In a marketplace saturated with options, only a select few rise to become the Most Trusted Brands. According to Business Wire, Lippincott announced its inaugural U.S. Go-to Brands List, revealing which companies Americans rely on, love, and consistently choose. Built on customer insights rather than financial metrics, the list establishes a new benchmark for understanding trust, emotional resonance, and brand momentum in 2025.
A New Framework by Lippincott: Measuring What Truly Drives Loyalty
Lippincott’s Go-to Brands framework, developed in 2019 and now expanded with U.S. standalone findings, evaluates brands through the lenses of Connection, Progress, and the newly added Momentum. These dimensions reflect what consumers value most today: brands that spark emotional attachment, empower progress, and demonstrate cultural energy.
“Go-to Brands are distinctive because they’re solely identified by real customers’ responses, at scale, to incisive questions that reveal which brands they actively rely on and admit to love. These are the brands customers would miss if they disappeared tomorrow, because they make life better today. When people feel a strong emotional connection to a brand and can see how it helps them progress in their lives, it begins to hold real meaning. For businesses, this translates to accelerated growth in good times and swifter recovery in tough times,” said Michael D’Esopo, CEO at Lippincott
The 2025 list draws from more than 15,000 U.S. consumers, part of a seven-year global analysis powered by the Brand Aperture® diagnostic tool. In total, the methodology covers more than 40,000 consumers, 500 brands, 18 industries, and five countries each year.
“Go-to Brands are distinctive because they’re solely identified by real customers’ responses, at scale, to incisive questions that reveal which brands they actively rely on and admit to love.” -Michael D’Esopo
Most Trusted Brands Across Key Dimensions (Category Highlights)
Most Trusted Brands in Connection – LEGO Leads
LEGO is the Best in Show for Connection, celebrated for “timeless emotional appeal across generations.” Other standout brands include John Deere, Cadillac, Rivian, Costco, Klarna, and H-E-B, each earning superlatives within the Connection category.
Most Trusted Brands in Progress – Canva on Top
Canva is the Best in Show for Progress, recognized for “empowering users with intuitive, creative tools.” It joins a set of strong performers including NVIDIA, Amazon, Samsung, Peloton, and Google, brands known for enabling users to accomplish more with ease.
Most Trusted Brands in Momentum – Affirm Takes the Lead
Affirm earns the Best in Show for Momentum, praised for “dynamic growth and fair, transparent financing that builds trust and loyalty with millions of customers.”
Momentum, the framework’s newest dimension, captures real-time velocity and cultural relevance—identifying brands that consumers believe “have their best days ahead.”
Brands of Tomorrow: Rising Most Trusted Brands
The list also recognizes emerging contenders—brands not yet at “Go-to” level but rapidly trending. The Go-to Brands of Tomorrow include OpenAI, OLIPOP, SoFi, Wegmans, WNBA, and Liquid I.V., signaling where customer enthusiasm is gaining force.
“Time and again, marketing leaders turn to us for quantitative tools that clarify how brands can grow in today’s volatile climate. Our research-based Go-to Brands framework was developed to provide actionable guidance on the two most important brand dynamics that fuel growth: how to build deep emotional connection and deliver real progress.” -David Mayer
Growth Through Connection and Progress: Insights for Modern CMOs
Lippincott’s quantitative lens brings clarity to how brands grow in a volatile marketplace. As David Mayer, Senior Partner and Head of Marketing and Customer Strategy at Lippincott, explains: “Time and again, marketing leaders turn to us for quantitative tools that clarify how brands can grow in today’s volatile climate. Our research-based Go-to Brands framework was developed to provide actionable guidance on the two most important brand dynamics that fuel growth: how to build deep emotional connection and deliver real progress. These levers cultivate customer affinity that transcends short-term economic fluctuations and drives measurable business growth. It is the truest view of brand value today: measured not in dollars, but in customer choice.”
This customer-centered definition of value resonates with the pressures facing marketing leaders. Chris Ciompi, Senior Partner, Marketing and Customer Strategy at Lippincott, summarizes it clearly: “Our CMO clients aren’t coming to us asking for help making their brands more valuable. That’s intangible; it’s a balance sheet item. They want help with growth, with revenue, with impact on the income statement, because that is what their CEO bosses and CFO peers are demanding from them.”
Why the 2025 U.S. Go-to Brands List Matters
Beyond showcasing the Most Trusted Brands, Lippincott’s list offers strategic guidance for brand owners: meaningful customer connection paired with demonstrable progress fuels growth, and momentum now reveals which brands are poised to dominate the future. As Lippincott puts it: some brands win because they matter, not because they shout the loudest.
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