How shifting brand power is redrawing India’s corporate map

By: Team India Tracker

A rising brand ranking is not cosmetic—it signals real competitive strength. Strong brands earn trust early, enjoy pricing power, cut marketing costs, expand easily and recover faster from shocks

Brand rankings in India are shifting fast as consumers grow more selective and competition intensifies. Companies that once relied on size now need sharper positioning, clearer value and genuine distinctiveness. In this landscape, brand strength has become a decisive marker of corporate resilience and relevance. HDFC Bank regaining its place as India’s most valuable brand tells a larger story than a reshuffling of rankings. With a brand valuation of $44.9 billion, the bank has edged past TCS in the latest Kantar BrandZ 2025 list. On the surface, this looks like a simple return to form for a bank that dominated the charts for a decade. Look closer, and it reflects how the idea of brand power in corporate India is being rewritten.

HDFC Bank’s surge is significant for another reason: its brand value has jumped nearly fourfold since the first BrandZ India report in 2014. Kantar’s formula mixes financial performance with something harder to measure—the portion of consumer demand that comes from the brand itself. This distinguishes mere scale from influence. A company may be large; it becomes a brand only when consumers prefer it even when alternatives look similar.

The merger with HDFC Ltd gave the bank heft, but heft alone does not generate affection. What has worked in its favour is a consistent effort to remain recognisable even in a sector where most offerings seem indistinguishable. The “Vigil Aunty” safety campaign, its faster digital loans and small but visible improvements in customer interface have created a perception that the bank is responsive. In a market where consumer irritation with financial services is widespread, even modest responsiveness becomes a differentiator.

Kantar’s Soumya Mohanty makes a point companies often ignore: strong brands emerge not from shouting louder but from understanding what consumers want. Even so, she notes a slowdown in brand momentum. Like-for-like growth has fallen to 6 per cent, far below last year’s 19 per cent. What is weakening is not the economy but brand meaning—whether consumers find a brand both useful and distinct. Without those anchors, visibility does not translate into value.

That slowdown is visible even as the total value of India’s top 100 brands has touched $523.5 billion, equal to 13 per cent of GDP. The list has expanded from 75 to 100 brands, bringing in 18 newcomers. Yet only a third of all brands grew this year — a reminder that competition is tightening while consumers are thinking harder before they spend.

Among the new names, UltraTech Cement stands out. With a valuation of $14.5 billion, it debuted at an extraordinary seventh place. Cement is not a category known for emotional pull, yet UltraTech has built a relationship with first-time home builders—an audience once overlooked. Personalised guidance and retail-friendly solutions have turned a commodity business into a brand that evokes reliability at the moment when a buyer needs reassurance the most.

Retail shows a similar shift. Westside and Zudio’s entry into the rankings, with valuations of $3.3 billion and $2.5 billion, is an endorsement of the Tata Group’s ability to combine design, affordability and scale. Their rapid expansion reflects the appetite of the middle-income consumer—demanding better taste but at prices that still feel accessible.

Zomato again tops the list of fastest-rising brands, now valued at $6 billion. Its growth lies not in food delivery alone but in embedding itself into daily habits — from eating out to local services. Taj hotels, IndiGo, MakeMyTrip and Mahindra & Mahindra have also climbed, driven by rising aspirations in travel, mobility and experiences.

A pattern runs through these stories. Companies that study consumers, adapt quickly and create clear identities continue to grow. Those still relying on legacy reputation are losing ground. India’s market is expanding, but so are consumer expectations — and they are rising faster than incomes. Brands that cannot justify their price or purpose will struggle, however large their balance sheets.

A rising brand ranking is therefore not a beauty contest. It is a signal of competitive strength. Strong brands command trust before the product is even tried. They enjoy pricing power, lower marketing costs and easier entry into new categories. They attract investors, talent and partners. They recover faster from shocks. In short, brand value acts as a strategic moat.

This is why the reshuffling of India’s top brands matters. It shows which companies understand the new consumer — one who wants relevance, not rhetoric. In a crowded marketplace, standing out meaningfully has never been harder. Or more essential.