At the time they launched, people on social media were talking about eating 30 plants a week and diversity in diets. You had Tim Spector at Zoe talking about eating more beans. Amelia Christie-Miller did a really nice job of it, but also everything was on her side,” she adds.
Bold Bean Co brand lead Martha Jensen admits that launch timing for the range of beans was fortuitous, but stresses it wasn’t because the brand wanted to not only capitalise on social media trends, but to “inject excitement” into a stagnant category.
“Of course, with trends like fibre-maxxing now taking over social media - our timing really couldn’t have been better.”
Where do FMCG brands shine on NPD?
This lucky timing for challenger brands makes Lorna Hawtin, chief strategy officer at brand activation agency Zeal question whether FMCG needs to release trending NPD to stay relevant.
Established brands already have loyal followers who willingly buy their products. If they are a little late to the party, or don’t bother turning up, does it matter?
“Where FMCG brands come in, really is as the conduit for reaching people at scale,” she says, clarifying that not every shopper is religiously scrolling TikTok or Instagram for the latest food trends.
“What might be last year for a trend-leading audience is going to feel really fresh for others. Take Walkers Hot Honey, for example which is currently leveraging the spicy trend.”
Besides, says Hawtin, who has worked with many brands, including Lucozade and Pringles, there has been a shift in what is deemed to be innovative today. Variants like Coke Lemon or Twix White made headlines because they were new concepts 20 to 30 years ago, now these twists on established products are the norm.
Today, innovation is found ‘beyond flavour’ she says, with FMCG brands capturing the attention of Gen Z shoppers through collaborations with both food and non-food brands – Heinz with Richmond Sausages or Absolut Vodka, and beauty brand Sephora and Tabasco, for example.
Established brands have also avoided backing the wrong flavour trend by creating their own. Mystery flavours, a concept adopted by a wide range of brands including Pringles, Fanta and Cadbury, have generated interest.
Last year, Nestlé stumped shoppers with its mystery flavour, that looked suspiciously like it may be pistachio or Dubai Chocolate due to its yellowy green-hued wrappers, but – perhaps as a flippant rejection of the year’s biggest confectionary trend - turned out to be Pineapple Crème.
These are ways big FMCG brands can remain the leaders in a TikTok age, says Hawtin, not by following the feed, but by looking beyond it.
“We say challenger brands disrupt leaders, but leaders must disrupt themselves. That’s where they can unlock innovation.”
