Company names like Oatly, Dosist and Seedlip may not easily roll off the tongue, but these are three businesses that have been named on a compilation of "breakthrough brands" that are set to go mainstream — most of which are not Silicon Valley tech start-ups.
They're all part of a list of 30 brands compiled by the consultancy Interbrand, which analyzed more than 200 brands with a significant U.S. presence using market valuation data from PitchBook. The consultancy also looked at what people were saying about these brands on social media, using data from analytics company Infegy and Interbrand staff also analyzed them based on their ability to find new gaps in the market.
Others on the list include sneaker marketplace StockX, which lets users do things like list their whole collections as a kind of portfolio for valuation, and New York-based makeup brand Milk, which the report praises as a "favorite among young, bold, socially conscious consumers."
And while the coronavirus pandemic has made for a turbulent business environment, Daniel Binns, the CEO of Interbrand New York, has faith that these brands are best placed to get through it. "We still believe these companies are poised to survive or pivot into even better positions through their customer-first approach, deep financial backing, and strong teams committed to survival," he stated in the report.
Swedish oat milk company Oatly has been around since the mid-1990s and it wasn't until 2016 when it was launched in the U.S. via coffee shop baristas, as a way to differentiate it from other non-dairy alternatives such as soy or almond milk. "Oatly has brought fun and sustainability to the alternative milk aisle," the report notes. Its next big push is into China, where it launched with Starbucks in April, its biggest partnership in Asia to date per a Reuters report.
Los Angeles-based Dosist, meanwhile "allows users to participate in the latest wellness trend with ease and confidence" the report states, via its vape pens that deliver measured doses of cannabis. Interbrand categorizes it under its "values as status symbols" trend, which let people eschew overt showing off and instead move toward more inconspicuous consumption.
London-born Seedlip, which is now majority-owned by Diageo, produces non-alcoholic spirits and aims itself at Michelin-starred restaurants. "As health-conscious and sober-curious consumers grow in size, the (drinks) industry hasn't caught up," the report notes. "Seedlip, however, is leading the charge," it adds.
"These brands are at a critical point in their journey — the stakes are high but the opportunities even greater. We're eager to see how these brands adapt to today's challenges and the emerging trends of tomorrow," Binns said in an emailed release.
Also on the list is Mirror, a $1,495 screen to which users stream fitness classes at home — and is set to be bought by Lululemon in a $500 million deal announced last month — and Impossible Foods, the plant based food producer that signed a deal with Starbucks in June. None of the 30 brands on the list are clients of Interbrand, the consultancy confirmed to CNBC.