3.
How brands grow in Asia?
Brands in Asia are performing better than those in most other regions across the world, with more than half successfully increasing their Consumer Reach Points (CRPs) in both 2023 and 2024. This statistic is noteworthy, because it beats the global average.
With more than 13 years’ worth of Brand Footprint data at our fingerprints, we have a golden opportunity to identify the trends that have time and again proved to be a catalyst for success. Our global analysis has revealed that each year around 50% of the world’s FMCG brands increase their CRPs, while the other 50% lose CRPs. We call this the 50:50 game – and it has been in play since 2012.
Over that time, Asia has emerged as a consistent haven of growth. Here, the equation currently sits closer to 60:40, with 56% of brands having increased their footprint in 2024.
Through analysing the wealth of data we possess on the world’s most chosen brands, we’ve been able to uncover another decisive pattern. Since 2012, the brands which have achieved the strongest growth are those that attracted the highest number of new buyers.
At a global level, on average around 80% brands manage to expand their penetration in any given year. In Asia the figure is higher: nearly 88% of brands which expand their footprint do so by boosting their buyer base.
This is true whatever a brand’s size. In fact, 92% of the medium-sized Asian brands that grew in 2024 increased their penetration, followed by large brands (88%) and small brands (84%). The smaller the brand, the more important it is to find ways to win additional shoppers.
Zooming in for a closer look at the sub-regions, we see that brand performance fluctuates drastically from North to South Asia. The three biggest markets – Mainland China, India and Indonesia – have more growing brands. In each of these countries, more than 60% of brands increased their CRPs in 2024.
Brands entering the North Asian market should therefore aim to win over Chinese shoppers as a priority – but they must be mindful that they will be competing with local brands, which have an extremely strong presence. Only a few global brands feature in the Chinese Brand Footprint Top 20, including Coca-Cola, Oreo, and Lay’s; the rest are home-grown.
Competing in South-east Asia offers promising growth opportunities, but can be more challenging. With many brands growing across the sub-region, global brands can potentially reach the top ranking – but the local brands from SEA are at an advantage, often having a footprint that extends right across their country of origin.
On the other hand, winning in India will definitely help a brand conquer Asia as a whole. In this sub-region, local brands have dominated, but global brands are also performing well. For example, five of the Top 20 most chosen FMCG brands in India are global, and some of them – including OMO (Surf Excel), and Sunlight (Vim) – are managing to grow. This suggests that South Asia has been a battleground for both local and global brands seeking to attract new shoppers.
The local variations that are perceptible across Asia demonstrate how important it is for brands to build a deep understanding of their individual target markets. Defining a strategy for each market that is focused on new buyer recruitment is crucial for growing CRPs. Mirroring the global trend, building penetration remains the key driver of CRP growth in Asia. Some markets even exceed the regional average, led by China – where 100% of brands which grow do so by increasing penetration, Indonesia (97%), and Korea (95%).
In the markets with the largest populations, such as India and Indonesia, high penetration alone is not enough to drive growth. Brands there need to push both penetration and frequency. This is about creating more opportunities to be bought: lower purchase frequency means fewer brand choices are being made. In smaller markets, including Malaysia, Thailand and Korea, buyer recruitment alone might be enough to drive growth – but this will depend on the brand’s size.
The achievement of the world’s penetration powerhouses is even more remarkable when we see how much more challenging it has become over the years to use shopper acquisition as a lever to build a brand’s footprint.
From 2013 to 2019, the global brands that grew their CRPs gained on average 1.2 penetration points (pp). Over the past five years, this average has increased to 1.6pp. In Asia, the threshold for success stands at around 1.1% across all brands. However, it is clear that the larger the brand, the greater the penetration gain necessary to have the desired impact on CRP growth.
When setting growth targets, aiming for a penetration gain of just 1% will unlock an increase in CRPs that would position a brand in the top third of global performers. In Asia, winning an additional 1% penetration in highly populated markets would mean a gain of millions of new shoppers, which could lead to significant CRP growth, regardless of a brand’s size.
Achieving CRP growth in Asia has nothing to do with luck. Analysis of the performance of Brand Footprint’s penetration champions reveals three priority levers for success:
Identify who currently doesn’t purchase your brand within your target markets – and why they are not currently customers. Look at those shoppers who have never bought your products, and also those who have stopped purchasing.
Creating new occasions within your category’s addressable market will increase frequency and the opportunity to capture more brand choices.
Maintaining penetration depends on unwavering consistency in brand messages, values, experience and communication. This is the foundation of strong recognition, salience and loyalty.
