When 31-year-old New Yorker Janel Strachan bought her Midea air conditioner, she thought she had found the perfect urban comfort hack. Her tech-savvy boyfriend recommended the model, and soon Strachan was hooked: it was sleek, efficient, and easy to control with an app. Midea’s apartment-friendly design turned it into a cult favorite among younger consumers who valued convenience, aesthetics, and the validation of trusted reviewers like Wirecutter. For many millennials, it felt like an “if you know, you know” product modern, efficient, and purpose-driven.
But in 2024, Midea’s reputation took a dramatic hit. Nearly 1.7 million units were recalled over the risk of mold exposure, sending shockwaves across TikTok, X, and even mainstream outlets like The New York Times. “To see that it got recalled, it was a big letdown,” Strachan said. The backlash highlighted a broader generational moment: millennials’ beloved brands are maturing or fading away.
The Rise of the Millennial Brand
The last decade saw an explosion of brands designed specifically for millennials. Their hallmarks included:
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Direct-to-consumer (DTC) convenience – Warby Parker revolutionized eyewear, Casper delivered mattresses in a box, and SmileDirectClub promised cheaper dental care.
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Aesthetic identity – Pastel fonts, winky ad copy, and minimalist packaging made products feel like part of a lifestyle rather than just another purchase.
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Values-driven marketing – Brands promised not just functionality but purpose, tying themselves to social causes, sustainability, and wellness.
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Experiential retail – Reformation let customers shop “Clueless”-style on in-store screens, while Glossier turned its flagship into an Instagram-ready pink wonderland.
Millennial corridors trendy neighborhoods with DTC showrooms popped up in cities like New York and Los Angeles. Buying products felt less like shopping and more like joining a cultural movement.
The Inevitable Fall: When Cool Turns Common
But the millennial brand era had a short shelf life. Marketing professor Dhananjay Nayakankuppam notes that generationally linked products often age out of cultural favor. Whiskey, once the drink of choice in the 1950s, lost nearly 50% of its market share by 1990 as younger consumers pivoted toward wine and lighter alcohols. Cars like Buick became locked into “grandparent” stereotypes that were impossible to shake.
The same trap hit millennial brands. If a product leaned too hard into youthful cool, the next generation dismissed it. Meanwhile, older buyers often wondered if these brands were even for them. As Nayakankuppam put it: “If you get too tightly tied to a particular cohort, as that generation ages, it can leave the brand high and dry.”
The downturn of DTC pioneers proved the point. SmileDirectClub abruptly collapsed, Winc filed for bankruptcy, Brandless shut down, and Jet.com disappeared. Others, like Casper, were sold off after failing to scale profitably.
The Survivors: From “Trendy” to “Mainstream”
Some millennial brands avoided irrelevance by shedding their early image and focusing on product quality. Marketing professor Kevin McTigue explains that integrity only gets you so far: “The brands that succeed offer more than just an appealing concept of purpose they actually have a product that people want.”
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Warby Parker thrives because its eyewear quality stands out beyond its mission.
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Glossier, once the poster child of millennial branding, stumbled in 2020 but reinvented itself by partnering with Sephora and doubling down on its bestselling products like the You perfume. Its flagship may have closed, but the brand transitioned from cult cool to a stable, visible presence in retail.
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Midea, despite its recall crisis, remains a household name, showing how far millennial-fueled niche products can penetrate mainstream markets.
Why Millennials Are Moving On
Part of the generational shift comes down to life stage changes. Many millennials left urban apartments during the pandemic for larger suburban homes. Their buying priorities shifted from ironic Instagrammable products to functional, family-oriented purchases.
The end of the zero-interest-rate era also stripped away the financial oxygen that fueled DTC growth. With venture funding tightening, brands had to survive on profitability rather than hype. For many, the math didn’t work.
The brands that endure are those that age with their audience moving beyond millennial branding gimmicks to deliver consistent value. In other words, millennials may no longer be crowning the coolest new companies, but they are deciding which brands graduate into mainstream relevance.
The Next Chapter of Consumer Culture
Millennial brands were once symbols of rebellion against outdated shopping models, promising fun, community, and values in every purchase. But as the generation grows older, its relationship with consumerism is evolving.
Today, the winners aren’t the flashiest startups with pastel websites. They’re the brands that blend quality, trust, and scale, proving they can outlast the generational trend cycle.
The question for the next decade: will Gen Z fall into the same trap? Or will they build brands that survive beyond their moment?
