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Kantar Worldpanel Warburtons Coca-Cola

Warburtons and McVitie's among best-loved brands for Brits, as UK shoppers continue to favour home-grown products

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By Rebecca Stewart, Trends Editor

May 19, 2016 | 4 min read

British brands like Warburtons and McVitie's are continuing to outperform their foreign counterparts in the UK, according to a fresh study from Kantar Worldpanel.

mcvities and warburtons best-loved brands

The fourth annual barometer of the nation's top 10 most chosen FMCG brands has placed six home-grown favourites in the mix, ranking them above global names like Coca-Cola.

The Brand Footprint ranking measures which brands are being bought by the most consumers, the most often. The findings are based on research which tracks 74 per cent of the global population, or a billion households across 44 counties. It comprises over 200 FMCG categories tracked around the world across the sectors such as beverages, food, health and beauty.

Leading the ranking for the fourth time in a row in the UK was Bolton-based baker Warburtons. Over the past 12 months the loafmaker had its products chosen by over 85 per cent of the population, on average 26.7 times per-year. This means the brand was picked up from supermarket shelves 611 million times in the last year.

Retaining second place from 2015 was US brand Heinz, which was purchased by close to 90 per cent of Brits typically 16 times a year. Closely following at number three was McVitie’s which noted an increased its popularity with shoppers, particularly through its flagship chocolate digestives following a refreshed (and fuzzier) brand strategy featuring kittens and puppies.

Hovis is this year’s fourth most chosen brand and the third British brand on the list, having managed to increase both penetration and frequency this year with its ‘Good Inside’ range tapping into the increasing trend for health-conscious consumption. Rival Kingsmill came in at number five with 74.6 per cent of the population buying it 14.3 times a year.

Heinz and Coca-Cola are the only names to appear in both the British and European top 10, and while Coca-Cola came in at number 10 on the UK list it retained the top spot in the global rankings.

UK Brand Footprint chart

1. Warburtons

2. Heinz

3. McVitie's

4. Hovis

5. Kingsmill

6. Birds Eye

7. Walkers

8. Muller

9. Cadbury Dairy Milk

10. Coca-Cola

Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar Worldpanel, explains: “British brands remain an important part of our shopper repertoire and it’s encouraging to see so many continue to succeed in a world of multinational conglomerates.

"This doesn’t just extend to the overall top ten – looking at sector specific rankings we see familiar names including Robinsons, PG Tips, Radox and Andrex coming in ahead of their global competitors. With many brands capitalising on the Queen’s 90th birthday celebrations and underlining their British heritage we’re likely to see this trend continue," he added.

Sally Stanton, head of marketing communications at Warburtons, said the brand was "proud" to hold on to the top spot for UK shoppers.

"The last twelve months have been some of the most action-packed in Warburtons’ 140-year history with our mission to bring more excitement to the bakery aisle taking us from our heartland in Bolton to the bright lights of Beverly Hills."

Kantar Worldpanel Warburtons Coca-Cola

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