Kraft is top brand for Gen Z in 2023; boomers like Southwest Airlines

The fastest growing brand of 2023 was one that hardly any consumer knew about the year before: ChatGPT.

That’s according to decision intelligence company Morning Consult’s Fastest Growing Brands report for 2023. The report ranks the top 20 brands based on the growth of the number of consumers who say they would consider buying something from the brand over the course of the year.

Given that ChatGPT has dominated headlines throughout 2023, it’s little surprise that it would be one of the fastest growing brands of the year. However, ChatGPT is only the top brand when all generations—Gen Z, millennials, Gen X, and baby boomers—are factored together. When looking at the fastest growing brands by generation, some of the results couldn’t be more different.

Besides the rise in artificial intelligence, another trend had a big influence on the fastest growing brand: economic uncertainty. That influence is especially true when looking at the brands that were the fastest growing among Gen Z. Brands that went viral on TikTok during the year also saw rapid growth among Gen Z.

Here are the top 10 fastest growing brands across all U.S. adults in 2023:

1. ChatGPT
2. Starry
3. Zelle
4. Shein
5. Twisted Tea 
6. Southwest Airlines 
7. OpenAI 
8. Facebook 
9. Instagram Reels 
10. Coke Zero Sugar 

The top 10 fastest growing brands for Gen Z adults:

1. Kraft 
2. NYX Professional Makeup 
3. Holland America Line 
4. Modelo Especial 
5. ChatGPT 
6. Clinique 
7. Keystone Light 
8. Planet Fitness 
9. Google Workspace 
10. Fox Nation 

Morning Consult notes that Clinique and NYX Professional Makeup had products that went viral on TikTok. Dollar General also came in at No. 15 on the list, due to “a combination of economic uncertainty and social media virality,” said Morning Consult’s Nicki Zink.

The top 10 fastest growing brands for millennials:

1. ChatGPT 
2. Shein 
3. Coke Zero Sugar 
4. Twitter/X
5. Apple TV 
6. Facebook 
7. Major League Soccer 
8. Starry 
9. HP Instant Ink 
10. Waze 

The top 10 fastest growing brands for Gen X:

1. Zelle 
2. ChatGPT 
3. Harley-Davidson 
4. StubHub 
5. Jeep 
6. Booking.com 
7. Grubhub 
8. Twisted Tea 
9. Hilton 
10. Starry 

And the top 10 fastest growing brands for baby boomers:

1. Southwest Airlines 
2. Lipton 
3. Google Search 
4. Ruffles 
5. YouTube Shorts 
6. Nestlé Pure Life Water 
7. Gain 
8. Zaxby’s 
9. CVS CarePass 
10. Diet Pepsi 

Morning Consult’s full Fastest Growing Brands Report 2023 reveals the top 20 fastest growing brands for all the categories above, which include Amazon Pharmacy, Kate Spade, Apple iMessage, Captain Morgan, and more. You can access the full Fastest Growing Brands Report for 2023 here.

To arrive at its rankings, Morning Consult asked consumers if they would consider purchasing from brands in January 2023 and again in October 2023 and subtracting the share who said the same between the polls. A total of 1,586 brands were analyzed and sample sizes ranged from 1,069 to 17,661 responses.