For decades, brand growth was built around a single idea: find the hero and push it harder than anyone else. Today, that model is starting to crack.
Domaine Rautenbach, Senior Brand Manager for Jacobs. Image supplied
Consumers are navigating rising living costs, hybrid working and an abundance of choice. As a result, their behaviour is no longer linear. The same shopper can be value-driven in the morning, indulgent in the afternoon and convenience-led by evening. They brew coffee at home, pick something up on the go between meetings and explore new flavours over the weekend.
In this environment, growth is no longer about pushing one winning product harder. It is about building a portfolio that flexes with real life.
Portfolio versatility has become one of the most powerful growth levers for brands operating in volatile markets.
Fragmented behaviour demands flexible brands
Modern consumers have become more intentional. They are not abandoning brands, but they expect brands to meet them across multiple moments rather than a single need.
This fragmentation shows up in three key ways:
- Occasions: Morning routines, work breaks and social moments now demand different product formats and flavour profiles.
- Budgets: Consumers trade up and down within the same category depending on need, not loyalty alone.
- Channels: Retail, convenience, cafés and experiential spaces all influence how products are discovered and consumed.
Brands that rely on a narrow offering struggle to remain relevant across these shifts. Those with a broader, well-curated portfolio can maintain frequency, protect margins and build resilience.
Coffee as the blueprint for portfolio-driven growth
The coffee category offers one of the clearest examples of how versatility within a single brand ecosystem fuels sustainable growth.
Coffee is no longer one product consumed in one way. It spans instant coffee for everyday reliability, on-the-go sachets for convenience, flavoured cappuccinos and lattes for indulgence, ready-to-drink (RTD) formats for mobility, and whole beans for craft and exploration.
Each format serves a distinct consumer mindset and moment. Together, they create a brand presence that follows the consumer throughout the day – from morning ritual to social connection to evening wind-down.
Rather than competing with itself, a strong portfolio builds complementary roles. The instant range anchors trust. Flavoured variants drive experimentation. Whole beans elevate perception and craftsmanship. This is how brands move from being a product to becoming part of a lifestyle.
Versatility protects both relevance and revenue
From a business perspective, portfolio breadth does more than expand choice. It enables brands to:
- Drive frequency through multiple touchpoints
- Protect margins by balancing value and premium segments
- Reduce risk by avoiding dependence on a single SKU
- Strengthen loyalty by keeping consumers within one ecosystem
In uncertain economic conditions, this adaptability becomes a strategic advantage rather than a nice-to-have.
Innovation must be meaningful, not cluttered
Portfolio growth is not about launching endlessly. It is about launching intentionally.
True versatility comes from understanding real consumption moments and designing products that earn their place. Innovation should respond to clear needs: convenience, indulgence, craft or connection.
Jacobs’ recent launch of its Dubai Cappuccino range illustrates this approach in practice. Rather than adding novelty for its own sake, the range taps into a growing appetite for flavour exploration and global coffee experiences, expanding the portfolio while remaining rooted in a clear brand promise.
The challenge is not to innovate more, but to curate better.
Moving with consumers, not against them
Growth in the next decade will not belong to brands that shout the loudest behind a single hero product. It will favour those that design portfolios around the reality of how people live, spend and choose.
Portfolio versatility is not just a marketing strategy; it is a resilience strategy. It allows brands to remain relevant across economic cycles, lifestyle shifts and cultural change.
The coffee category shows what’s possible when one brand can serve multiple needs, from instant to indulgent, home to on-the-go, routine to exploration. When a portfolio is built intentionally, it does more than drive growth, it embeds the brand into the rhythm of daily life.
In a world of fragmented behaviour, that kind of presence is no longer optional. It is the strongest growth lever of all.
