The fastest-growing brand in the world this year is not Apple or even TikTok. And it is not even last year’s topper NVIDIA. This brand is neither American nor Chinese—it is Emirati.
Back in 2022, when a telecom major in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced an entire rebranding exercise moving from its “Etisalat Group” monicker that was iconic in the Middle East, the conglomerate scratched the surface of PR gold.
Today, its new avatar e&, or “etisalat and”, is the fastest growing brand in the world, according to the Global 500 2025 rankings released by valuer Brand Finance this week.
“The telecommunications brand is the fastest growing brand in the world this year, posting an eight-fold increase in brand value to USD 15.3 billion,” the report said, stating how the three-year rebrand from Etisalat to e& was in its final stages.
The consolidation of all of the erstwhile Etisalat Group brands under the e& architecture seemed to have worked wonders for the Middle East firm.
Recently, e& unveiled its global brand positioning under “Go for More”. It featured the likes of global icons Jason Statham, Shah Rukh Khan, Lewis Hamilton, Megan Fox, Amina Khalil, and Ismail Mattar—quite a power-packed bunch.
NVIDIA was not behind in growth, for last year’s winner came in second this time. “The AI giant’s brand value grew 98 per cent, which is the fastest for a second year in a row on a like-for-like basis to USD 87.9 billion in 2025.”
Chipmaking giant NVIDIA broke into the global top ten for the first time in the Brand Finance rankings. It was first valued in 2014 when it entered at rank 424 in the US 500 table.
The report valued brands from 2020 through 2025. TikTok, however, entered the ranking in 2021, but Brand Finance termed it a high-growth brand since it posted 79 per cent growth in the past four years.
Despite such major movers, Apple retained the title of the most valuable brand, jumping 11 per cent year-on-year to reach USD 574.5 billion, the report stated.
For the straight second year, WeChat retained the crown of the world’s strongest brand. The Brand Strength Index (BSI) score by the valuer was 95.2 out of 100 with a AAA+ brand strength rating. Nike was the second strongest global brand with a strong Paris Olympics presence, winning back its place from rival Adidas. Last year, Adidas had the upper hand due to football sponsorship and strong demand for casual footwear.
