Despite persistent inflation and cautious consumer spending continuing to pressure volumes across key food and beverage categories, new analysis from Kantar suggests some brands are not just weathering these headwinds, they are outperforming through them to gain value, strengthen pricing power and deepen consumer loyalty.
The firm’s latest BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands report highlights a widening gap between companies investing in long-term brand equity and those relying more heavily on short-term levers, such as promotion and price competition.
Among the standouts are Coca-Cola, Red Bull, Nido and Michelob Ultra. This group may span categories, occasions and consumer targets, but it shares a common ability to remain relevant in a turbulent market. Their performance suggests that while the challenges facing packaged food and beverage are widespread, the strategies for success may be more transferable than they appear.
In this episode of FoodNavigator-USA’s Soup-To-Nuts podcast, Director of Kantar BrandZ Ellie Thorpe breaks down the key themes shaping brand growth in 2026, including the rising importance of emotional connection, the expansion into new consumption occasions and the types of innovation that are delivering results. She also outlines which strategies are falling short, and where brands can focus to drive the greatest return on investment.
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How do consumer perceptions drive growth?
For a quarter century, Kantar’s BrandZ database of more than 22,000 brands in more than 50 markets and 500 categories, has tracked consumer perceptions and attitudes towards brands to understand what drives growth, how brands are built in shoppers’ minds and how those trends are shifting.
From this data, Thorpe explains, companies can pull lessons learned about how branding can protect businesses in the face of economic and social challenges like the ones facing companies today.
“We’ve recently done a study all around consumer sentiment globally, and it shows that volatility around the world reached a real peak in the last year. So, we looked at the World Uncertainty Index, and that shows that there is a general state of uncertainty and unrest around the world,” she said.
“We’ve seen a lot more volatility in performance the last few years, particularly compared to the prior decade or so, and that’s really reflecting all of these tensions that are going on around us, geopolitical tensions, but also the economic insecurity that businesses are feeling,” she added.
While inflation and geopolitical instability continue to pressure consumers globally, Thorpe says the turbulence also is creating pockets of opportunity – particularly for brands that can identify emerging behaviors early and move quickly to meet them, as in the case of Walmart.
Walmart is a top performer in the BrandZ report with growth upwards of 48% thanks in part to its value positioning, Thorpe said.
“It has reframed what value looks like,” so it is not just price but speed, access, experience and relevance of product selection, she said.
It also has “leaned into this very inclusive human storytelling approach to show the role that Walmart’s paying in everyday life, and all of these things have really helped to strengthen the brand’s sense of difference versus others,” she added.
How can CPGs redefine value to drive sales and loyalty?
But while retailers such as Walmart are redefining value through convenience, speed and experience, consumer brands face a more complex challenge: creating emotional resonance strong enough to justify loyalty – and often premium pricing – in increasingly crowded categories.
According to Thorpe, few brands demonstrate that strategy more clearly than Red Bull, which has spent years building consumer relationships through communities, cultural moments and shared experiences rather than traditional product marketing alone.
“We know price and power are important. We know brands need to justify their prices. How do they actually do that?” Thorpe asked. “It is a combination of a couple of things. The first thing is being seen as different,” the second is “being really meaningful to people, so meeting very functional needs, having a good range of products or fitting easily into people’s lives” and the third is the “emotional angle.”
Red Bull performs on all three as a recognizable brand with strong distinctive assets and meaningful connections it has built through cultural moments consumers care about, such as speed biking in the US, music in Europe and esports in China, Thorpe said.
Brand building isn’t just important for new players trying to break into a category or boost household penetration – it is also essential for legacy companies. As an example, Thorpe points to Coca-Cola, which like Red Bull, is winning by embedding into daily rituals and cultural moments.
“Coca-Cola is a great example of a brand that continues to see the importance of investment, marketing and it doesn’t rest on its laurels when it come to building those strong consumer connections,” Thorpe said.
She noted that while soft drinks have been challenged in recent years, Coca-Cola continues to connect through culture, including personalization, local music, artistic collaboration and high profile events, like the Olympics.
Beyond the basics: Building brand through expansion into adjacent areas
Beyond strengthening core positioning, the report also highlights opportunities for brand building by expanding into adjacent spaces including hydration, wellness and premium indulgence.
An example is the rise of treatonomics and brands that can position their products as accessible indulgences.
Doritos, Lay’s and Lindt are strong performers in this space, Thorpe said.
New products open new doors
Innovation also remains critical, but Thorpe says the brands performing best are not simply launching new products. They are solving specific consumer needs while reinforcing what already makes the brand distinctive.
“Innovation is one of our clear growth drivers for CPG brands, but it’s important that this innovation is done in a really meaningful way. It’s meeting people’s needs. It’s in touch with the things that people care about, whether that’s health and wellness, whether that’s sustainability or even trust,” she said.
An example from personal care is Sensodyne, a toothpaste brand originally created for people with sensitive teeth but which has expanded around other issues, such a protection, whitening and prevention, Thorpe said.
“The other thing is to really be meaningful to people and connect the things that matter to them,” added Thorpe.
She pointed to Doritos as an example. It delivers bold flavors, but increasing cultural connection that elevates its flavor appeal, such as through TikTok challenges and its connections with creators, Thorpe said.
Importantly, Thorpe says these lessons are not limited to multinational corporations with massive marketing budgets.
“For small brands, we often see the impact is even bigger if you have really strong underlying brand equity,” and that is done not by getting as many eyeballs as possible but by creating a meaningful connection with a base first, she said.
Looking ahead, Thorpe expects volatility to continue, placing even greater importance on speed, adaptability and emotional connection.
For those interested in learning more about how effective branding can deliver long-term gains and help companies enduring during periods of disruption, check out the full report at Kantar.com.