10 Fastest Growing Brands in Slovakia
In marketing, many metrics exist, but only one is truly relentless – Share of Search. Brand searches on Google, free from the embellishments and distortions of traditional surveys, reveal real purchase intent and a brand's mental availability in consumers' minds. While last year, with Forbes, we mapped 100 most searched brands, 2025 belongs to the "breakthrough brands" – brands that grew fastest within their segments.
This year, however, the study is groundbreaking in several ways. For the very first time, we added comprehensive 360° media spending to the equation of success. Beyond traditional TV and outdoor advertising, for the first time, thanks to Starmedia we also calculated the actual investments brands made in Google and Meta advertising and in influencer marketing on Instagram, thanks to Data on Steroids. This unique combination of search and investment data allowed us to more accurately identify which strategies truly deliver growth for brands. We also expanded the interpretive framework with comments from marketing experts at Think Big Collective.
You can explore the complete visualized study, featuring over 90 brands across various categories, in detail on the special website data.thinkbig.sk
When Performance Trumps Emotion
The most significant breakthrough of the year is the Chinese marketplace TEMU, which grew by a massive 1.66 million searches (+57.6%). Their strategy is a lesson in brutal efficiency. In our analysis of media spending, TEMU clearly dominates the online space, having invested approximately €4.2 millionin Google and Meta platforms. It's fascinating that up to 70% of their media mix consists of performance campaigns on Google, through which they aggressively capture demand the moment a customer searches for a product, not a brand.
“If you have an unbeatable price, you don't need emotion; it's enough to be a digital storefront at the right time,” comments on the brand's success Tomáš Mladý, Head of Digital Media.
How to Modernize Traditions
Many challengers grew in stagnant markets. COOP Jednota pulled off a remarkable feat when, in the almost stagnant supermarket segment (+1.3%), it jumped by 37%. The key to success was evolution: after 15 years, the legendary shepherds "descended" from their sheepfolds directly into modern Tempo stores, a move the brand supported by increasing TV investments by 30% to €6.18 million.
“The brand successfully preserves traditional values while also introducing modern elements into its products and communication, such as automated 24/7 stores or modern Tempo-format stores.”, adds Peter Holán, Head of Media Strategy.
Tipos also excelled, Tipos (+1 million searches), which bet on a combination of hockey celebrity Juraj Slafkovský and product innovations. Tipos also shows a path to independence by building its own channel, Tipos TV, which generated 154,000 searches in 1.5 years.
“It remains an open question whether the increase in searches for the Tipos TV platform is driven by watching basketball matches (thanks to the partnership with the Slovak Basketball League) or rather by demand for current lottery results.”, comments on Tipos's success Jakub Straka, Strategy Director.
Acquisition as a Growth Accelerator
The electronics segment experienced a "bloodbath" in 2025 with a decline of almost 17%. The brand Nay had already made a strategic move earlier – the acquisition of competitor DATART. Nay is also the market leader in searches and even managed to double its lead over Planeo in the crucial month of December. Nay secured this growth by massively increasing its TV budget for 4.76 million €, thereby confirming that acquisition growth must be supported by mindshare.
"Nay has long focused on brand building, so introducing a mascot as a distinctive brand asset even before the planned acquisition of Datart was a logical step. This allowed them to enter the merger with a clearly established asset they could build upon. They communicated the brand merger simply with the message "Datart is Nay," which quickly and clearly brought customers under one brand.", says Dominika Múdra, Head of Strategy Directors.
Digital Recipe for Success from GymBeam and Dr. Max
The brand GymBeam (+15.3%) is fascinating because it built its growth without a single TV advertisement in 2025. Instead, it focused on the most developed influencer marketing on the market, investing almost 500k € at list prices.
"GymBeam shows that diversification is key to effective content. Instead of one big name, they relied on an army of ambassadors led by CEO Dalibor Cicman, and it works. Their scope ranges from professional fitness to general health. While it's more demanding on the budget, it's ultimately a more effective model for the company," explains the recipe for success Damián Hamada, Social Media Director.
Dr. Max Beyond traditional TV and always-on online communication, Dr. Max has a unique approach. They target a segment often overlooked by the pharmaceutical market – young people – thereby building long-term relationships with a new type of customer.
"Notable campaigns in recent years include collaborations with influencers and streamers, gamification, and an e-commerce-first approach, which resonates strongly with a target audience for whom TV is no longer a relevant medium. This serves as an excellent example of how a brand can creatively engage with niche communities and target demographics without relying on traditional media.", says Jakub Straka, Strategy Director.
How to Grow in a Stagnant Segment
The brand Mercedes saw an increase of over 933,000 searches in 2025 and grew by 4.46%, becoming a standout performer in an otherwise stagnant automotive segment. However, this growth wasn't solely driven by new vehicles; paradoxically, it was primarily fueled by demand for older, used models, which analysts attribute to consumers' worsening economic situation. The brand strategically boosted its media investments in Meta and Google advertising at the end of the year to capitalize on its peak season in January. Mercedes' total media investments in 2025 amounted to approximately 1.36 million euros.
The Immense Power of Global Pop Culture Relevance
McDonald’s saw an increase of nearly 241,000 searches (5.29%) and within the fast-food segment, it grew at the expense of the decline of competing brands KFC and Burger King.
“This success isn't due to a local creative strategy, but rather the brutal force of global pop culture relevance. An example is the limited-edition menu inspired by the Stranger Things series, which Slovak consumers massively sought out despite it never even reaching our market”," recalls Jakub Straka, Strategy Director.
The McDonald's brand effectively combines TV advertising, which makes up 43% of its budget, with a strong presence on social media. The brand's total media expenditures exceeded 4.8 million euros and in searches, we also observe a huge increase in demand for visual content in the form of product and store photos. McDonald's also opened additional new stores in 2025, meaning growth is also driven by increasing physical distribution and availability.
The Year's Top Performer, who became the segment leader
Drogerie Markt (DM) became the new market leader in the segment in 2025, with an increase of 355 thousand searches (an increase of 11.48%) displacing Notino from the leading position. Key pillars of its growth included a massive 71% increase in TV advertising investments and the systematic development of one of the most sophisticated influencer marketing strategies in Slovakia.
“Their ability to produce a huge amount of native content, effectively connecting digital reach with their unparalleled physical availability, is inspiring”, highlights the success Damián Hamada, Social Media Director.
DM also benefits from a broad portfolio, where its private label Balea and interest in gift vouchers are growing fastest. DM invests approximately half a million euros annually in influencer marketing, successfully building mental availability among customers who no longer respond to traditional media.
Adapting to external influences: Tatra banka and deposit machines
The growth of the year's top performers often stems from a response to legislation or client needs. Tatra banka (+202k searches) masterfully leveraged a change in the law regarding business accounts and dominated B2B demand with a targeted campaign. At the same time, the bank is strengthening physical accessibility through its network of deposit machines, whose search volume increased by 152 %, confirming the trend towards self-service.
“Media investments are managed tactically throughout the year. The strongest period was August to October, with a secondary increase in March to April. Weaker spending in May and June suggests that digital planning is closely tied to product campaigns and business priorities,” concludes the interpretation of the success Tomáš Mladý, Head of Digital Media.
The Triangle of Success for 2026
Data from our analysis, linked with media expenditures, confirms that successful brands stand on three pillars:
1. Physical availability - The brand strengthens its distribution network and availability.
2. Mental Availability - The brand uses communication to stay top-of-mind with customers, ensuring they consider it during purchasing decisions.
3: Credibility - Through its offering and approach, the brand convinces customers to choose it over competitors when making a purchase.
For business owners and marketing directors, the message is clear: investing in a brand is not an expense, but a driver of market share. In 2026, those who consistently fulfill the influence triangle and can react to external market factors, leveraging them to their advantage, will once again emerge victorious.
If you want to see the complete ranking of over 90 brands in individual segments, view the special study visualization on the website https://data.thinkbig.sk/
