Bread and biscuit moguls have swept the floor in Kantar Worldpanel’s 2018 UK Brand Footprint Ranking, ranking in first, third, fourth and sixth.
Britain's favorites
Top 10 brands
- Warburtons
- Heinz
- Hovis
- McVitie’s
- Walkers
- Kingsmill
- Muller
- Coca-Cola
- Cadbury Dairy Milk
- Birds Eye
Source: Kantar Worldpanel
Top 5 biscuits
- Chocolate Digestive - 12%
- Digestive - 8%
- Ginger biscuit - 7%
- Bourbon - 7%
- Hobnob - 6%
Source: Channel 5
For the sixth consecutive year, bakery giant Warburtons was chosen as the UK’s most favored brand, selected 544 million times from supermarket shelves during the course of the year and bought on average 23 times a year.
On the biscuit front, McVitie’s – owned by global snacking company pladis – was identified as one of the fastest growers in the top 10 list, chosen more than 290 million times by shoppers in 2019, a 3% increase from last year.
The company’s footing was further cemented in a nationwide poll hosted by Channel 5 to find UK’s favorite biscuit, with the chocolate digestive coming out tops.
According to James Turton, GM of McVitie’s Biscuits Unit at pladis UK & Ireland, McVitie’s growth in the ranking is thanks, in part, to the successful launch of McVitie’s Digestives Thins, which holds the title of the Biggest Sweet Launch since 2010 with sales worth £17m ($22.58m) to-date.
“McVitie’s has been baking biscuits for consumers for 125 years in the UK, and we’re delighted that so many shoppers continue to choose our snacks in supermarket aisles. As the number one brand in the category, we’re committed to ensuring that McVitie’s remains relevant to today’s ever changing consumers, through both, our loved-brands and our new innovation,” said Turton.
How to stay ahead
Now in its sixth year, Kantar’s Brand Footprint measures Consumer Reach Points to identify the everyday grocery brands most often chosen by the majority of shoppers.
“In a challenging environment, it’s more important than ever before to listen to the consumer and adapt to what they need. If consumers are given a reason to believe, they will choose the branded product. If they aren’t, they’ll choose the cheapest,” said Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar Worldpanel.
“The biggest gains inside the top 10 and beyond have been made by brands innovating in ways currently most relevant to consumers, making their lives healthier, happier and easier.”