What the Fastest Growing CPG Brands Reveal About Modern Growth

A few weeks ago, Bain & Company released its latest Insurgent Brands list, highlighting 113 consumer brands driving outsized growth across the industry.

According to Bain, just 1.7% of consumer brands are responsible for 36% of category growth.

That number is difficult to ignore.

Brands like Chomps, MUSH, Sol-ti, and ALOHA are not just growing quickly. They’re outperforming larger, more established competitors in an environment that’s become increasingly crowded, fragmented, and competitive.

And Bain’s track record with these lists matters. More than half of the brands featured in its original 2017 Insurgent Brands report have since been acquired, while several have grown into billion-dollar businesses.

So the obvious question becomes:

What are these brands doing differently?

This blog was inspired in part by observations shared by retail media expert Eric Martindale, but the broader takeaway is something we think food and beverage brands should pay very close attention to.

Because the patterns Bain identified align closely with what we’re seeing across modern CPG growth.

1. Velocity Matters More Than Distribution

For years, growth was often measured by how many doors a brand could walk through.

Now, it’s all about velocity.

Getting distribution is difficult. Keeping it is even harder.

Retailers care about movement. They care about repeat purchases. They care about whether a product earns its shelf space.

That changes how brands need to think about marketing.

The strongest CPG brands today aren’t just focused on awareness. They’re focused on building familiarity before the moment of purchase.

That’s where modern social media strategy becomes critical.

The brands winning today understand that social is more than just a content channel. It’s part of a broader growth system that supports retail performance, customer retention, and sales velocity.

2. Consumer Attention Has Changed

Bain also points to another major shift: the consumer journey is becoming increasingly digital.

That sounds obvious, but the implications are significant.

Today, discovery happens everywhere. TikTok. Instagram. Amazon search. Retail media networks. Creator content. Group chats.

The algorithm is often as important as the consumer.

That means brands can no longer rely on traditional awareness models alone. Attention is fragmented, and consumers are exposed to more products than ever before.

In this environment, consistency matters more than perfection.

The brands that break through are usually the ones showing up repeatedly with a clear identity, recognizable positioning, and strong storytelling.

3. Private Label Growth Is Raising the Stakes

One of the most important observations in Bain’s report is the continued rise of private label products.

As retailers invest more heavily in their own brands, differentiation becomes more important.

Products that are easy to replicate will eventually be replicated. It’s inevitable. 

That puts pressure on CPG brands to build something competitors cannot easily copy:

Brand affinity. Community. Recognition. Trust.

This is especially important in food and beverage, where purchase decisions are often made quickly and repeatedly.

When consumers are standing in front of a shelf, they’re not conducting deep product analysis.

They are recognizing.

And recognition drives action.

4. The Best Brands Stay Uncomfortable

One of the more interesting themes across Bain’s findings is that successful brands tend to maintain a founder mentality even as they scale.

They stay lean. Agile. Scrappy.

They avoid complacency.

That matters because the modern CPG landscape changes quickly. Platforms evolve. Consumer behavior shifts. Retail strategies change. What worked two years ago often stops working.

The brands that continue growing are usually the ones willing to adapt fastest.

Not the ones protecting old playbooks.

What This Means for Food & Beverage Brands

At Firebelly, we think this points to a larger shift happening across the industry.

The brands driving modern growth aren’t simply producing more content or spending more money.

They’re building systems.

Systems that connect storytelling, awareness, community, retail, and conversion in a way that reinforces long term growth.

That’s increasingly what separates brands that scale from brands that stall.

The Bottom Line

Success leaves clues.

And right now, the fastest growing CPG brands are showing the industry something important:

Growth today is NOT just about distribution.

It’s about recognition, adaptability, and building the kind of brand consumers remember before they ever reach the shelf.

For food and beverage brands, that shift changes everything.