The Illusion of CPG Branding: Why many Food and Beverage “Brands” are Just Fads in Disguise

The word brand gets tossed around in CPG marketing like sprinkles on a cupcake. Take Grüns, for example (which inspired me to write this article because I came across them looking for a marketing person)—a company pitching gummy bears as a convenient way to “transform your health by filling your nutrient gaps… carefully formulated with 60 potent ingredients to revive whole-body vitality.”

On the surface: sleek logo, vibrant colors, trendy packaging. Underneath: a novelty snack in disguise. Grüns isn’t a brand—it’s a fad product. And like most novelties, it’s destined either to fizzle out or get swallowed by a bigger corporation.

I’ve never heard anyone say, “I need my Grüns fix.” That alone tells you all you need to know.

Most food and beverage “brands” today suffer the same fate: products dressed up with graphics, logos, and hype. They lack the emotional depth to endure. Let’s break down what makes a true brand, why novelties like Grüns fall short, and how we can reclaim the essence of the CPG branding in a marketplace addicted to the next big thing.

What Is a Brand, Really?

As Seth Godin puts it, a brand is “a set of expectations, memories, stories, and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another.” It’s not just packaging, not just flavor—it’s how the product makes you feel and what it means to your life.

The 355 ml glass Coca-Cola bottle, aka Mexican Coke, still mesmerizes consumers across the US and stands out from the uniform, homogenous rows of canned soda at Whole Foods or Erewhon.

A true brand rises above functionality by offering:

Emotional Resonance – Coca-Cola doesn’t sell soda; it sells nostalgia and joy. Holding its uniquely shaped glass bottle and hearing its aromatic fizz brings back childhood summers.
Experiential Depth – Starbucks isn’t just coffee; it’s a ritual. A “third place” between home and work where you can connect, unwind, or simply pause for consistent quality coffee.
Story and Purpose – Ben & Jerry’s tells stories that tie dessert to activism, playfulness, and community. You don’t just eat ice cream; you buy into certain values (even if you don’t agree with them, you know what the brand stands for).
Community and Loyalty – Liquid Death has turned water into a cultural movement. Fans don’t just sip; they advocate.

A product like Grüns is fleeting. You eat the gummy, enjoy the moment (or the bowel movement), and move on or switch to the “next best thing” of this type on the market. There’s no bond, no story, no loyalty.

Gruns, Poop, fiber gummies, CPG products — I get bombarded by Grüns ads like this on social media all the time. Are they building a unique branding experience for Grüns? I’d disagree.

The Rise of the Pseudo-Brand

The internet has made it easier than ever to launch something that looks like a brand. With Shopify, Amazon, Instagram, and TikTok, anyone can sell everywhere. With Canva, anyone can “design” a logo, wrap a product in buzzwords, and push it out via influencer posts and paid ads.

Grüns is the blueprint: health-focused gummies with playful packaging, built to surf wellness trends. But underneath? Just another gummy bear, as replaceable as the next adaptogen snack that picks up the buzz.

This pattern is everywhere:

Energy drinks in neon cans are chasing clout.
Kombuchas in chic labels until the next probiotic drink arrives.
Meal kits in sleek boxes, hot for a season, gone the next.

Compare that to pre-internet giants like Coca-Cola, Hershey’s, or Campbell’s Soup—brands that became cultural fixtures and icons through consistency, storytelling, and shared experience.

A can of Campbell’s soup and its supermarket display inspired artist Andy Warhol, whose Campbell’s Soup Cans series made the brand famous and iconic around the world.

Ben & Jerry’s remains a rare modern exception: activism + playfulness + indulgence. Their ice cream is more than a pint; it’s a lifestyle, a memory, a stance. That’s CPG branding. Grüns, in contrast, is just a sugar-delivery vehicle with trendy fonts.

Ben & Jerry’s promotes progressive values: “Leading with progressive values across our business, we seek to meet human needs and eliminate injustices in our local, national, and international communities.” © 2025 Ben & Jerry’s Homemade, Inc.

Why Fads Fail

When every product claims to be a “brand,” nothing endures. Everything becomes a commodity. Grüns and its peers face constant threats from the next collagen gummy or mushroom snack. Sure, Grüns is riding high right now—shipping 4 million gummies a day, boasting over $100 million in annual recurring revenue, and securing a $500 million valuation after raising over $50 million, including a $35 million Series B in 2025. It’s stocked in nearly 5,000 stores like Target and Walmart, with TikTok and DTC driving the bulk of sales

This explosive growth, fueled by venture capital for ads, retail, and new flavors like raspberry lemonade (20% of Q2 2025 sales), leans heavily on viral hype and wellness trends. Yet, Grüns reached profitability in just 14 months, suggesting it could sustain itself without more VC thanks to a lean subscription model and organic buzz from tasty, convenient gummies. But here’s the catch: without emotional roots, revenue spikes fast but stalls when the next fad emerges.

The fallout is predictable:

Choice overload commoditizes everything.
Prices collapse as differentiation vanishes.
Loyalty evaporates because no emotional bond exists.

It all feels like QVC or “As Seen on TV” gimmicky products—only today’s pitchmen are no longer yammering TV salesmen, but social media influencers flashing slick packaging on endless scrollers instead of home-shopping hosts. Some products may be tasty, sure. But tasty doesn’t equal brand.

And here’s where many food founders get exposed: they fall in love with their product instead of briefly solving their customer’s problem, but fail to build lasting loyalty.

Most novelty products, like Grüns, can’t pass this test. They lean on ingredients and paid hype, but they can’t articulate why they would matter in a consumer’s life in the next 5 years. That’s why revenue spikes, then stalls, and eventually fizzles out.

Reclaiming the Brand

If food and beverage companies want more than a viral moment, they need to dig deeper:

Evoke emotion – Does your product create nostalgia, joy, or identity—or just fill hunger?
Tell a real story – Coca-Cola sells togetherness, not carbonation. What’s your story?
Design experiences – Starbucks built a “third place.” Ben & Jerry’s builds activism into indulgence.
Invest in community – Host tastings, create rituals, align with causes, engage authentically.

Consistency—values, voice, experience—outlasts packaging trends. Viral TikToks fade. Loyalty doesn’t.

Grüns could survive if it tied its gummies to a deeper narrative—maybe wellness journeys or shared nostalgia—but only if it moves beyond buzzwords and glossy wrappers.

Next time you grab a “branded” snack, ask yourself: Does this stir something in me? Or is it just a gimmick or a fad product dressed up as a brand?

From the Founder of Phoode

Marta Fowlie, also known as Food Polka, is the founder of Phoode and a seasoned creative professional with a deep background in food branding and advertising. Holding an MA in Sociology, Marta emphasizes the importance of understanding human behavior and motivation in effective food marketing.

Concerned by the superficial trends in digital marketing for food and beverage brands, Marta founded Phoode to elevate industry standards and empower emerging brands to establish their unique, meaningful, and lasting identities in a competitive marketplace. Phoode is a global community of food and beverage-focused creatives, producers, and marketers dedicated to pushing boundaries and crafting branding and advertising experiences.

Reach out to Marta and explore how Phoode can enhance your brand’s journey.

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