Awareness is cheap. In 2025, reach can be bought overnight – but relevance cannot. For fmcg brands the challenge is no longer visibility, but belonging.
After years of optimising for impressions, consumers are now aware when they are being sold to and, as a result, are far more selective about which brands they let into their lives.
TikTok has only accelerated this change. A brand that can spark a recipe hack, duets and dinner-table debates earns its place in culture, while one that relies on a pre-roll ad is forgotten in a swipe.
Loyalty grows from participation, not exposure.
Belonging beats broadcasting
A social-first community is not the same as a follower base. Followers scroll, tap, and move on, while communities create and shape the conversation themselves.
Heinz showed this with its ‘Ridiculously Late’ breakfast campaign, which turned beans on toast into a TikTok talking point. The hashtag challenge racked up more than 30 million views and, more importantly, transformed consumers into co-creators.
Brands that invite audiences in blur the lines between fan and marketer. Little Moons discovered this when shoppers filmed their mochi hauls, propelling the brand to a national obsession without a major ad spend.
When local becomes legendary
Fmcg has always been about what is close to home, but the right local story can travel far. Yorkshire Tea leans into its regional identity, turning specificity into strength. People are not just drinking tea, they are buying into Yorkshire pride, and the humour that comes with it.
Inch’s Cider has tapped into similar instincts, using social-first content to showcase its sustainability credentials in ways that feel rooted in local sourcing while resonating across the country.
The power lies in authenticity. People want to feel the place and culture behind a product. TikTok and Instagram give them growing power.
Culture rewards those who contribute
The mistake many fmcg brands make is treating social as a shop window. Chasing trends that have no link to brand identity while pushing one-dimensional “buy now” messaging only adds noise. Ben & Jerry’s offers a model example, weaving cultural issues into its channels and building affinity beyond ice cream.
Taking part in real conversations strengthens affinity and drives loyalty. Success is measured not by how many people scroll past an ad, but by how many save a post, tag a friend, or create their own content unprompted.
When shelves empty because a trend has taken off organically, it proves the community is working for you, not the other way round.
Fmcg growth in 2025 will not come from the biggest budgets or loudest ads, but from communities that turn customers into collaborators. Awareness may open the door, but participation keeps people inside.
Melissa Chapman, CEO, Jungle Creations
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