Top 10 Trends from Expo West 2024

Top 10 Trends from Expo West 2024

Top 10 Trends from Expo West 2024

Late last week, along with roughly 70,000 other consumer goods fanatics, Seurat descended on the city of Anaheim, CA for the Super Bowl of CPG – Expo West. Sensible shoes were out in full force, as were more than 3,300 exhibitors ranging from functional cookie dough to probiotic baby wipes, Vietnamese coffee and plant-based everything.

Expo is always an inspiring (though exhausting) experience, and the buzz was electrifying. And yet, not all trends are poised to emerge from the Erewhon / DTC “bubble” and mainstream at the same rate (we’re looking at you, regeneratively farmed kombucha gummies). It would be impossible to pay tribute to all the fearless founders and hip challenger brands we met, so we’ve settled for a top 10. Without further ado, we present our top Expo trends, qualitatively organized from ‘still emerging’ to ‘ready to scale.’

#10 Cognitive Craze

If the number of “brain-boosting” products on display is any indication, cognitive function is next up in the health industry’s obsession with self-improvement. A slew of brands from supplements to snacks & beverages are promising “brain power on demand” through focus-enhancing nootropics – perhaps no surprise as 1 in 3 consumers look for ways to augment cognition. These products remain niche for now due to low distribution and premium price point. But given consumers’ inclination to start the day at their best, there’s certainly potential for greater adoption.

#9 Eggcellent Innovation

Eggs were a bifurcating trend this year. At one extreme, brands were leaning into eggs as the OG natural, protein-dense superfood and proliferating into different form factors like wraps and chips – ostensibly improving the incumbent’s nutritionals. On the other extreme, several brands were leaning out, hatching plant-based alternatives as close as possible to the real thing. Likely explanations here range from the rise of plant-based to animal welfare, food sensitivity concerns and the TikTokers famous #eggick, a sudden (viral at 4.3MM views) repulsion to eggs. The outpouring of brands offering ick-free eggs made from peas, lentils, chickpeas & the likes is certainly no yolk, but the scalability of these substitutes remains to be seen.

#8 Reign of Regenerative

While only ~1 in 10 consumers are aware of regenerative agriculture, 60% of those who know it are extremely interested – suggesting one of the highest rates of search-to-purchase intent. Regenerative is the new wave of BFY, taking organic even further to be not just better for our planet, but truly restorative. With traditional meat coming back into fashion, consumers are increasingly seeking better, more socially acceptable ways to consume the products they love. (And thanks to kernza, you can finally help sequester carbon and improve the quality of our air, soil and water…all by drinking beer!)

#7 Happy Hormones

The last few years have seen a major shift in the discourse around women’s health: conversations around menstruation and sexual wellness have gone from cultural stigma to empowerment and pride. Based on what we saw at Expo, menopause and more general hormonal health support is the next wave in this revolution. Google searches for “Menopause,” “PCOS” and “hormonal acne” have nearly doubled in the past five years – perhaps no surprise as 80% of women in the US struggle with symptoms related to hormonal imbalances. Women’s History Month was the perfect backdrop for a host of emerging brands aiming to solve very real pain points in the name of womanhood.

#6 Taste of Beauty

‘You are what you eat,’ as the saying goes. And now, apparently, what you put in your body might replace what you put on it to achieve a healthy, balanced glow. Social media is rife with hacks to consume products in place of topical solutions to benefit one’s complexion. (#skindiet has 2.2M hits on TikTok as of this writing.) There’s significant upside if brands can drive daily consumption by positioning these consumables as another step in the ever-growing list of beauty & self-care routines.

#5 From K-Pop to K Food

During lockdown, consumers had extra time to explore new hobbies. Many elevated their baking skills with sourdough starter sets, while others invested in learning recipes from cuisines & cultures outside their own. The latter, coupled with a universal desire to travel, unlock unique experiences & connect with new cultures, has given rise to a host of ethnic brands aiming to make global flavors more accessible to the average home chef. This year Korean products especially appeared in the limelight, from umami snacks to gochujang condiments. Google searches for “H mart” have doubled since pre-lockdown, and we’re bullish on the continued emergence of accessible, globally inspired products – Korean and beyond.

#4 Low Stress, No Mess Meals

Until recently, the ready-to-heat meal solution set in mainstream grocery looked a lot like it did 20 years ago. But increasing expectations when it comes to quality, convenience & taste has given rise to a new wave of premium, health-forward solutions aimed at the roughly 2/3 of Americans who no longer regularly cook at home. As meal kit companies struggle, these products are poised to enter more kitchens, and with greater frequency. Price points remains an important hurdle to clear, but these low-stress, no-mess meals represent an attractive space with significant unrealized potential.

#3 Protein Beyond the Plate

The ubiquity of protein isn’t new to Expo, but the trend appears to have accelerated. Recent years have seen more consumers reducing animal protein consumption, spurring some to turn to beverages and salty snacks to supplement. Americans also fundamentally believe they’re protein-deficient, further fueled by the rise of GLP-1 drugs as these medications require a more protein-rich diet to make up for the impact on bone density and muscle mass. Protein isn’t going away anytime soon – and it’s likely to continue growing in meal-adjacent spaces across the consumable landscape.

#2 Energy Evolution

The energy drink category has a decades-old reputation as being artificial and loaded with sugar. Major brands like Celsius & Highball have changed the narrative, inviting new consumers into the space with cleaner labels & fewer ingredients. Emerging brands are taking this one step further, with “purely natural energy” claims, ingredients that are naturally high in caffeine and even alternative energy sources, from ginseng to green coffee beans. Americans’ thirst for mental & physical energy is effectively insatiable, and yet penetration of energy drinks is largely stagnant. That may be about to change as these brands continue to redefine expectations and products – complete with functional benefits from improved focus to elevated mood.

#1 Sensible Soda

“Healthy soda” is clearly having a moment. Poppi’s splashy Super Bowl commercial exposed millions of mainstream consumers to the idea of replacing their traditional soft drink with a healthier alternative. Manufacturers are taking notice, with more than 25+ better-for-you brands brands entering on the heels of Poppi and Olipop. Even the kombucha brands we met at Expo were changing their strategy and jumping on the bandwagon.Taste remains paramount, but these brands are also touting benefits like gut health and immunity. Things are about to get interesting!

Did you see something else we missed? Didn’t get to Expo and want the full scoop? Hit us up! As always, we welcome conversation. Reach out at info@seuratgroup.com.
2024 Challenger Brand Paper: Breaking Through Via Cultural Connectivity

2024 Challenger Brand Paper: Breaking Through Via Cultural Connectivity

2024 Challenger Brand Paper: Breaking Through Via Cultural Connectivity

Introduction

This year’s challenger brand paper highlights the role of cultural connectivity in building breakthrough brands. The U.S.
is becoming increasingly diverse (diversity index +11% over last decade, source), and we consequently see a rise in the importance of cultural sharing & connectivity. Brands able to harness cultural connectivity differentiate themselves and increase their mental availability. Creating cultural connectivity can come to life through democratizing traditional ingredients or recipes, headlining culturally relevant brand origin stories or missions, and engaging with consumers through broader messaging and specific social strategies. Excitingly, this connectivity is reciprocal in nature. As founders and brand builders look to share pieces of their backgrounds, consumers look to widen their world view, incorporate new experiences, and/or find a piece of home by engaging with and learning from brands with strong cultural heritages.

We’ve all seen the challenger brand landscape shift over the past several years: it’s become harder to break through and scale, capital is harder to come by, and exits / acquisition activity is less frequent. Those that have been able to break through often do so via the ability to authentically connect with consumers (and frequently, through cultural connectivity), hence our focus on the phenomenon in this year’s paper.

Cultural connectivity is a relevant driver of value creation across the consumer products landscape. Consumers are swarmed with an abundance of choice, searching for the best products that will permeate their everyday lives. Our paper highlights “breakthrough challenger brands” that have successfully mainstreamed on this thread of cultural connection – creating meaningful consumer share of mind and achieving over $100MM in sales. We also showcase our top emerging challenger brands that are poised for success via growing resonance, stemming from their ability to authentically leverage cultural ties and welcome consumers of all backgrounds.

Food & Beverage
Breakthrough Challengers

Siete

Highlighted by the Seurat challenger paper in 2019, Siete has quickly risen to breakthrough status in just a few short years. Inspired by the founders’ mission to adapt traditional recipes to allow family members on an autoimmune-friendly diet to partake in family meals, Siete strives to reinvent authentic Mexican cuisine with cleaner, healthier ingredients. Their overarching mission has enabled them to successfully expand into a wide swath of categories from tortillas, salsas, and seasoning to cookies. Every aspect of the Siete brand is inspired by the founders’ heritage — from ensuring that every item is approved by their grandmother, to the brand name, which represents the seven members of the Garza family. Since its founding in 2014, Siete has reached $400MM in revenue (2023) (Source).

Momofuku Goods

Momofuku Goods, an offshoot of the famed restaurant group, is bringing its restaurant’s culinary staples– from noodles to sauces– to home chefs. Momofuku’s 20-year heritage in the restaurant industry brings credibility to the line, which has grown a dedicated following worthy of breakthrough status. After research found that 80% of their social media followers didn’t live in cities containing Momofuku restaurants, the team was inspired to create products that gave more fans access to the brand’s recipes. Beyond the restaurant’s reputation for tasty, authentic dishes, the professional kitchen inspired labels on pack bring an elevated level of authenticity to the products, and further bring the restaurant experience home. Clearly, fans from all over are connecting with the brand — Momofuku passed $100MM in annual revenue in 2023, with over 50% derived from its CPG business (Source).

Topo Chico

Topo Chico is a standout example of how to break through in beverage via cultural connectivity. Inspired by the legend of the daughter of Aztec Emperor Moctezuma, the brand has successfully expanded its portfolio beyond the core mineral water to include Sabores, Margaritas, Agua frescas, and hard seltzer with Mexican inspired flavors like guava. Topo Chico leverages the message of ‘follow your thirst for discovery’ to celebrate its ability to draw consumers to new drink types and flavors. Topo Chico as a brand has tremendous badge value, transforming sparkling water from something to be enjoyed to a signifier of exploration and the appreciation for products with a rich history. The brand was acquired by Coca-Cola and surpassed $200MM in sales earlier this decade. (Source)

Emerging Challengers

Bachan’s

You may have noticed Bachan’s unique red squeeze bottle amongst a sea of American-style barbecue sauces. The Japanese barbecue’s unique & delicious flavor is a product of the founders’ painstaking commitment to authenticity. The sauce starts with a recipe that has been passed down for generations and is packaged using a cold-fill technique, which allows the sauce to taste just like the version made fresh in the family kitchen, bringing authentic, tangy flavors from their kitchen to yours. Bachan’s eclipsed $30MM in annual revenue, and recently became the top selling shelf stable barbecue sauce in the natural category (Source).

Yolélé Foods

Yolélé Foods is on a mission to introduce a revolutionary West African ancient grain, Fonio, to the North American market. While Fonio boasts a superior nutritionalprofile to rice or quinoa, it is relatively unknown in America – until now. Yolélé’s convenient preparation and variety of flavors are a delightful invitation for consumers to try the new grain and bring it into their rotation. Ultimately, the brand also hopes to improve economic prosperity for West Africa by increasing demand for Fonio and reinvesting profits back into local communities.

Omsom

With home cooks and food critics alike praising Omsom’s products for their “game changing” sauces, this brand is democratizing access to authentic Asian flavor. Omsom was created by two sisters who were born to Vietnamese immigrants. Their vision was to create products that bring loud & proud Asian flavors to meals any day of the week. Consumers are delighted to be able enjoy the sauces & noodles with ease, and without cultural compromise. The brand leverages social media as a key storytelling mechanism, engaging with their consumers, and speaking on current events. Omsom made its grocery debut in Whole Foods last year. (Source 1, Source 2)

Sanzo

Filipino-American founded Sanzo celebrates its sparkling waters as a way to explore Asian flavors, touting themselves the first Asian-inspired sparkling water made with real fruit and no added sugar. In unique flavors like lychee and calamansi, the brand offers a fresh take on the category. A mission to “bridge cultures by connecting people to authentic flavors” whether these flavors are a “taste of home or a source of discovery” is core to the brand, promoting the idea of wanting to connect over and share culture. (Source)

Bawi

Inspired by the cofounders’ upbringings in Monterrey, Mexico and Austin, TX, Bawi is modernizing the traditional Mexican aqua fresca through a sparkling take that’s nostalgic and new at the same time. Cited as a best new product of 2022 from BevNet, the brand has earned distribution in over 600 stores nationally from Sprouts & Safeway to a myriad of specialty stores. (Source 1, Source 2)

Personal Care / Beauty
Breakthrough Challengers

Briogeo

Built for all hair types and textures, Briogeo is a black-owned haircare brand that has disrupted the industry. As part of the haircare renaissance that hair products aren’t one size fits all, Briogeo helps consumers find the right products for their specific hair needs and goals. Founded on values of love, invention, and inclusivity, Briogeo was created as a means to spread joy and happiness – an ode to CEO + Founder Nancy Twine’s core memories of time spent creating beauty treatments in the kitchen with her mother. The company has succeeded in inviting in a diverse cohort of consumers and generated over $100 million in revenue in 2022. (Source)

Dr. Jart+

Korean skincare brand Dr. Jart+ has broken through the industry by bringing renowned Korean ingredients and skincare practices into the mainstream. Consumers look to K-beauty for skincare done right, and Dr. Jart+ specifically for the proprietary ingredient complexes they’ve developed in the skin-science labs. Consumers have bought into their high-performance derma care earning the brand $500 million in sales in 2019. (Source)

Emerging Challengers

Ceremonia

Ceremonia is a bright spot in hair care, celebrating LatinX heritage through clean hair care solutions made from ingredients popular in Latin American culture. Born from the desire to make hair care more tailored to and accessible to Hispanic consumers – the largest minority in the US – Ceremonia empowers consumers who are rarely centered in this category. In 2022, the company produced $20 million in revenue and became the first Latinx-owned brand fully available in-stores & online at Sephora. (Source 1, Source 2)

Korres

Greek skincare brand Korres harnesses the powerful bounty of Greek biodiversity into personal care products. Driven by the desire to spread the power of rich endemic resources, Korres features ingredients like Greek olive, black pine, and Santorini Grape in their skin & body care products. While larger in Greece with $97 million in sales in 2021, the brand is growing in the US (~$30 million in sales in 2022) as consumers latch onto the magic of ingredients packaged into Korres’ products. (Source)

Eadem

Vegan skincare company Eadem has identified a gap in skincare products designed for darker skin tones. Messaged as skincare “finally made for us,” Eadem puts women of color at the forefront with the goal of bringing skincare solutions to those who have been excluded for far too long, making the industry a more inclusive space. While the company’s revenue is undisclosed, the brand (and especially it’s Milk Marvel Dark Spot Serum) is blowing up online because of its use of science backed and heritage aligned ingredients designed for melanin-rich skin. (Source)

Nopalera

Nopalera is a Chicana-owned clean personal care brand rooted in the cactus – a symbol of Mexican heritage that also has many health benefits. The brand’s star ingredient is the nopal plant, better known as the prickly pear cactus, which is incredibly resilient and thus a representation of Mexican resilience. By bringing this native Mexican powerhouse to the limelight, Nopalera works to spotlight Mexican culture and share it with the world. (Source)

Conclusion
CPG brands leveraging cultural connectivity become part of everyday life, teaching consumers a bit about the world, or making them feel at home.

Our top emerging challenger brands authentically share their cultures as key to their mission and communications, all while encouraging mainstream trial and adoption through accessible entry and education, making their products tailored to their culture, but enjoyable to all. This strategy of cultural sharing creates genuine connections with consumers, allowing those of the same cultures to see more true representation at shelf, and allowing consumers of all backgrounds to learn about, and celebrate new cultures in their everyday lives.

As always, we want to hear from you! If you’d like more information on any of our challenger brand studies, or want to share a brand of your own, please reach out at info@seuratgroup.com.

Driving Portfolio Value via Demand Maps

Driving Portfolio Value via Demand Maps

Driving Portfolio Value via Demand Maps

A strong brand portfolio is the engine of value creation

The value of a consumer goods or services company is intrinsically linked to the value of its brand or portfolio. Brand equity is rooted in how meaningful, different, trusted, and salient the brand is perceived to be by consumers. Companies with a strong brand portfolio significantly and consistently outperform the market.

A recent McKinsey study confirms this phenomenon: the world’s 40 strongest brands returned 96% more to shareholders than investment in a global market index.

Powerful brands significantly outperform the market.

Total return to shareholders, Index

While it’s clear brand value drives economic value, building a valuable brand is easier said than done, and the market is cluttered with failed or under-performing brands. In our collective experience working with hundreds of brands, we’ve found the number one determinant of success is firmly placing the consumer at the center of all brand strategy decisions. To build a strong portfolio companies must follow a structured approach that details consumer demand drivers, the role of their brands in consumers’ lives and potential for change moving forward.

Demand Maps
A critical tool for manufacturers to position individual brands and their portfolio is a demand map that captures consumer insight on key drivers of choice.

Definition:
Demand maps provide a quantified, holistic understanding of how consumers make choices. They capture who, why and how consumers engage with brands, and predict how consumption will evolve over time.

How your brands could benefit:
Demand maps drive portfolio strategy on where to play, how to action and how to win in addition to informing forward-looking innovation and acquisition decisions.

How they’re developed:
Demand maps blend primary consumer research with category-wide market data to create a multi-dimensional understanding of the space and surfaces which benefits, attributes and brand levers create the greatest sales impact (and the highest growth potential).

How to use a Demand Map
It’s important to keep in mind that demand maps vary by category given consumer drivers are often very different.

At a high-level, demand maps can be defined by occasions (the when, where, and with whom), the needs / motivations that those occasions necessitate (the why), along with the consumer cohort most likely to make a choice (the who).

Demand maps enable a brand portfolio to maximize value creation opportunities. This in turn facilitates strategic alignment across your organization.

Below are our Portfolio Management Principles to leverage your Demand Map effectively:

Prioritize brand lanes based on attractiveness (e.g. profit potential), brand right to win (e.g. brand’s ability to deliver on key needs), marketplace coverage (e.g. available consumption), and execution potential (e.g. brands ability to commercialize).

Evaluate the ability for brands within the portfolio to extend across the demand map. Considerations include:

  • Covering more spaces drives penetration but risks lower salience / relevance (Brand A)
  • Anchoring in one space drives loyalty & distinctiveness at the risk of reduced scale (Brand B)
  • Creating clear demand lanes for each brand

Cover demand spaces where company brands can’t stretch and competitors lack a right to play / win through innovation, acquisition or licensing strategies

How Demand Maps come to life
A legacy brand in the portable protein space came to Seurat after a new player entered the category that was able to tap into an entirely new consumer segment (Gen Z and Millennial women).

Seurat created a demand map to understand the category and unlock pockets of growth for our client to regain share. Our research unearthed that consumer needs for protein are largely driven by a combination of occasion and need. The category exists along two key occasion-based dimensions: snack vs. meal part and solo vs. social consumption. We then pulled apart dimensions further to uncover four distinct drivers (flavor, health, convenience and value) that mapped across 8 unique demand spaces.
After identifying key demand spaces within the category, brands can strategically position to capture new spaces.

Our work quickly revealed a sizable, underserved demand space: mom-approved snacks. By maintaining adherence to a handful of core portfolio management principles, our client was able to regain share by utilizing the demand map’s forward-looking insight to optimize their portfolio.

Ultimately, the demand space insights informed activation platforms, providing the client with a roadmap for how to win with both existing brands as well as identify high-returning innovation opportunities.

What Next
Are you looking to optimize your portfolio strategy?

Are you looking to solidify positioning for key brands? Could your organization benefit from demand map insights? We welcome conversation at info@seuratgroup.com

2023 Challenger  Brand Paper: Evolving the Consumer Value Equation

2023 Challenger Brand Paper: Evolving the Consumer Value Equation

2023 Challenger Brand Paper: Evolving the Consumer Value Equation

This year’s study celebrates the challenger brands that have successfully navigated the recent disruptive economic, political, and environmental changes by redefining the consumer value equation. With rising inflation rates, fierce national political battles, and (continued) climate turmoil, our Top 10 challenger brands are delivering on the priority needs that a growing segment of consumers no longer choose to live without in categories – climate commitment, conscientiousness and cost. We call these the ‘3 Cs’ of the evolved consumer value equation, enabling our challengers to differentiate themselves, increase their relevancy and quickly build trust.

More than ever, the consumer value equation needs to be at the forefront of brand and strategy planning, particularly for those less entrenched movers looking to make inroads. This year’s Top 10 challenger brands highlight new ways to deliver against the ‘3 Cs’.

Climate Commitment:
Consumers are increasingly emphatic about incorporating sustainability & environmental consciousness into their lives. Eco-consciousness is cementing itself as a key part of the value equation, and challengers are making huge strides to appeal to a more scalable, mainstream audience. Challengers who deliver against priority category dimensions, while also providing a more climate friendly solution and anchoring sustainability as key to their reason for being, can win in this environment.

1. Viv

Look to Viv for earth-friendly and toxin-free period care. Their packaging is 100% recyclable, pads & liners are fully biodegradable in 150 days, and their organic cotton tampons are made with plant-based applicators, cutting out harmful chemicals and uncomfortable plastic. Not only is Viv dedicated to helping menstruators everywhere have a zero-waste period, but they are also committed to smashing period stigma, as promoted through the Voices by Viv podcast. While subscribe & save makes it easy to have period care delivered when you need it, you can now also find this brand in-store at CVS!

2. AWSM

New entrant to the sauce market, AWSM, is helping consumers to Avoid Waste + Season Meaningfully. The powder form of their sauces allows for extended shelf life, eradicating the #1 reason for condiment waste (they’re not used in time!) By cutting out water weight, the company also reduces their environmental shipping impact (i.e., less fuel), furthering the brand’s mission to help the world #sauceresponsibly.

3. Akua

Akua is making ‘kelp-based’ the new ‘plant-based’ with their range of kelp-based meat alternatives. As animal agriculture is the 2nd largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in the world, Akua is focused on creating a tasty way to replace factory farming with regenerative ocean farming. Their farming practices significantly reduce CO2 emissions and help us be kinder to the planet – one kelp burger at a time! Impressively, they’ve raised $5.4M to date and show no sign of stopping.

4. Atomo

Founded in 2019, newcomer to the caffeine scene Atomo is paving the way for a more sustainable coffee kick – without the beans! The star ingredient is upcycled date seeds and their brewing method uses 94% less water and expends 93% less carbon emissions than conventional cold brew. As climate change continues to threaten traditional coffee production, Atomo points to the future of coffee, supporting the ever-increasing demand for your daily brew. Recently named to TIME’s list of the best inventions of 2022, this brand is certainly one to watch.

Conscientiousness:
Younger consumers increasingly prioritize supporting mission-driven brands – with around 3 in 4 of Gen Z and Millennials actively seeking out brands that support the causes they believe in. Given next gen’s increasing share of wallet, it’s more important than ever for challengers to authentically tie themselves to a clear sense of purpose, rooted in social good. Mission-driven challenger brands who can creatively, authentically, and substantially deliver on their promises and create unique pathways for consumers to give back see outsized returns.

5. Conscious Step

With each pair of socks devoted to a different cause, Conscious Step partners with a variety of non-profits (e.g., environmental, animal rights, human needs, etc), delighting consumers with the ability to choose which cause they want to support with their purchase. Consious Step provides transparency into the tangible impact they’ve had; this includes a continually updated monetary tracker that stands at over $800k today, a list of their partner organizations and communities they serve, and a breakdown of the cash flow.

6. Ajiri

Women-owned and operated tea & coffee brand Ajiri takes a multidimensional approach to living out its name which means “to employ” in Swahili. Tea and coffee are sourced / grown in Kenya, and local women create the unique banana bark labels. All profits go to the Ajiri Foundation funding childhood education for orphans in Western Kenya, allowing Ajiri to use education to empower and uplift the communities it serves. This brand earned its spot on shelf at Whole Foods, allowing consumers to support this important mission while drinking flavorful warm beverages.

7. Chum Fruit Bites

Chum Fruit Bites offers a snack you can feel good about giving kids for two reasons: their nutrition panel and commitment to the protection of different endangered species. These natural fruit snacks instill the importance of environmental protection in children through their visually engaging animal graphics and their donation of 15% of profits to WILDAID.org – an NGO that works to end the multi-billion-dollar illegal global wildlife trade industry. Founded in Ireland in 2017, the brand has recently expanded to the US through Amazon and their DTC site.

Cost:
It goes without saying that in this inflationary environment consumers are increasingly cost conscious. Budget is top of mind, and it’s critical for brands to get creative with how to deliver (& communicate) value most effectively. Challengers most able to help consumers manage their budget while maintaining creative, elevated offerings are rewarded.

8. The Inkey List

The Inkey List is on a mission to empower consumers with the knowledge they need to navigate their skincare journey. They know skincare can be confusing, so they prioritize accessible price points that allow consumers to test and learn, ultimately building their perfect skincare routine! Inkey reduces costs through less expensive, sustainable packaging and by sourcing ingredients themselves, limiting manufacturing costs, to deliver high quality products all under $15. Since their launch in 2018 they’ve gleaned high praise from leaders in beauty (e.g., Allure) and earned prominent positioning everywhere from TikTok to the shelves of Sephora, reshaping skincare one award-winning serum at a time!

9. Dialogue

Dialogue is an Israeli-based, revolutionary ecommerce platform that uses AI-powered messaging to create individualized shopping experiences – all while helping brands manage site maintenance costs. Personalization is on-trend across the consumer goods landscape, and Dialogue helps ecommerce interactions match the level of personalization of an in-store shopping experience for companies of all sizes – from Sabon to L’Occitane. Dialogue has helped businesses lift conversion rates, session time, and ARPU more easily, all while reducing the brands’ bottom lines and enhancing the shopping experience for consumers.

10. EveryPlate

“America’s best value meal kit,” EveryPlate, helps consumers save time and money on their weekly grocery haul. With EveryPlate, you get a delicious meal for only $4.99 per serving – around 44% less than key competitors– and about 30 minutes of your time. This challenger sits within Hello Fresh, exemplifying how bigger companies can target a wider consumer base by offering accessible versions of their popular services. Reduced packaging and a more streamlined menu keep prices down, allowing consumers of all income levels to be an EveryPlate’r and home chef.

Conclusion
Climate commitment, conscientiousness, and cost are becoming integral to the consumer value equation. Consumers are more keyed into costs and want to put their dollars to work with brands that deliver against causes they care about, including protecting the planet. Think critically about how to reflect the importance of the 3Cs within your consumer value equation, whether through innovation, brand strategy and/or portfolio strategy.
As always, we want to hear from you! If you’d like more information on any of our challenger brand studies, or want to share a brand of your own, please reach out at info@seuratgroup.com.
What’s the Why?

What’s the Why?

What’s the Why?

Today, brands have more data at their fingertips than ever
before. The challenge? Many become overwhelmed or follow it blindly, missing the all-important whys needed to shape smart strategies. Consider these examples:
  • A pet food brand invested in performance marketing but struggled to articulate underlying attitudes and unifying motivations of its target cohorts, severely limiting the effectiveness and efficiency of its marketing investment.
  • A confectionary brand invested in keyword tracking of a given category with three key retailer partners to support collaborative innovation. They were able to identify key claims and tag lines that performed well in the past 52 weeks but could not isolate brand vs. retailer choice factors.
  • A produce brand built a custom dashboard to integrate three different data sources and found they had a clear view to what happened in the past, but no understanding of how to influence consumers looking forward.

Scenarios like these are becoming all too common as marketers are overwhelmed with data sources and the opportunity to test/learn, drive performance marketing, and optimize brand strategy. As Advanced Analytics and Insight teams build capability with data analytics, it is important to understand this is only one part of a more comprehensive consumer growth engine. It is the ‘What,’ as in ‘What is the data telling us?’ Sustainable growth comes from utilizing all five pillars of the Consumer Growth Engine.

  • What: What is the data telling us?
  • Why: Why is this happening? Where is the consumer headed? (core insight)
  • How: How does insight come to life as activation?
  • Risk/Opportunity: What does this mean for competition? R&D? Retail relationships?
  • Fit: Can this brand do this meaningfully? Is there mission fit? Consumer permission?

Growth Strategy across the demand plan is limited without factoring in all five pillars. A key first step is moving beyond the what and asking, What’s the Why? That will drive greater human understanding and engagement.

A leading dairy brand provides an example of how the
Consumer Growth Engine creates opportunity.

A leading premium dairy brand plays in the family-size and pint-size ice cream space. Trends indicate that plant-based ice cream is where the growth resides. Brands are diving into plant-based expansion, and consumers appear passionate about it, driving an 11% CAGR for plant-based ice cream. Had the brand relied solely on data, it would have jumped headlong into plant-based ice cream. Instead, the team dug deeper into the whys, recognizing that in ice cream, plant-based ingredients matter far less than winning on taste and indulgence. The result? While competitors jumped on the plant-based bandwagon, the brand launched a rich, ultra-creamy custard innovation that outperformed the plant-based segment.

  • What: Ultra-creamy, rich, high-end French (egg-based) custard ice cream.
  • Why: Consumers turn to ice cream for indulgence and ‘worth it’ taste, not a watered down, better-for-you version.
  • How: Build on the legacy of the brand and provide premium pints of consumer faves
  • Risk: As other brands pursue one-off innovation with each new trend, this premium dairy brand doubled down on core equities, facing fewer competitors by providing decadence and finest quality.
  • Fit: Plant-based could not fit with the brand and legacy. Activating on an insight that fits with the core promise of the brand led to rapid success.

Big data has the potential to help brands in numerous ways. Consequently, the global data market is worth an estimated $70BB in 2022, driven by messaging that growth will come with more data or faster analysis. The hurdle is that relying on big data alone gives brands ammunition to analyze only the “What.” Big data can over-shadow other parts of the consumer growth engine which are needed to create and capture consumer value. There are plenty of companies offering more data and platforms to churn through that data at an increasing rate. However, sustainable growth requires insights to blend with analysis and ultimately understand the “why.”

How to get started

To establish and action the Consumer Growth Engine leaders must ask, ‘What’s the Why?”, and brands must:

  • Build forward-looking data sources and analytics
  • Create cross-functional Consumer Growth Engine teams
  • Collect and connect consumer “why” insights and combine with “what” data
  • Wire a process to action Consumer Growth Engine insights

Are you ready to unlock the “why” of your brand to drive future innovation and growth? We welcome conversation at info@seuratgroup.com.