Sometimes all a brand needs is a comeback.

In late 2025, Coca-Cola rolled out a new-and-improved Mr. Pibb with more caffeine and a new look. In less than a year, the 54-year-old brand has nabbed the top spot on Morning Consult's annual Fastest Growing Brands report.

The ranking measures share of purchase consideration among 2,801 brands that Morning Consult analyzed through online surveys over a three-month period, comparing results year over year. DoorDash took the top spot in 2025; the WNBA scored it in 2024.

"Mr. Pibb was not just the fastest growing brand of 2026 for us; it also was one of the most trusted brands on our Most Trusted Brands report," Bobby Blanchard, senior director of audience development for Morning Consult, told Marketing Brew. He added that Mr. Pibb's broad appeal across demographics is "remarkable."

Mr. Pibb claimed No. 1 with an 11.2 percentage-point increase this year. The brand also reflects a broader pattern in the report: older brands making new inroads with audiences. "A lot of the brands that grew were brands that consumers already had some familiarity with," Blanchard said, noting that "they were brands that you find in the grocery store, household goods, household items."

Much of the rest of the top 10 could double as someone's grocery list. Jimmy Dean scored No. 2, Snickers No. 3, and Energizer No. 5. Sweet Baby Ray's came in at No. 7 and Listerine at No. 9. Other household names in the top 25 include Febreze, Marie Callender's, McCormick, Hill's Pet Nutrition, Duracell, Hershey's, Life Savers, Stouffer's, and Knorr.

A tough year for growth

2026 was a difficult year for brand growth overall. Only 14% of brands saw purchase consideration growth, according to Morning Consult. That marks a dramatic reversal from last year's list, when 94% of brands grew from the year prior.

Just 40 of the 1,101 brands Morning Consult has continuously tracked over the last five years saw growth every year in that window. NBCUniversal streaming service Peacock and fintech company Chime posted "the largest jumps during this window," according to the report.

Difficult market conditions are squeezing consumer spending power, and many brands are feeling it in their consideration numbers.

"Consumer sentiment is down," Blanchard said. "Consumers are saying they're worse off now than they were a year ago…The universe of brands that we can consider kind of shrinks because we have less money to play with."

That pressure is hitting Gen X hardest.

• Gen X cut spending more than any other generation, with a 5.9% reduction.
• Sentiment saw its largest decline among Gen Xers, down 13 points.
• Bargain brands drove what growth existed for the generation, with dollar stores and warehouse clubs on the rise.

Gen X may be cutting back the most because they face multiple "pressure points," Blanchard said, with children headed to college and aging parents.

The exception

While most of the top 10 consists of familiar household names, one newer entrant broke through. Drive-thru coffee chain 7 Brew, founded in 2017, ranked No. 6, up 3.7 percentage points overall. The chain posted significant growth among younger consumers—up 6.7 percentage points with Gen Z, according to the report.

"They are a relatively newer brand…they've had a lot of expansion recently, and that has paid forward in terms of consideration rising right now," Blanchard said. "But 7 Brew is also one of those brands that's kind of like—caffeine, that's kind of an essential, right? If you're going to work, you need to grab coffee on the way to work, and 7 Brew is a good way to do it."

Source: Marketing Brew (https://www.marketingbrew.com/stories/mr-pibb-fastest-growing-brand-morning-consult-report?utm_source=&utm_medium=syndication&utm_campaign=feed) / Source: morningconsult.com (https://morningconsult.com/reports/fastest-growing-brands-2026)