I Analysed Dozens Of FMCG Brands - Here Is How Many Of Them Are Drifting Into Irrelevance

Don't kill the messenger.

I’ve run a good amount of Brand Relevance Scores for FMCG brands this last month.

Here’s the uncomfortable pattern: the categories aren’t stale — the brands are.

Most FMCG brands aren’t losing relevance because of competition.

They’re losing relevance because culture moved and they didn’t notice.

Here are some problems that keep showing up in the data (these issues don’t apply to all brands I measured, obviously, but the pattern is clear:

Most Brands are 5-10 years behind culture in brand expression.
Still pushing the same safe visuals, the same tired claims, the same category clichés.

It’s like watching someone show up to a 2025 party dressed for 2014.

Zero identity play.
The consumer shifted from “Does this taste good?” to “Does this say something about me?”

Most brands missed it. People want meaning and belonging, not just taste. And brands need it to connect on a deeper level.

The content? Painfully safe.
Product shots. More product shots.
Stock-feeling “lifestyle.”
Awkward influencer bits without cultural context.
This is participation cosplay. Not culture.

The speed problem.
Culture moves in weeks.
These brands move in quarters.
Relevance doesn’t wait.

What this means:
FMCG brands don’t have a marketing problem.
They have a meaning problem — and a decision-speed problem.
Inside, many of these brands are playing the game like it’s 2020.

If you want to know where your brand is drifting — and how deep the drift is — run a Relevance Score™.

It’s shocking how quickly the picture becomes clear.

Reply if you want one - it’s free for brand leaders, CMO’s and CEO’s.

Tobias

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P.S If you are an agency or consultant - I’m looking for partners for Original Minds Intelligence™, and I’ll be happy to discuss.