Our Annual Student Ask; Tell Us Three Brands You Are Following; We Got 37 We Had Not Heard of…

Every semester we ask our students for brands they are following in an effort to learn more about what’s outside our bubble. While we always get some of the understandable, there is always a more massive group of companies they care about, engage with and follow that we learn about…or even brands… who are growing by smartly engaging with a different audience. This year the ones we had never heard of topped 37. Given our sample size was 36 students, each selecting three, that’s a lot of learning. Below are the first ten in alpha order, with their notes and highlights as to why. More will follow over the weekend. Here is a breakdown…in their words…

222 offers a different approach to social networking at a time where people are always looking for connection outside of their phones. It’s an app that organizes in-person experiences by matching groups of strangers based on personalities and interests. These experiences can include dinner, drinks, workout classes, etc. It takes away swiping solely based on looks, which is a major drawback to dating apps. The company handles the matching and creates an experience for people to actually interact in person. As people become more frustrated with dating apps and social media, 222 has an opportunity to become a social platform that actually gets people off their phones and interacting in real life.

7 Brew is a rapidly expanding drive-thru beverage brand built around speed, customization and its “Brew Crew” customer experience. It surpassed 600 locations across 38 states in 2025, making its growth impressive but also creating an interesting storytelling challenge, how does it maintain the personality and community that made it different while becoming a national brand?

Bandit Running was founded in Brooklyn in October 2020. Originally a small running sock company, Bandit has grown into a performance apparel brand rooted in the local running community. Through grassroots partnerships and events, Bandit has differentiated itself from larger athletic brands by making everyday runners central to its identity. Bandit was inspired by Bobbi Gibb, who ran the Boston Marathon in 1966 despite women being excluded from the race. While Bandit has gained popularity in New York City, its biggest challenge will be expanding nationally and internationally while maintaining its identity.

Beli, a restaurant-ranking app founded in New York in 2021 by Harvard Business School graduates Judy Thelen and Eliot Frost. The two met at their first job out of college and built their relationship around trying restaurants in New York. Instead of relying on reviews from strangers, Beli asks users to rank restaurants against each other and shows where their friends are eating, which turns dining out into a game. It works: Beli has more than 75 million reviews across 30,000 cities, 80% of its users are under 35, and most join through referrals (Daily Dropout, n.d.). It has done all of this on a $5.3 million Series A.

Centerline Athletics is a new athletic apparel brand, focusing on tennis, golf, pickleball, and overall fitness gear. Something that I found interesting about this brand, which they could capitalize on and re-brand their narrative around, is their “Cross-Sport Collection.” The collection is designed for multi-sport athletes, with pieces that can be worn for a variety of sports. Instead of being an overall athletic company and trying to compete with big brands, such as Nike, they have the unique opportunity to focus on multi-sport athletes and share their stories.

Charlotte Tilbury. While already established on its own as a high-quality makeup brand, I see the brand gaining a broader consumer base in the sports industry in the near future. The brand has already started doing this through partnerships with the Formula 1 women’s program, F1 Academy, and the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. I do not immediately associate makeup brands with sports teams, but Charlotte Tilbury has been able to tap into this space using a message of female empowerment, which they and their sports partners share. I could see Charlotte Tilbury having much more success if they continue with partnerships like this in an attempt to empower and instill confidence in female athletes and fans.

Curves by Sean Brown has created a booming cultural footprint in the fashion and homeware industry through sculptural home décor and the fast-selling architectural knit tote bags that sit at the intersection of fine art and streetwear. To solidify its legacy and its moment in the sun, the brand should lean into gallery pop-ups, immersive design showrooms, and physical displays that present the brand as a contemporary lifestyle design house.

is an NYC-based fashion studio focused on customization and innovation, with a particular focus on sports, community development, and civic duty. Tying in the founder’s Ecuadorian immigrant roots, they have branched out into causes like Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral campaign t-shirts “Hot Girls for Zohran” or NYCFC’s City in the Community developmental program for children; they are finding their voice in the sports community after also having done pieces for designers at New York Fashion Week. I would love to see them grow in both spaces but also have them do more experiential work like showcasing their new studio and hosting events. Live screen printing and customizable designs have been extremely popular in the sports and general marketing spaces as consumers want to feel like they are walking away with both great memories and one-of-a-kind merchandise made by them.

 Drizzilicious is a low calorie popcorn, quinoa, and flax based snack posed as an alternative to higher calorie chocolate, cinnamon treats on the market. As society trends toward more health-conscious and wellness-focused treats and snacks, Drizzilicious has done a decent job of capturing the market, with Azzi Fudd being seen eating the snack and mentioning her enjoyment of the product without a specific brand deal in place. It lives in the realm of Poppi or Ollipops that have captivated the market through storytelling and branding with fun colors, flavors, and high-profile endorsements. Currently, Drizzilicious has an ambassador program for smaller creators in place, and its current marketing strategy and messaging skew towards younger Gen Z with memes and an unpolished look. They could benefit from a stronger branding and overall messaging, whether it’s through high-profile brand partnerships or a strategized campaign focused on amplifying a certain targeted audience, perhaps the athlete space.

Unlike many emerging beverage brands, Electrolit already has a long history. The product originated in Mexico in 1950 as a hydration solution made by Grupo PiSA and has since evolved into a consumer hydration brand (Electrolit, n.d.). Its opportunity now is to take the credibility and loyalty it has already developed, particularly among Hispanic consumers, and establish itself as a mainstream American sports hydration brand.

Read, learn, sample, enjoy.