• by Steve Ellwanger , February 25, 2022

When it comes to annual CPG growth leaders over the past decade, there are the usual suspects of companies with sales in excess of $1 billion.

As ranked by Boston Consulting Group and IRI, among these mid-sized players—with sales from $1 billion to $6 billion—you can expect to see brands like Bodyarmor, Chobani, Hostess, Link Snacks and L’Oreal.

In the $6 billion+ camp, frequent growth leaders include Constellation Brands, Hershey, Mars, Red Bull and Procter & Gamble.

This installment of CPG FYI will spotlight the top five growth leaders in 2021 that had sales between $100 million and $1 billion.

What they had in common was a presence in the ever-expanding health/wellness and plant-based foods categories.

The top five were among 465 “small” CPG companies whose 2021 performance was examined in retail channels tracked by IRI.

“I look at the small companies first because they are pure plays,” says IRI president of client engagement Krishnakumar Davey. “There’s lots of things at play for conglomerates. Looking at small companies gives you a clear idea of the emerging trends, companies and brands.”

The rankings are based on three factors: year-over-year growth change dollar sales and volume, and change in dollar share based on a weighted average across the categories in which the brands compete.

Market share change is awarded more weight in the calculations “because in CPG it’s very difficult to compete and gain share. So we give more importance to companies that are gaining share,” notes Davey.

Ranked #1 is Alani Nutrition LLC, which markets a range of wellness products—among them vitamins and protein supplements—along with energy drinks. Alani posted dollar sales growth of 1,356.21% last year, volume growth of 1,239.5% and a 0.7-point change in category share.

In the #2 spot is Impossible Foods Inc., a major player in the hyper-competitive, plant-based meat substitute space. Impossible generated 167.7% dollar growth, 223.4% in volume, and added 5.9 category share points.

At #3 is Goli Nutrition Inc., which claims to market the world’s first apple cider vinegar gummies along with other gummies and edibles. Goli’s year-over-year dollar sales rose 400.8% as volume climbed 418.2%. The company added 1.2 points to its category share.

Energy and fitness beverage marketer Celsius Holdings Inc. ranks #4 with 191.0% dollar growth and a volume increase of 168.1%. It added 2.3 points to its share of category.

At #5 is Upfield, best known for plant-based margarine. It gained 3.4 points of category share gain even as its dollar sales declined by 1.4% and volume fell 30.6%. That’s a reflection of competing brands experiencing greater drops in dollars and volume.