Speed is the new shelf advantage. But the nimblest are not only the ones using it. Smurfit Westrock (one of the world’s largest packaging and paper companies with deep visibility into retail supply chains) just released its 2026 retail outlook, and one item stood out to me. Emerging brands still hold less than 2 percent of share in many categories, yet they drove 39 percent of category growth in 2025, up from 17 percent the year before. That’s a wild swing, and strong influence. Consumers are...