Building Brand Equity in a Fragmented Market

Modern Brand Building in the Era of Private Label, Platform Retail, and Consumer Fatigue

I. Brand Equity Is Not What It Used to Be

In the early 2000s, brand equity was a function of ad spend, media reach, and top-of-mind awareness. Build a memorable slogan, run a national campaign, and your brand earned equity by sheer repetition.

Today, that model is broken.

The modern retail landscape is fragmented, crowded, and increasingly shaped by private label growth, retailer platforms, and the shrinking attention span of consumers. In this environment, brand equity can no longer be manufactured through media impressions alone. It must be earned across every point of interaction.

In this paper, I explore what brand equity means today, how it is measured, and how food and FMCG brands can build it deliberately in a market that rewards relevance, consistency, and salience over volume.

II. Defining Brand Equity in Today’s Terms

Brand equity refers to the intangible value a brand adds to a product or service. In the past, this was primarily associated with awareness and preference. But in today’s fragmented market, brand equity is defined by three things:

1. Emotional Salience: Does the brand evoke something meaningful or memorable in the consumer?

2. Mental Availability: Is the brand easily recalled at the moment of purchase?

3. Trust & Consistency: Has the brand consistently delivered against its promise across all touchpoints?

Reference: Byron Sharp’s work in How Brands Grow remains foundational, particularly the principle of mental availability. But emotional salience, as studied by Les Binet and Peter Field, adds the layer of storytelling and distinctiveness that truly drives long-term equity.

III. The Challenges of a Fragmented Market

Today’s food and FMCG brands face a perfect storm:

• Proliferation of private labels, often priced 20–30% below branded alternatives

• Retailer algorithms dictating visibility (Instacart, Amazon, Kroger Precision Marketing)

• Decline in media ROI, especially for emerging brands without scale

• Platform fatigue, consumers are exposed to hundreds of brands and product claims daily

In this environment, brand equity becomes not just a competitive advantage, but a survival mechanism. Brands that lack relevance and consistency are replaced by cheaper or louder alternatives.

IV. Equity Beyond Advertising: A Holistic Approach

Brand equity today is built (or eroded) across every interaction:

• Packaging: It is not just functional. It is media. A shelf-facing pack must do the job of a 30-second commercial in 1.5 seconds.

• Price: Is it premium, value, or deceptive? Brand equity is impacted by pricing strategy, especially in inflationary contexts.

• In-store execution: Is the product available, well merchandised, and clearly communicated?

• Digital presence: Reviews, content, social narrative do they reflect a consistent brand identity?

• Team behavior: Customer service, broker interaction, field sales training all contribute to the lived brand experience.

Case reference: Tony’s Chocolonely has built enormous equity through consistent storytelling (fair trade, mission-first) and visual distinctiveness (color-block packaging) across physical and digital platforms.

V. Measurement: What Matters Now

Traditional equity trackers focused on aided and unaided awareness. While still relevant, modern measurement requires:

• Share of search (Google Trends, SEO rank): a proxy for intent

• Repeat purchase rates (via retail panel or loyalty data)

• Sentiment analysis (reviews, social media, direct feedback)

• Content interaction (time on page, engagement rate, saves/shares)

• Retailer feedback: Are buyers seeing the brand as a growth engine or a category filler?

Smart brand managers today triangulate between first-party data, syndicated panel data, and direct shopper feedback to create a full picture of brand health.

VI. Building Equity in a Systemic Way

Equity should not be left to chance or outsourced to creative. It must be built into the entire go-to-market system:

• Product development should reflect brand promise, not just trends

• Marketing calendars should reinforce core messages, not chase virality

• Trade programs must align with value perception (not just discounting)

• Brand purpose should not just live in ESG reports, it must show up on pack, in voice, and in execution

Case: OLIPOP communicates digestive health not just through claims but through ingredient transparency, educational content, and consistent DTC storytelling.

VII. Closing Thoughts

Brand equity in 2025 is not a campaign outcome but it is a cross-functional achievement. It is earned through clarity, consistency, and consumer relevance over time.

Marketers who want to lead in modern food and FMCG must stop thinking of brand equity as a communication asset and start treating it as a business driver. The most successful brands are those whose equity is not just remembered, but felt, trusted, and chosen again and again.

References

1. Sharp, Byron. How Brands Grow. Oxford University Press, 2010.

   Foundational framework on mental availability and brand building principles, widely cited across FMCG marketing strategies.

2. Binet, Les & Field, Peter. The Long and the Short of It: Balancing Short and Long-Term Marketing Strategies. IPA, 2013.

   Empirical research on emotional salience, brand equity growth, and long-term effectiveness of advertising.

3. Kantar BrandZ Reports (2020–2023)

   Ongoing benchmarking of brand equity across global FMCG categories, including food, beverage, and confectionery.

4. McKinsey & Company. “The New Rules of Branding in the Age of Retail Media,” 2022.

   Analysis of how platform retail (e.g., Amazon, Kroger, Instacart) impacts brand visibility and strategic marketing spend.

5. Euromonitor International. “Private Label in Packaged Food: Global Trends and Forecasts,” 2023.

   Data and commentary on the expansion of private label across grocery retail and its implications on brand equity.

6. Tony’s Chocolonely.

   Public brand materials, sustainability reports, and interviews (Fast Company, 2021–2023) highlighting consistent mission-led storytelling and visual branding execution.

7. OLIPOP.

   DTC communications, social media strategy, and investor briefings analyzed for their equity-building approach through content, transparency, and customer education.

8. Google Trends & Ahrefs.

   Used to assess share of search and intent signals in competitive analysis of emerging food brands.

9. Gartner L2. “Digital IQ Index: CPG,” 2021.

   Research outlining digital maturity and brand presence benchmarks in fragmented CPG markets.

10. NielsenIQ & SPINS Panel Data.

    Cited for brand velocity, repeat rates, and performance measurement in the retail environment (U.S. syndicated data access 2022–2023).