Warburtons is the UK's most chosen FMCG brand

Kantar Worldpanel’s 2014 barometer of the UK’s most chosen FMCG brands reveals that local brands are winning, with UK favourites such as Warburtons, McVities and Cadbury’s Dairy Milk all coming in the top 10.

The Brand Footprint ranking reveals the brands that are being bought by the most consumers, the most often. Warburtons leads the ranking as the UK’s most chosen brand, picked an average of 25 times a year by 86% of UK households. It is joined in the top 10 by fellow British brands McVities (bought 14 times per year by 89% of UK households), Hovis (15 times by 74%), Kingsmill (14 times by 74%), Walkers (11 times by 73%) and Cadbury’s Dairy Milk (9 times by 73%).

Alison Martin, director at Kantar Worldpanel, explains: “The world consumer market continues to be dominated by a small number of global brands, but in Britain we’re opting for local names. Classic British brands such as Warburtons and McVities have a rich understanding of their consumers, create products that are tailored to the tastes of their home market and deliver marketing and messaging that appeal to the domestic audience. Warburtons’ ‘One’s bun is done’ advertisement – which tied into the royal birth of Prince George – is a particularly good example of a bespoke campaign. In the post-horsegate world we’re more conscious than ever of provenance and look for brand names that we know and trust.”

Kantar Worldpanel’s global Brand Footprint ranking shows that domestic brands are performing strongly across the world. Local brands – those that exist in just one country – are growing almost twice as fast as global brands.

Alison Martin continues: “Local brands across the globe are winning in their home markets, backed by an in-depth knowledge of their consumers. The lesson for large global brands is to adapt their products to suit local tastes and create campaigns which connect with local cultures. Conversely, British brands looking to grow overseas will need to think carefully about whether their product and messaging translates abroad and consider the challenges that different retail environments pose.”

Kantar Worldpanel’s Brand Footprint Ranking reveals the strength of brands in 35 countries around the world, across the food, beverage, health and beauty and homecare sectors. It uses an insightful metric called Consumer Reach Points which measures how many households around the world are buying a brand (its penetration) and how often (the number of times shoppers acquire the brand).

This unique calculation of penetration and frequency helps FMCG manufacturers to clearly understand their UK and global reach in terms of actual basket reach and provides a vital guide on which regions present the biggest opportunities.

The top 10 UK FMCG brands revealed by the Brand Footprint study are:

1: Warburtons

2: Heinz

3.: McVities

4: Hovis

5: Kingsmill

6: Birds Eye

7: Muller

8: Walkers

9: Coca-Cola

10: Cadbury's Dairy Milk