NEW YORK – CPG brands outpaced technology nearly 2:1 in the 2024 Most Innovative Brands survey conducted by Brand Keys Inc. (www.brandkeys.com), the New York-based brand loyalty and engagement research firm.

“For the first time consumers acknowledged more CPG than Tech brands,” noted Robert Passikoff, brand keys founder and president. “And, for the first time, consumers named entertainment entities as ‘innovators.’”

For 2024, the national sample of 7,806 consumers (50:50 Male/Female, 16 to 65 years of age) identified the top 50 innovator-brands in eight industry sectors: CPG, Entertainment, Healthcare, Restaurants, Retail, Social Networking, Technology, and Transportation.

Top 50 Most Innovative Brands: Wall Street vs. Main Street

“Earnings calls, patents and profits are important to Wall Street but not so much to Main Street,” noted Passikoff. “While consumers can’t necessarily articulate what form innovation should take, they know what it feels like. Brands that address those feelings via invention and re-invention, always have a significant advantage over the competition.”

In the eight innovation sectors consumers identified, brands were ranked by consumers’ assessments of their ability to meet category innovation expectations. First time brands appear in bold.

Consumer Packaged Goods

1. Sephora

2. Dove (Unilever)

3. e.l.f.

4. Charmin

5. The Farmer’s Dog

6. Swiffer

7. Doritos

8. Beyond Meat

9. Smucker’s

10. Kraft Heinz

11. Pepsico

12. Red Bull

13. Truff

Entertainment

1. Mattel

2. Netflix

3. PlayStation (SONY)

4. Taylor Swift

5. YouTube

6. Disney

Healthcare

1. Ozempic

2. CVS

3. Warby Parker

4. Pfizer

5. Truvani

Restaurants

1. McDonald’s

2. Taco Bell

3. Chipotle

4. Jersey Mike’s Subs

Retail

1. Amazon

2. Allbirds

3. Hoka

4. Louis Vuitton

5. Tiffany’s

6. Trader Joe’s

7. Walmart

Social Networking

1. WeChat

2. TikTok

3. WhatsApp

4. Instagram

Technology

1. OpenAI

2. Apple

3. Google

4. Microsoft

5. LG

6. Salesforce.com

7. Samsung

8. Oracle

Transportation

1. Uber

2. Toyota

3. Tesla

New Brand Innovators

“The Brand Keys Most Innovative Brands list is the only annual survey based on a 100% consumer perspective, identifying which brands users feel best address their expectations via innovation. This year 30% of the list are first-time mentions by consumers,” noted Passikoff. “That’s indicative of real shifts in the innovation-expectation paradigm. Brands also need to keep in mind that consumers continually inflate their expectations from brands!”

This year “more” took the form of six new CPG brands (e.l.f, The Farmer’s Dog, Red Bull, Sephora, Smucker’s, Swiffer, and Truff), three in the Retail sector (Hoka, Louis Vuitton, and Tiffany’s), and two each in Entertainment (Mattel and Taylor Swift), Healthcare (Ozempic and Truvani), and Restaurants (Taco Bell and Jersey Mike’s Subs).

When “Delight” Turns Into The “Conventional”

“When innovation ‘delight’ turns into everyday ‘conventional,’ as good as brands might be it’s no guarantee that consumers will see them as innovators,” noted Passikoff. “Many brands become yesterday’s news like: Dyson, Nike, Peloton, Wayfair, Airbnb, GM, Adobe, Hulu, and Zip Car, which were once seen as innovators, didn’t make it on this year’s list.”

Brands Need A Better Feel For Innovation

“In order to acknowledge brand innovation, consumers need to feel it first. Brands need a better barometer for how to manage consumers’ mostly emotional category expectations. If they can do that, consumers will always respond positively,” advised Passikoff, “Expectations are the ultimate roadmap to enhancing brand innovation.”