Though the long tail of local mostly consists of small businesses, there are several national brands in the mix.  One advantage that these entities often possess is brand strength, given their national scale and marketing muscle. From Subway to Burger King, they’re known quantities.

But which brands are growing fastest and seeing the most traction today? Yelp answered this question in its second annual Fastest Growing Brands report. It highlights the 50 restaurant and retail brands that are achieving the most growth in consumer interest and business expansion.

So what were the results? They’re fleshed out in greater detail below but one high-level takeaway is that value-driven brands saw the most growth over the past year. This isn’t surprising as it’s well aligned with macroeconomic realities and environmental factors facing American consumers.

“Value brands finding success in today’s market is a testament to shifting consumer needs to reduce spending on everyday goods,” said Yelp’s advertising trends expert and senior director of campaign strategy, Kadecia Ber. “By focusing on both affordability and quality, these brands are successfully meeting the evolving needs of their customers.”

Affordable & Familiar

Going deeper into the results, here’s a highlight reel of data points we extracted for Localogy Insider readers.

• Ollie’s Bargain Outlet takes the No. 1 spot, with a 212% increase in consumer interest and 25 new store openings in 2024.
• 46 percent of the businesses on this year’s list offer value meals or menus, or are retailers otherwise known for their affordability, compared to only 18% of brands on last year’s list.
• Compared to 2024, Yelp saw significant growth in Yelp searches for discount stores (up 46%), dollar stores (up 82%) and outlets (up 18%).
• Yelp review sentiment data showed that Ollie’s, Dollar Tree (no. 2), and HomeGoods (no. 3) were praised for their affordability and customer service.
• Fast food chains on the list, like McDonald’s (no. 25) and Taco Bell (no. 33), and supermarkets like Grocery Outlet (no. 29) and Piggly Wiggly (no. 35) demonstrate that diners and shoppers are increasingly searching for everyday value.
• Compared to 2024, Yelp saw increases in searches for fast food (up 14%), cheap food (up 18%), and kids menus (up 51%), further reflecting how consumers are prioritizing value in their everyday food choices.
• Consumers are also returning to the comfort of familiar food brands they know and love. Brands such as Domino’s Pizza (no. 19), McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Starbucks, and Cinnabon (no. 48) are experiencing a resurgence.
• Additionally, over half of the brands on this year’s list are new (27) compared to last year, highlighting the dynamic nature of consumer preferences.
• Breakfast is booming—coffee and bakery brands saw the highest search growth on Yelp, with breakfast and brunch searches up 142% year-over-year.
• Driven by a surge in interest for coffee brands, Scooter’s Coffee (no. 10), 7 Brew Coffee (no. 23), Caribou Coffee (no. 32), and Starbucks (no. 43) are leading the charge, with grab-and-go breakfast becoming an everyday necessity.
• Waffle House (no. 36), IHOP (no. 41), and Denny’s (no. 42), known for their all-day breakfast menus, have capitalized on this demand by expanding their offerings.
• Yelp searches for national brands within the coffee and bakeries categories increased by 128% and 137%, making them the top two fastest-growing categories of 2024, respectively. Overall searches for breakfast and brunch on Yelp also increased 142%.

Sign of the Times

So how did Yelp come up with these figures? As we noted on stage with Yelp’s Jim Chapelle at L25 last month, the company is in a unique position where its first-party data is tapped into local business operations at scale. So it can be valuable in reflecting the realities of local economies.

For this report specifically, Yelp formulated its rankings from a combination of factors such as net new business openings compared to last year. It also factored in consumer interest across brands by looking at select actions they take on Yelp, such as looking at pictures or the search terms they use.

Back to the results, they aren’t surprising as noted, and reflect economic realities. This will likely continue to be the case into 2025 as consumer purchasing power is further impacted by the uncertainty around the effects of U.S.-imposed tariffs. That will be a moving target of course.

“We anticipate value meals and menus will continue to be popular this year among restaurants,” said Ber, “and retailers will look for more ways to lower prices and drive consumers in-store.”