Comp Sets: Think Comparative not Competitive

Sure, it's nuanced. But it helps frame your brand in a better way.

Brands often get asked: “What’s your comp set?”

Traditional business advice, industry standards, and the internet all suggest that means “competitive set” - a set of businesses that directly compete with yours.

What if we re-framed “comp” to mean comparative?

When done intentionally, it signals a key awareness, especially for brands speaking to retail customers and presenting a “comp set” slide in their brand deck.

Comparing your your brand doesn’t create the tension with the existing set the way framing it as “competitive” does. Often, emerging brands place themselves at odds with industry giants. And while you may be offering an alternative, it can look and feel out of touch to say you’re competing at the same level in the same way as more established brands. You may not have the retail media budget of General Mills, but your product may be comparable (and better) in many ways.

Second, it demonstrates awareness of the retailer model. Retailers rarely have one of anything on shelf (unless you’re looking for wild rice at my local grocery store). They stock different products for different consumers. “Competitive” implies that one wins and the others lose, and that feels like a risk when a retailer looks at something that is already selling on their shelf. A comparison says “you’ve got personal positive experience with these brands, I’m familiar (but not the same).” It helps draw attention to similarities in a positive way, while allowing the rest of your conversation to be about your product's points of differentiation.

It also demonstrates an understanding of consumer behavior. It follows the way consumers view their shopping experience. They look at the shelf and compare their options. And when your set as comparative, you're acknowledging that consumers are rarely 100% loyal to one brand. An example from How Brands Grow (dated data, but the consumer behavior stands): In a UK study, the average consumer buys potato chips 17.5 times per year. Even for the largest brand (Walkers at 68% market share), only 7% of chip buyers were 100% loyal. That means 93% of Walkers’ consumers are also buying other brands. Comparison puts you in the conversation for those 93% of consumers’ purchases. Competition suggests you’re aiming for the 7%.

So before you or your team sends out the updated brand deck to the field, update that “comp” to comparative.

Okay, maybe it’s not just about changing the title of the slide.

It’s about ensuring that your marketing and sales positioning is aligned, and the team thinking about consumer behavior and conversion is also aware of how conversations are framed with retail customers. It’s about alignment on how the brand carries itself - a thread that weaves through just about everything.

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