Our Roundup: Kraft Heinz's new Disney partnership signals a strategic shift for both iconic brands, while Crayola's expansion into products for adults shows how even the most established brands can evolve without losing their identity.

This Week’s Report
—> 100 Issues. Here's What We've Learned.
—> Key Takeaways
—> This Week’s Standouts

When I sent that very first issue of Authenticity Report back in August 2022, I didn't know if anyone would open it. I definitely didn't picture writing to you 100 issues later.

This newsletter started because I kept running into the same wall in my corporate life, sitting across from executives at companies you'd all recognize, watching them spend millions trying to seem authentic while genuinely missing the mark.

That frustration turned into a decade-long obsession with one word, and eventually into Why We Launched Authenticity, the issue where I finally told you all of that, instead of just writing about someone else's brand.

Some of my favorite issues were the ones where we stopped reporting and started arguing.

Authenticity Sells was the first time I said out loud that "authentic" was becoming a word brands reach for so often it risks meaning nothing.

A year later, Why "Authenticity" No Longer Works, written by our friend Sunny Fassler, pushed that idea even further and forced me to actually sit with the discomfort of it. It's a strange thing, writing a newsletter named after a word and then questioning whether the word still holds up. But you all stuck with us through it, and honestly, that issue is one I'm proudest of.

The brand spotlights are where this whole thing started, and they're still what I love writing most.

Somewhere along the way, we crossed 60 different brands featured in this newsletter, everything from Yeti: Built for Epic Adventures and Dr. Bronner's: Brand Transparency to our look at In-N-Out Burger: The Recipe for Authentic Success.

Some weeks it was a legacy brand like Levi's or Harley-Davidson; other weeks it was something scrappier like Liquid Death or Cotopaxi, but the thread connecting all of them was always the same: they weren't performing for us, they were just consistently, quietly themselves.

The Bike Industry Has An Authenticity Problem came out of an interview I did with Rick Vosper, and it's still the issue I get the most emails about, because it proved this newsletter was willing to call out an entire category, not just praise the brands getting it right.

The part of this project I didn't expect to matter as much as it does is personal authenticity, turning the lens on us, not just brands.

The Benefits Of Being Authentic is where I first laid out the seven traits: Real, Original, Truthful, Honest, Genuine, Integrity, and Transparent. Those weren't traits I picked myself. They came straight out of the same survey we use for the Authenticity 500: when we ask people what Authenticity actually means to them, those seven words keep rising to the top.

Finding Your Authentic Self went even further inward for me. I sat down to answer a simple question, "what does your authentic self actually look like," and realized halfway through writing it that I didn't have a quick answer either. Turns out it's not a job title or a personality trait; it's alignment, when your values, actions, and decisions all start pointing the same direction. That one changed how I think about this whole project.

Then there's the Authenticity 500 Index itself, the project that turned into the backbone of everything we do here.

Authenticity's Top 5 Brands, Top 6 Authentic Brands, and Authenticity's Top Shoe Brands came directly from your survey answers, your votes, your opinions about which brands actually earn your trust.

This was never supposed to be me telling you what's authentic. It was always supposed to be us figuring it out together, and the Index is proof that worked.

So, thank you. Genuinely.

Whether you've been here since issue one or you found us last month, you're the reason I get to keep asking this question every week instead of just wondering about it alone.

We are just getting started.

There's a lot more to figure out about what authenticity means for brands, and honestly, for all of us, and I can't wait to keep working through it with you for the next 100.

- Mark Sperling

1. Authenticity Is Earned
Brands don't become authentic by saying they are, they earn it through consistent actions over time.

2. People Know the Difference
Consumers are remarkably good at recognizing when a brand's words and actions are aligned, or when they're not.

3. Authenticity Starts Within
The strongest brands are built on authentic people, cultures, and values long before marketing tells the story.

4. Trust Is the Ultimate Measure
Every issue has reinforced the same truth: authenticity isn't about being perfect, it's about being trusted.

This week’s real-time signals on how brands are actually showing up.

• Kraft Heinz just became the exclusive licensee for Disney-branded food products. And the deal says something important about where both companies are headed.
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• Crayola just launched a product line for adults. And it might be their most delicate brand move in 123 years.

What Brands Are Authentic? It is time once again to choose which brands you feel are authentic. Please tell us via our survey (it takes less than 5 minutes to fill out).

The results of your decisions will be part of our annual Authenticity 500 Index rankings, which you will receive for free.

💡 Credibility Is The New Influence

⚽ World Cup’s Biggest Lesson Isn’t Soccer

💛 7 Traits of Authenticity

🖐️ Authenticity’s Top 5 Brands

❄️ Yeti Just Removed Its Own Name

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This newsletter is an exclusive benefit to our Authenticity community.

Our weekly guide explores the meaning of Authenticity as it relates to our personal and professional lives and the brands we connect with, bringing you the latest insights, curated news, and guest authors.

Our tools to help you:
• The Authentic Brand Audit Kit
• Personal Authenticity Deep-Dive Journal
• Authenticity 500 Index

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Disclosure: Some content in this newsletter may be generated with the assistance of AI tools for research and drafting. It was reviewed, edited, and fact-checked by our human editorial team before publication.