Growing through new occasions, not new consumers

When you're trying to attract new consumers and your biggest market is threatening to close the door, what do you do?

Effectively, this is what many Canadian brands are experiencing at the moment with the tariffs and larger uncertainty surrounding the US. Doing business in the US is becoming mathematically ugly, and this may be the new normal.

Reasonably so, then, the instinct is to find alternative export markets. Brands know, however, that this takes time and significant effort — to understand the new consumer, establish new retail relationships, meet different compliance standards, and establish brand awareness from zero.

There is another, simpler pivot available to brands, one that is less commonly talked about: growth from new consumption occasions. That is, earning more revenue from consumers you already have access to, from a domestic market you already know. Instead of recruiting new consumers, you claim more occasions from the same consumer. Share of stomach, rather than share of population.

What does occasion-based expansion look like? Snacks and social occasions are a good way to illustrate this concretely.

Unclaimed occasions, real demand

Mondelēz's State of Snacking research (2024 & 2026) reports that more than two-thirds of consumers say snacks are necessary when they're socializing, and 71% call sharing snacks their love language.

In short, snacking and socializing go well together.

If you're a snacking brand, you may have a party-size format or a “great for sharing” message in your marketing. This is a reasonable start, but it doesn't go far enough. Growing through an occasion means tying your brand to it in such a way that the occasion feels incomplete without your brand.

A prime example of an occasion missing a brand is the “5 à 7” get-together.

5 à 7, defined

As someone who's not originally from Quebec, this local custom has stood out to me. Literally translated as “5 to 7”, it takes place post-work but pre-dinner, hence the 5pm to 7pm window. The closest reference point is happy hour, but this is a poor comparison. Happy hour is a commercial event, created by retailers to fill a slow window. 2 for 1 deals and other discounts figure heavily.

5 à 7 is a cultural institution. It's a time to unwind informally with others before heading home. It can happen at a workplace, a gallery opening, or yes, even a bar. The occasion exists whether or not anyone's offering a discount, and in fact, leans towards more elevated, premium choices.

Right now, it's an occasion that brands mention in passing, next to 'picnics' and 'office parties.' Products that lend themselves to tapas, charcuterie boards, or savory small eats seem made for this moment, but nobody has made it their own yet.

Which occasion is right for you?

5 à 7 is one social occasion, there are many others that a brand can explore for driving consumption. Not all will be right or relevant, but one or two will emerge as contenders.

To see if there's an occasion that's suited for your brand to expand into, here are a few questions to consider (they're part of a larger diagnostic I do):

1. Think about your brand's reason to exist — the need you serve. Does this need appear in other occasions than the one you currently serve?

Start by listing down all the possible occasions your consumer experiences throughout a typical day. Next to each occasion, rate whether it could benefit from your product.

For example, if your healthy nuts mix is a tide-me-over snack for a busy professional, can it also be a snack that they share as a parent with their kids on the ride home from sports practice at the end of the day?

This is an exercise in equal parts imagination and data — imagining something that currently doesn't exist, and making sure it is backed up with a valid, data-based insight so that you extend your brand with a commercially sound rationale.

2. Is there a belief or custom in your existing market that's fully formed but has nobody's name on it?

This indicates a ready occasion, one that is already understood and already practiced. In this case you don't have to do the hard and expensive work of creating an occasion and educating consumers about it. Instead, you can focus your marketing dollars on associating your brand with the occasion.

3. Is there a trigger that cues the occasion?

This makes it a concrete opportunity to target and drive conversions. For example, a pre-game ritual, or, in the case of 5 à 7, literally cuing the occasion when the clock nears 5 o'clock. Habits get formed through regularity, which happens with clear and consistent triggers.

4. Is there a language already around the occasion?

“5 à 7” is already what people call it. This way, you don't have to ask anyone to learn a new phrase. You can build from this base of acceptance to make your brand synonymous with the occasion.

5. Are you willing to be patient about it?

While occasion-based expansion is, in many ways, simpler than expanding into new geographies, there is still an effort involved, where consumers become aware of you, get used to thinking of you when they have the relevant need, and importantly, get accustomed to seeing you consistently at that moment. The advantage of building new occasions is that your brand is already known and trusted, and you have a deep, felt understanding of your consumers from years of operating in their neighborhood. If the occasion is a natural extension of your current proposition, the adoption is likely to be faster.

What this looks like

Winning occasions translates to reaching the same people you already touch and giving them one more specific, real reason to pick you. By showing up in more moments, you deepen your relationship with your consumers, create greater lifetime value, and unlock velocity and sales.

In a time of unrelenting uncertainty, building on existing consumers is a strong bet.