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Interbrand unveils top 30 brands set to revolutionise the US market
Mumbai: Global brand consultancy Interbrand launched its Breakthrough Brands 2021 report unveiling the top 30 brands set to take the US market by storm in the coming decade.
From mobile banking developed specifically for Black and Latinx customers to secure messaging services and plant-derived product coatings, Interbrand listed some challenger brands from across sectors that have got what it takes to become household names.
The brands also reflect the broader context of a tumultuous year, with businesses required to experiment and be resilient in response to a global pandemic, social justice movements, and a highly contentious election cycle in the US. These growth-stage companies have a new set of challenges to contend with as we enter a ‘new reality post-pandemic.
Five themes of innovation emerge
Power in Representation: The impact and momentum of Black Lives Matter led to ripple effects on the corporate world and gave the momentum to companies focussing on increasing representation and diversity in different categories. Brands like Greenwood Bank, Omsom, SpringHill Company, and BREAD Beauty Supply are changing the conversations around how these communities are spoken to, represented, and empowered.
Flipping the Focus on Preventative Health: Despite Covid, new brands and technologies are democratising healthcare – making monitoring and diagnostics available to those on lower incomes, with less comprehensive insurance and short on time. Healthy.io, Butterfly Network, and Owlet are key to fixing this critical aspect of the healthcare lifecycle, helping lift the pressure and impact on the entire healthcare system.
Tackling Taboos: A long time in the making, we are seeing an explosion of brands in the personal care space bring empowerment and acceptance of our very human issues. With the likes of Starface, Megababe, and Frida Mom, taboos have never been more mainstream.
Easing Parenthood Anxieties: Thanks to Covid, the lack of intergenerational networks providing support and wisdom means millennial parents feel like they are alone in this new phase. Young start-ups including Frida Mom, Owlet, and Lovevery are taking on this role, helping navigate this vulnerable transition into parenthood and providing reassurance throughout childhood.
Gaming Everything: Gaming is no longer a stereotyped, niche activity – it is flowing into different industries and impacting the design aesthetic of brands. We are seeing playful characters, 3D illustrations, and immersive brand worlds, from Discord and Dapper Lab’s gamification of communication and blockchain respectively to Zwift’s game-like landscapes and Revolut’s graphics and brand identity.
Zwift CEO and Co-Founder, Eric Min said: “My idea for Zwift was born out of a problem I faced personally – the lack of social connection using cycling simulators. Using the power of massively multiplayer gaming technology, we’ve created a social fitness environment that lets you train, explore and compete with other ‘Zwifters’ from all over the world.”
Interbrand has shortlisted 30 companies that best exemplify brand growth from a list of over 400. Brands were selected against three core criteria: understanding human truths (with key indicators including social post volume and growth), creating exceptional brand experiences (brands that answer unmet consumer needs), and delivering superior business results.
Interbrand New York CEO Daniel Binns said: “Following a tumultuous year for business across most sectors, this year’s brands are something special. In increasingly difficult circumstances, these brands have launched, pivoted, survived, and even thrived. They are more than ready to follow in the footsteps of the Breakthrough Brands alumni.”
Interbrand New York Associate strategy director Naeiri Zargarian said: “This new class of Breakthrough Brands indicates the themes that will shape a post-pandemic world. The past year surfaced cultural tensions that will continue to be opportunities for brands and institutions; the realities of modern parenthood, inclusivity, and representation across categories and a willingness to tackle historically taboo topics.”
Brands
Estée Lauder to shed 10,000 jobs as new boss bets on digital shift
The cosmetics giant raises its profit outlook but stays silent on a possible merger with Spain’s Puig, as job cuts deepen and a three-year sales slump weighs on the turnaround
NEW YORK: Stéphane de La Faverie is not done cutting. Estée Lauder announced on Friday that it plans to eliminate as many as 3,000 additional jobs, taking its total redundancy programme to as many as 10,000 roles, up from a previous target of 7,000 announced a year ago. The company, which owns La Mer, The Ordinary, Tom Ford, and Aveda, employs roughly 57,000 people worldwide. The mathematics of what is now being contemplated is stark.
The fresh round of cuts is expected to generate a further $200 million in savings, bringing the total annual savings from the programme to as much as $1.2 billion before taxes. That money, De La Faverie has made clear, will be ploughed back into the turnaround.
A CEO in a hurry
De La Faverie, who took the helm in January 2025, inherited a company that had endured three consecutive years of annual sales declines. His response has been to move fast and cut deep. A significant portion of the latest redundancies reflects his push to reduce headcount at US department stores, long a cornerstone of Estée Lauder’s distribution model but now a channel in structural decline. In their place, he is accelerating the shift toward faster-growing online platforms, including Amazon.com and TikTok Shop, a pivot that is reshaping not just where Estée Lauder sells but how it thinks about its customers.
The numbers are moving in the right direction
Despite the pain, there are signs the medicine is working. Estée Lauder raised its profit outlook for the remainder of the fiscal year, guiding for adjusted earnings per share in the range of $2.35 to $2.45, above analyst estimates and a notable step up from the $2.05 to $2.25 range it had guided for in February. Organic net sales growth is expected to come in at 3 per cent, the company said, at the high end of the range it set out in February.
The share price tells a mixed story. After De La Faverie took charge, the stock surged nearly 60 per cent, buoyed by investor optimism that a longtime company insider could finally arrest the decline. But 2026 has been rougher: the shares have fallen 27 per cent this year, weighed down by disappointing February results and the overhang of unresolved merger talks with Spanish beauty giant Puig Brands SA. The company gave no additional details about those discussions on Friday, leaving the market to guess.
Silence on Puig
The proposed tie-up with Puig remains the most consequential unknown hanging over Estée Lauder. A deal with the Barcelona-based group, which owns brands including Carolina Herrera and Rabanne, would reshape the global luxury beauty landscape. But with nothing new to say and a turnaround still very much in progress, De La Faverie is asking investors to trust the process.
Three years of sales declines, 10,000 job cuts, and a merger that may or may not happen. At Estée Lauder, the overhaul has barely started.
