This year's Biggest Brands table shows that value sales from big-name groceries continue to swell in a growing number of sectors, as consumers are tempted to premium product ranges.
Three-quarters of the brands in this year's top 50 have increased their sales, seven by 15% or more - no easy task considering the mature markets in which they are operating.
As the most comprehensive over-view of grocery brands for the year, the data in these tables provides a yardstick for consumerism today. It allows marketers to track the brands outperforming their rivals and those that are losing sales, as well as spot category trends.
This year we are presenting the top 50 FMCG brands based on value sales for the year to June 2003 and the top 20 product categories for the year. We also look in detail at the ten bestselling FMCG launches of 2002.
Data from multiple grocers is supplied by IRI, using InfoScan, its retail sales tracking service, based on electronic point-of-sale data and manual store audits. It is used to monitor and evaluate product performance in the grocery, health and beauty, and impulse markets.
Brand separations
Products have been selected at brand level, so different flavours, pack sizes and variants under the same brand are included together. However, different product positionings, which offer a functional or perceived difference but use the same master brand name, are listed separately.
Beers, wine and spirits, and own-label are excluded from this analysis.
While all the names in the top 50 will be familiar, some have slipped down the table due to a lack of marketing support or greater competition, while others are propelled up by successful marketing, broader distribution or trade promotion activity.
On top of the pile this year is Walkers crisps. In addition to PepsiCo's distribution muscle, a huge factor in its success has been consistent advertising. The Lineker campaign has taken in more than 25 commercials and will continue for at least two more years thanks to a five-year, £1.5m renewal of his contract in December 2000.
Lineker's latest performance, promoting the range of Great British Takeaways flavours launched in July, sees him marry Granny Kumar from BBC show The Kumars at No 42 in an elaborate Bollywood-esque wedding procession with hundreds of extras.
While Lineker was named the greediest star in a February poll of parents by pressure group The Food Commission, with sales reaching £245m for the main brand alone over the past 12 months, any negative spin doesn't seem to have stopped parents and kids buying the brand.
Although it has suffered a 3.8% dip, an IRI spokesperson suggests that this will be rectified once sales from the Great British Takeaways promotion have taken effect. Walkers attributes the dip to trade promotion and supermarket discounting, as volume sales have increased, according to PepsiCo president Martin Glenn.
Walkers has a £30m lead over second-placed Lever Faberge's Persil. It has been a busy year for the top laundry brand, starting in May 2002 with the launch of Persil Aloe Vera, tapping into the market for natural products.
Along with a £13m, three-stage marketing campaign, Lever Faberge distributed 1.34 million tablet trial packs to UK households.
In September, Persil launched a £7m cause-related initiative called 'Get creative with Persil', encouraging parents and teachers to collect on-pack tokens for art and crafts products from a Persil-branded catalogue.
Its latest campaign, which broke last month, promises that the fizzing action of Persil Performance laundry tablets will remove stains.
Of the seven laundry brands in the top 50, Persil's nearest rival is Procter & Gamble's Ariel, at number eight, which has increased sales by 9.2% thanks in part to a marketing offensive that included a sponsorship deal with the Lawn Tennis Association starring a naked Tim Henman.
P&G launched its latest detergent innovation this month with the introduction of Ariel Quickwash. The product, which will sit alongside Biological, Non-Bio and Color Tablets variants in the Ariel portfolio, claims to dissolve faster than rival tablets, allowing shorter wash cycles.
Diet Coke, third in the table, has had a storming year, with sales up 20.3% to £200m. In April it launched its high-profile 'Silver Screen' promotion starring Hollywood actress Kim Basinger as part of a three-year plan to link Diet Coke with movies and glamour.
The activity combines the brand's biggest-ever on-pack promotion, giving consumers the chance to win all expenses-paid trips to West End film premieres, with TV ads, and has a high visual impact due to silver packaging. It is the first time the brand, whose most successful ad icon was the Diet Coke hunk, dropped in the late-90s, has used a celebrity in its ads.
The 20.3% rise includes Diet Coke Lemon, which launched in the UK in June 2002. It is already associated with cinema, following promotions surrounding hit movie Bridget Jones's Diary. The variant has performed well for the brand, and now accounts for 14% of sales.
Coke, which benefits from twice the £7.3m adspend allotted to Diet E Coke, according to MindShare, has achieved just a 0.3% sales increase, and sits at number five in the table.
In April, Coca-Cola introduced a £5m integrated campaign to launch Vanilla Coke. 'Reward your curiosity' included sampling, a TV ad called 'Headlock' and an outdoor campaign. This summer, Coke has been promoted in the UK through the US 'Real' TV campaign.
Fanta, the third Coca-Cola brand in this year's top 50, has had a hugely successful year, increasing its sales by more than any other brand in the list.
Backed by an adspend of about £4.4m, according to MindShare, it launched the latest execution in its 'Why can't everything ... be Fanta?' TV campaign through Soul on April 11. Coca-Cola GB marketing director Charlotte Oades said she was con-fident that the ad would help the brand maintain its "amazing growth momentum".
Making more bread
Three of this year's top ten brands are from the bread sector: Hovis, Kingsmill and Warburtons. Accounting for collective value sales of £545m, they have lifted the sector as a whole by 4.5%.
British Bakeries' Hovis is the number one brand within the pre-packaged bread market and is also growing the fastest, at 11.9%. Its high-profile relaunch in June 2001, comprising a packaging redesign and an ad campaign featuring a cartoon family, has helped Hovis distinguish itself from competitors.
In March, it began its first consumer-based cause-related marketing tie-up, pledging to raise £1m for the NSPCC through three on-pack promotions this year and in 2004.
Achieving strong growth away from the food and drink side of the FMCG market is Gillette. It has three brands in the top 50, all increasing sales by 11% or more. The highest-placed is Oral B toothbrushes, which achieved growth of 11.2% to reach number 22 in the table.
"Oral B has performed well through the launches of Advantage Plus and the Stages child range, designed for different age groups," says an IRI spokesperson.
"Also, in the area of manual brushes, increased promotional activity on the Cross Action product has pushed sales. Within battery handles, increased range distribution has driven growth."
The fastest-growing of the Gillette products, the Mach 3 razor, appears next in the table. Having achieved a sales increase of 24.7% over the past year, it is set to grow even more with the successful launch in January of the Mach 3 Turbo.
Its grip on the razor market has been threatened by Wilkinson Sword's Quattro - the first four-blade razor - but as Marketing went to press, Gillette had filed a patent infringement suit against Wilkinson Sword's parent, Energizer Holdings.
Gillette's second-fastest growing brand is Duracell batteries, which has increased sales by 18.2% to reach number 48 in the list.
"Duracell has placed a lot of focus this year on trade promotion and fixture ownership," says IRI. "It has colour-coded packs by battery size to make purchasing decisions at the fixture easier for consumers, and this has begun to have an impact on sales."
BIGGEST RISERS
Brand % change
Fanta* 33.9
Gillette Mach 3 System* 24.7
Cadbury Dairy Milk* 20.9
Whiskas pouch 20.8
Diet Coke* 20.3
Duracell Alkaline batteries* 18.2
Pot Noodle 16.1
Hovis pre-packaged bread 11.9
Finish Powerball* 11.9
Oral B toothbrushes* 11.2
Warburtons pre-packaged bread 10.9
Kingsmill pre-packaged bread 10.6
*see main table notes
BIGGEST FALLERS
Brand % change
Huggies Freedom -13.8
Felix canned -13.4
Pedigree canned -11.2
Nestle Kit Kat biscuits -9.1
Whiskas canned -8.6
PG Tips Pyramid bags -7.6
Nestle Kit Kat chocolate* -7.3
Birds Eye Fish Fingers -6.7
Nescafe Original -4.9
Walkers crisps -3.8
*see main table notes
TOP 50 BIGGEST BRANDS
Rank Brand Sales Jun, 03 (£m) % change yr/yr Manufacturer
1. Walkers crisps 240-245 -3.8 Walkers
2. Persil main wash* 210-215 2.7 Lever Fabergé
3. Diet Coke* 195-200 20.3 Coca-Cola
4. Hovis pre-packaged bread 190-195 11.9 British Bakeries
5. Andrex* 190-195 -0.1 Kimberly-Clark
6. Coke* 185-190 0.3 Coca-Cola
7. Kingsmill pre-packaged bread 180-185 10.6 Allied Bakeries
8. Warburtons pre-packaged bread 160-165 10.9 Warburtons
9. Ariel main wash* 150-155 9.2 Procter & Gamble
10. Nescafe Original 135-140 -4.9 Nestlé
11. Pampers Baby Dry 110-115 6.1 Procter & Gamble
12. Mullerlight 100-105 -0.8 Muller
13. P G Tips Pyramid Bags 95-100 -7.6 Unilever Bestfoods
14. Bold main wash* 90-95 3.7 Procter & Gamble
15. Heinz Soup (ready-to-serve) 90-95 9.3 HJ Heinz
16. Colgate Dental Cream 90-95 2.2 Colgate Palmolive
17. Kit Kat* 90-95 -7.3 Nestlé Rowntree
18. Comfort rinse conditioner* 85-90 7.3 Lever Fabergé
19. Heinz Baked Beans 85-90 4.7 HJ Heinz
20. Cadbury Dairy Milk* 85-90 20.9 Cadbury Trebor Bassett
21. Tetley Bags 80-85 0.2 Tetley GB
22. Silver Spoon White Sugar 80-85 4.6 Silver Spoon
23. Whiskas Pouch 80-85 20.8 Pedigree Masterfoods
24. Pringles Snacks 75-80 2.9 Procter & Gamble
25. Oral B toothbrushes* 75-80 11.2 Gillette UK
26. Robinsons Squash 70-75 3.3 Britvic soft drinks
27. Gillette Mach 3 System* 70-75 24.7 Gillette UK
28. Tropicana Pure Premium 70-75 -2.0 Tropicana
29. Fanta* 65-70 33.9 Coca-Cola
30. Whiskas canned 60-65 -8.6 Pedigree Masterfoods
31. Nescafe Gold Blend 60-65 3.4 Nestlé
32. Robinsons Special R 60-65 4.6 Britvic soft drinks
33. Weetabix Rte cereals 60-65 0.8 Weetabix
34. Nestle Kit Kat Biscuits 55-60 -9.1 Nestle Rowntree
35. Felix canned 55-60 -13.4 Friskies Petcare
36. Muller Fruit Corner 55-60 9.0 Muller
37. Fairy main wash* 55-60 5.0 Procter & Gamble
38. Finish Powerball dishwash detergent* 55-60 11.9 Benckiser
39. Heinz Weight Watchers ready meal 55-60 0.2 HJ Heinz
40. Kellogg's Corn Flakes Rte cereals 55-60 -3.6 Kellogg's
41. Huggies Freedom 55-60 -13.8 Kimberly-Clark
42. Double Velvet* 55-60 -1.0 SCA
43. Heinz Tomato Ketchup 55-60 7.1 HJ Heinz
44. Lurpak Spreadable 55-60 4.0 MD Foods UK Ltd
45. Dairy Crest spread 50-55 8.3 Dairy Crest
46. Lenor rinse conditioner* 50-55 3.4 Procter & Gamble
47. Mccain Home Fries 50-55 3.6 McCain Foods
48. Pedigree Canned 50-55 -11.2 Pedigree Masterfoods
49. Pot Noodle 50-55 16.1 Unilever Bestfoods
50. Birds Eye Fish Fingers 50-55 -6.7 Unilever Ice Cream and Frozen Food
Notes to be included on the Top 50 biggest brands
*Diet Coke includes: bottles and cans for Diet Coke, Diet Coke with lemon and Diet Coke Vanilla Coke includes: bottles and cans for Coke and Coke Vanilla Cadbury Dairy Milk includes: Dairy Milk, Dairy Milk Miniatures, Dairy Milk range, Dairy Milk Quick, Dairy Milk Shots, Dairy Milk Tasters, Dairy Milk Wildlife, Fruit & Nut, Whole Nut Oral B toothbrushes includes: rechargeable, manual and battery
Gillette Mach 3 system includes: Mach 3 System and Turbo razor and blades
Fanta includes: bottles and cans Fanta and Fanta Icy lemon Kit Kat chocolate includes: Kit Kat (four-finger) and Kit Kat Chunky Household, clothes care and bathroom tissue: data for Multiple Grocers and Drugstores
PREMIUM EXTENSIONS ARE PROVING TO BE THE MOST PROMISING FMCG LAUNCHES, AS MANUFACTURERS LOOK TO COUNTERACT RETAILERS' PRICE CUTS
Outside the top 50, we have identified the ten biggest-selling FMCG brand launches (see table). Last year, 2300 major products made their debuts on supermarket shelves throughout the UK. But with only one in seven launches proving a success, NPD remains a risky business.
IRI research shows that the success rate of a new product is reduced by 50% when consumers are not already familiar with part of the name - thus, each of the top ten brand launches of 2002 is a brand extension.
Products backed by an established brand name not only gain consumer acceptance faster, they also benefit from existing distributor relationships and quickly achieve high levels of distribution in the multiples.
All except one of the top ten FMCG launches achieved 90% distribution in multiples within 20 weeks of launch and have maintained that over time.
The only one that didn't reach that target was Nestle's Smarties Bar, which took about 28 weeks to reach 89% distribution.
"Most of the top ten FMCG launches for 2002 are premium-priced products, because manufacturers are fighting to maintain the value of their portfolio," says Tim Eales, international insights director at IRI.
"New products often start at the premium price and then filter down through the price levels. They use the initial cut-price period, then the price stabilises, and then it comes down again. In fact, the more successful products end up reducing their prices even more than the less successful ones, because retailers want to get the prices down."
Many brand launches achieve the bulk of their sales through trade promotions such as buy-one-get-one-free or three-for-two offers.
In the confectionery and crisps sectors, the level of sales coming through on promotion is quite low - 31% of volume sales - whereas in other categories, such as personal care, it is common to see 60% or more of volume sales put through on promotion.
"This eats into profits, but it depends on the brand as to whether it can withstand this level of promotion," says Eales. "If the brand is trying to create a premium image and it starts doing deep cuts, I think that sets up expectations and it is difficult to change that later to a premium perception. Most new brands are supported by between four and six weeks of very heavy promotion designed to get trial as high as possible."
Brands tipped by Eales for next year's top table are the Gillette Mach 3 Turbo, Vanilla Coke and bisc&. All launched in January and have made a successful start - particularly bisc&, which is expected to achieve first-year sales of £25m.
WALKERS SENSATIONS - £60m-£65m
Launched into the fourth-biggest grocery category in March 2002, an average of 40% of Sensations' sales are put through on promotion, though this has risen to between 50% and 70% since January. In March, Walkers launched a range of Sensations crackers, which have achieved sales of £5m in the past three months alone. Walkers will further extend the brand with the introduction of Nut Clusters in the coming months. Sensations was the biggest launch of 2002, with sales of £63.3m, more than double those of the next biggest launch.
DIET COKE LEMON - £30m-£35m
After its launch in June 2002, Diet Coke Lemon quickly reached 100% distribution for its bottle and a similar level for its can. Rival Pepsi's lemon variant, Pepsi Twist, is at a much smaller level - with just 57% distribution for the bottle.
DOVE SHAMPOO AND CONDITIONER - £20m-£25m
Dove has been supported strongly by promotions since its launch in January 2002, when 80% or more of its volume sales came via deals. At one point, 92% of Dove shampoo and conditioner sales were made through promotion. The brand has maintained a level of 70% to 75% deal activity.
WRIGLEY'S EXTRA THIN ICE - £15m-£20m
Already dominating the £277m gum market, Wrigley launched the Extra Thin Ice line into the £166m mints market in December 2002. In contrast to the other nine brands here, Wrigley does not use trade promotion.
CADBURY DREAM - £15m-£20m
Launched in January 2002 into the £540m block-chocolate market, and after reaching a very high peak, it has now settled into sales of about £1m to £1.5m every four weeks, with an average of 31% of sales being put through on promotion. Since the start of 2003, this has increased to 50% to 60%.
MALTESERS ICE CREAM - £15m-£20m
This brand achieved an initial peak after launch in March 2002, followed by good summer sales both last year and this. At its peak, it can reach £3m in sales over a four-week period.
NESTLE DOUBLE CREAM - £15m-£20m
Settled into sales of about £1m to £1.5m over every four weeks after launch in August 2002, with an average of 50% of sales being put through on promotion. Since January, this has increased to between 60% and 80% of sales at a reduced rate.
NESTLE SMARTIES BAR - £15-£20m
Launched in October 2002, it has not settled into a regular sales pattern yet, but is currently in the same region as Double Cream.
PEDIGREE POUCH - £10m-£15m
The pet food sector is moving to the premium end of the market with flexi-trays and plastic pouches, hence this product's success. There is also growth in the dry pet food market. "Along with the Germans," says Eales, "we are one of the countries that looks after their pets the best in terms of money spent."
WINALOT VITALITY PLUS - £10m-£15m
Despite a poorly performing can market, this product has sold strongly since launch. "There is a lot of additional focus being placed on well-being products for pets, and people are prepared to spend more money," says Eales. "This product has grown by trading on the vitality angle."
TOP TEN FMCG LAUNCHES 2002
Rk Brand Annualised Manufacturer
sales
(pounds m)
1 Walkers Sensations 60-65 PepsiCo
2 Diet Coke with Lemon 30-35 Coca-Cola
3 Dove shampoo and conditioner 20-25 Lever Faberge
4 Wrigley's Extra Thin Ice 15-20 Wrigley
5 Cadbury Dream 15-20 Cadbury Trebor Bassett
6 Maltesers ice cream 15-20 Masterfoods
7 Nestle Double Cream 15-20 Nestle Rowntree
8 Nestle Smarties Bar 15-20 Nestle Rowntree
9 Pedigree Chunks in Jelly pouch 10-15 Masterfoods
10 Winalot Vitality Plus 10-15 Friskies Petcare
CONVENIENCE AND HEALTH ARE KEYS TO GROWTH IN THE TOP 20 CATEGORIES
The top 20 FMCG categories are explored here in order of size, although three - fresh milk, cheese, and morning products - are dominated by own-label, and so could not be gauged. In addition, the table for yoghurts and dairy desserts could not be shown due to IRI client sensitivity.
BISCUITS - 3.2%
Three of the declining brands in the biscuit top ten are chocolate biscuits - a sub-sector suffering onslaughts from 'healthy' biscuits, crackers and crispbreads, as well as increased competition from launches such as bisc&.
"Masterfoods' launch of bisc& in January has hurt the rest of the chocolate biscuit market," says an IRI spokesperson. "It is already big in Europe, and will probably be a top ten biscuit brand by the end of the year, with sales of £12m so far in Great Britain." There has been strong growth of 22% in the 'healthy' biscuit market, with products such as Kellogg's Nutri-Grain and McVitie's Go Ahead!
performing strongly and launches such as McVities a:m and Weetabix's Alpen bars, both heavily backed by advertising and promotion.
The crackers and crispbreads sub-sector is growing at a rate of 8% year on year, with Snack-a-Jacks now number six in the total biscuit market.
Bucking the downward trend in chocolate biscuits is McVitie's Jaffa Cakes, which is performing well, with growth of 11.3% over the past year.
"Jaffa Cakes has benefited from innovative packaging and increased adspend in the past year," says IRI. "It is moving toward the snacking opportunity and into the out-of-home market with its individual packaging and wrapping."
BAGGED SNACKS - 1.4%
The bagged snacks market is large and mature, so needs to innovate to grow. In the past year, two major events for Walkers, owner of six of the top ten brands, have been the launch of Sensations - probably the biggest new product of the past four to five years - and the acquisition of Wotsits.
This activity may have caused it to take its focus slightly away from its core product, resulting in a 3.8% dip, but an IRI spokesperson believes it is unlikely that Sensations has cannibalised other Walkers brands.
"Sensations has a unique buyer base and attracted new customers into the bagged snacks category," says IRI. "It bridges the gap between the Walkers mainstream brand and premium brands such as Kettle, which it has not affected too much. It would seem that new crisp consumers are coming to Sensations, rather than it grabbing share from existing premium brands."
The decline of Walkers' main brand is deceptive. Last year, it ran the Great British Flavours campaign, featuring Heinz Tomato Ketchup, Marmite and Cheese & Branston Pickle flavour crisps. This year's big promotion is Great British Takeaways, which has only been in-store for a few weeks, so any sales uplift will not have been recorded in this year's figures.
The flavours, which include Chinese Spare Rib and Chicken Tikka Masala, are expected to emulate the success of Great British Flavours.
Sensations is set to continue its upward trajectory with the launch of Oriental Crackers, and the second-year boost of new flavours such as Roast Lamb & Mint, and Red Pepper & Tomato Salsa.
This autumn will also see the launch of Sensations Nut Clusters - Walkers' first foray into the nut market and a good platform for growth for the Sensations brand.
CEREAL (READY-TO-EAT) - 0.4%
This year's big news in the cereal sector is that Weetabix has overtaken Kellogg's Corn Flakes, knocking the brand into the number two position for the first time, according to IRI figures. "To get to the top spot, Weetabix promoted itself quite heavily, but now its pricing is going back up, and it is pulling back on trade promotions as it tries to put the value back in," says IRI.
Kellogg has taken the challenge in its stride and has been making big gains with other brands, such as Crunchy Nut, which it has refreshed by introducing Crunchy Nut Red.
Although the figures for this variant are not added to the core Crunchy Nut sales figures shown here, IRI believes that the interest brought to the brand has contributed to its 8.3% increase.
Kellogg has gone a similar route with Special K, launching Red Berries and Peach & Apricot variants. Red Berries already accounts for 36% of the brand's sales, and has helped grow the brand as a whole.
Another success is Cheerios, which has had heavy media support, but according to IRI, has not yet maximised its potential in terms of distribution.
"It competes most directly with plainer brands such as Corn Flakes - so maybe Corn Flakes customers have drifted to Cheerios. Its distribution levels have increased - it is now a must-stock and it is increasing from one product size to two or more."
The cereal market has suffered from the impact of breakfast trends, so manufacturers are extending into bars and products, such as Kellogg's Real Fruit Winders and Squidgers.
"This is such a mature market and people no longer have time to sit down and eat a bowl of cereal, so we are seeing growth in cereal bars to be eaten on the go," says IRI.
BREAD (PRE-PACKAGED) - 4.5%
The pre-packaged bread market is dominated by three major players - Hovis, Kingsmill and Warburtons - which command a combined £545m of the market's value sales.
"All three are seeing strong growth, to the detriment of own-label," says IRI. "A trend toward premium pre-packed bread has led to value growth within the market, with unit sales at a slight decline, driven by the standard and budget lines, in particular white own-label budget.
"The premium offerings from British Bakeries - Hovis Best of Both and Hovis White Square Cut - are the biggest contributors to the market, and eight of the top ten bread brands are premium, the highest in the table being 'designer' square-cut loaves from Kingsmill and Hovis."
Two years ago, it was a different story for Hovis - and the rest of the bread category. While Hovis owner British Bakeries was selling more bread, it was making less money. Sales were rising off the back of retailers' low price drive, and Hovis' price premium had been slashed.
British Bakeries not only needed to rebuild the value of the category, it also had to revitalise its own brand, which was seen as old-fashioned. The brand was relaunched in June 2001 with a £4.2m TV investment, double the previous year's adspend. The relaunch coincided with price increases. To ensure the packaging did not let the rebrand down, it was redesigned to convey a message of goodness with photos of everyday food such as baked beans.
Hovis was the fastest-growing non-alcoholic grocery brand in 2002, according to TNS, when its profits rose by more than 32% and every £1 spent on advertising generated an extra £1.67 of profit.
Today, the average unit price of bread is increasing, most notably on premium lines since March, which is aiding value growth. "On average, premium lines are 34% more expensive than standard, and over 2.5 times dearer than budget lines," says the IRI spokesperson.
MAIN WASH - 4.6%
Although the main wash category is led by Lever Faberge's Persil, Procter & Gamble dominates the sector, owning five of the top ten brands.
Ariel is performing strongly for P&G, and is making a run at the top position in the sector with a range of activities. P&G launched a non-bio version of the brand in August 2001, which was quite a transition, as it had been renowned for cleaning power, rather than kindness to skin.
This led to growth in the non-bio sector and raised awareness of its benefits.
Since the launch of tablets in 1998, there has been a trend in the sector toward unit-dose products. These are priced higher than powders or liquids, which has caused prices across the sector to increase. Ariel launched the liquid capsule with its Liquitabs in March 2001, beating Persil's capsules to market by two months. Persil then hit back with its Aloe Vera premium offering, marketed heavily on skin kindness.
As it is such a stable, mature market, the only way to grow sales is to create a range of products for different needs, so NPD and diversification is high. Dreft, for example, has been boosted by the launch last year of Dreft Black, designed especially for dark clothes.
"The idea behind all the variants is that manufacturers are trying to persuade consumers to keep a repertoire of products - a non-bio for kids and sensitive skins, a bio for stronger cleaning, a colour-care product, one for whites," says IRI.
BATHROOM TISSUE - 1.0%
Of the four main sub-sectors in bathroom tissue - economy, standard, premium and super-premium - the trend is toward super-premium, driven by brands such as Andrex Aloe Vera. SCA's Velvet is moving in the same direction with the launches of Quilted Velvet and Aroma Velvet, which debuted in 2002.
"Brands are offering more than just toilet tissue, with quilted variants and Andrex's Aloe Vera variant, which has encouraged consumers to spend more on the product," says IRI. "The trend is away from own-label and into branded products. There is also a significant move away from standard products."
Sales of standard bathroom tissue are down 63%, while premium is up 0.3% and super-premium up 7.8%. With 21% market share, the Andrex main brand is still the sector leader by a considerable margin. It has reduced its promotional activity to drive value back into the brand - it currently has 33% of sales going through on promotion, whereas last year, 40% of its sales went through on promotion.
In 2002, the Kimberly-Clark brand was boosted by a 60th anniversary ad campaign, which tied in with a 'Finders keepers' on-pack promotion.
CAKES (SHELF-STABLE) - 2.0%
After several years of decline, the ambient cake sector is on the up again, growing 2%. A lot of this is attributable to new product development such as McVitie's' Jaffa Cake bars and Mini Rolls, along with individual wrapping and a trend toward products for sharing.
"The sharing trend is one to which cake manufacturers are trying to react and there have been moves into sharing formats - a big bag of bitesize cakes," says IRI.
"There is also growth in the more traditional whole cakes and slices, and innovation in sweet muffins led by the Fabulous Bakin' Boys. McVitie's has been active in this category, as has Nestle, with its Rolo muffins."
Manor Bakeries, owner of eight of the top ten brands, has gone some way toward revitalising this market with the relaunch of Mr Kipling in March 2001. Own-label brands had matched Mr Kipling's quality and were biting into its share due to lower prices.
Determined that the brand should own the emotional high ground, Manor Bakeries went back to basics and reinvented Mr Kipling as a man who made cakes so good you'd forgive him for anything.
Mr Kipling's cakes has a new momentum and is now rated by Millward Brown as one of the ten strongest brands in the UK when it comes to generating brand loyalty.
FROZEN READY MEALS - -2.4%
Growth in chilled ready meals of 14.6% has been to the detriment of the frozen ready meals sector. Birds Eye is attempting to reverse this by running campaigns informing consumers of the benefits of frozen food, pointing out that it contains fewer preservatives than chilled food, as freezing does all the preservation.
Weight Watchers ready meals have maintained a strong value sales lead in this sector due to continued health awareness among consumers. It also sees peaks during the post-Christmas and pre-summer diet periods.
"There is a lot of loyalty to Weight Watchers," says IRI. "Its growth is coming through everyday sales and lowering of prices, while offering a premium product - meals such as potato wedges and fish, rather than traditional shepherd's pie."
The Platters range is the only one of four Birds Eye brands in the top ten to achieve growth. "As this range includes all elements of a meal on a single plate to be cooked from frozen in a few minutes, it is very convenient, which is what ready meal consumers are looking for," says the spokesperson.
"The other Birds Eye frozen ready meals, such as Sliced Meat Meals and Traditional Meat Meals, have perhaps lost out to the Platters range, which has also recently launched a traditional English pub grub range."
COOKING SAUCES - 1.8%
"One of the key features of the sauces sector is heavy trade promotion," says IRI. "Every week consumers see one of the big sauce ranges - Dolmio, Ragu or Homepride - on promotion, and there is little differentiation between them, which encourages consumers to just look for deals.
"There is no loyalty, except to the Loyd Grossman brand, which is differentiated by its premium nature. There is a general trend in grocery toward more premium products, and the Loyd Grossman range is certainly one of the more expensive."
The Loyd Grossman range has benefited from increased distribution along with an expanded range - it launched tikka and balti sauces in April 2002 and Chinese-style products at the start of 2003.
The brand has also done well in liquid cook-in sauces, which is a declining sub-sector - down 2.9% due to the performance of Chicken Tonight and Homepride.
Liquid pasta sauces, the biggest sub-sector after cook-in sauces, is the main area keeping the market in growth - up 9%. Stir-fry sauces are down 1.7%, while liquid pasta stir-ins are down 7.2%.
Market leader Dolmio has been aided by the launch of a microwaveable pouch, which debuted in February 2002 to replace the Just Heat and Serve product.
The pouch has achieved high distribution and its sales have exceeded those of Just Heat and Serve. Dolmio has increased trade promotion in line with the sector as a whole.
INSTANT COFFEE - -0.9%
Instant and ground coffee are both in decline as a result of over-supply from South America during the past four to five years, which caused producers to slash their prices.
Value has been driven down so much that the growers are not paid enough and have therefore turned to cheaper ways of cultivating their crops.
These factors led to the entry of Cafedirect and the fair trade concept, enabling growers to return to producing higher-grade organic single-origin coffee in return for a fair price, for which Cafedirect charges a premium.
"Although just missing out on a place in the top ten, Cafedirect 5065 is the fastest-growing coffee brand, with phenomenal growth of 27% in the past year," says IRI. "This increase can largely be attributed to growing consumer appeal and demand for fairly traded products. If Cafedirect continues to grow at this rate, we would expect to see it move into the top ten bestselling coffee brands next year."
Distribution of organic and fair trade products has increased, giving consumers more opportunity to buy them. Also contributing to their buoyant sales figures is the fact that they are not trade-promoted, since they are aimed at consumers who are prepared to spend more.
Keeping sales up are premium products such as Nescafe's Cappuccino, and freeze-dried, which is the most expensive coarse granule.
Behind the decline in the instant coffee market are traditional granules and powdered coffee, which account for more than half the sector.
However, both coffee and tea are in general decline, as consumers turn to drinks perceived as healthier options, such as fruit juice.
TOP 20 CATEGORIES
Rank Brand Sales to Jun 03 % chng
(pounds m)
1 Total biscuits 1310-1315 3.2
2 Fresh milk 1185-1190 5.6
3 Yoghurts/dairy desserts 1170-1175 3.6
4 Bagged snacks 1110-1115 1.4
5 Chilled ready meals 885-890 14.6
6 Cereals (ready-to-eat) 855-860 0.4
7 Bread (pre-packaged) 770-775 4.5
8 Main wash* 725-730 4.6
9 Bathroom tissue* 700-705 1.0
10 Yellow fats 655-660 0.8
11 Morning goods 585-590 2.5
12 Cola 575-580 8.1
13 Cakes (shelf-stable) 550-555 2.0
14 Cheese (pre-packed) 545-550 7.2
15 Ice cream 510-515 -0.1
16 Frozen seafood 505-510 -5.8
17 Frozen ready meals 490-495 -2.4
18 Cooking sauces 465-470 1.8
19 Instant coffee 425-430 -0.9
20 Tea 415-420 -2.4
*Data for multiple grocers and drugstores
BISCUITS
Rnk Brand Sales to Jun 03 % chng Manufacturer
(pounds m)
1 Nestle Kit Kat biscuits 55-60 -9.1 Nestle Rowntree
2 McVitie's Choc Homewheat 45-50 1.7 McVitie's
3 Twix biscuits 25-30 5.5 Masterfoods
4 McVitie's Penguin 25-30 -10.4 McVitie's
5 Cadbury Fingers 20-25 7.3 Burtons Foods
6 Quaker Snack-a-Jacks 20-25 5.9 Quaker Oats
7 Fox's Rocky 20-25 -20.5 Fox's Biscuits
8 McVitie's Jaffa Cakes 15-20 11.3 McVitie's
9 McVitie's Digestives 15-20 -5.3 McVitie's
10 Kellogg's Nutri-Grain 15-20 9.6 Kellogg
BAGGED SNACKS
Rnk Brand Sales to Jun 03 % chng Manufacturer
(pounds m)
1 Walkers crisps 240-245 -3.8 PepsiCo
2 Pringles 75-80 2.9 Procter & Gamble
3 Hula Hoops 35-40 -3.6 KP Foods
4 Walkers Quavers 35-40 -1.8 PepsiCo
5 Walkers Sensations 30-35 376.3 PepsiCo
6 Kettle Chips 25-30 7.8 Kettle Foods
7 Walkers Wotsits* 25-30 2.8 PepsiCo
8 McVitie's Mini Cheddars 25-30 9.2 KP Foods
9 Walkers Doritos 20-25 24.4 PepsiCo
10 Walkers French Fries 20-25 -4.1 PepsiCo
*Walkers Wotsits includes: Wotsits and Walkers Wotsits
CEREALS (READY-TO-EAT)
Rnk Brand Sales to Jun 03 % chng Manufacturer
(pounds m)
1 Weetabix 60-65 0.8 Weetabix
2 Kellogg's Corn Flakes 55-60 -3.6 Kellogg
3 Kellogg's Frosties 35-40 0.5 Kellogg
4 Kellogg's Crunchy Nut 30-35 8.3 Kellogg
Corn Flakes
5 Kellogg's Coco Pops 25-30 -5.5 Kellogg
6 Kellogg's Rice Krispies 25-30 9.2 Kellogg
7 Kellogg's Special K 20-25 -1.2 Kellogg
8 Nestle Shreddies Original 20-25 8.7 Cereal Partners
9 Nestle Shredded Wheat 20-25 -0.2 Cereal Partners
Original
10 Nestle Multi Cheerios 20-25 15.6 Cereal Partners
BREAD (PRE-PACKAGED)
Rnk Brand Sales to Jun 03 % chng Manufacturer
(pounds m)
1 Hovis 190-195 11.9 British Bakeries
2 Kingsmill 180-185 10.6 Allied Bakeries
3 Warburtons 160-165 10.9 Warburtons
4 Heinz 15-20 22.0 Warburtons
5 Nimble 10-15 -14.3 British Bakeries
6 Allinson 5-10 -12.1 Allied Bakeries
7 Mothers Pride 5-10 -6.3 British Bakeries
8 Brace's Bakery 5-10 31.5 Ernest Brace & Partners
9 Harvestime 0-5 -8.0 Harvestime
10 Rathbones 0-5 -20.9 Rathbone Brothers
MAIN WASH
Rnk Brand Sales to Jun 03 % chng Manufacturer
(pounds m)
1 Persil 210-215 2.7 Lever Faberge
2 Ariel 150-155 9.2 Procter & Gamble
3 Bold 90-95 3.7 Procter & Gamble
4 Fairy 55-60 5.0 Procter & Gamble
5 Daz 45-50 2.6 Procter & Gamble
6 Surf 40-45 -1.3 Lever Faberge
7 Ecover 0-5 20.4 Mercantile
8 Surcare 0-5 25.2 RMG Personal care
9 Dreft 0-5 1521.7 Procter & Gamble
10 Brio 0-5 170.0 RMG Personal care
BATHROOM TISSUE
Rnk Brand Sales to Jun 03 % chng Manufacturer
(pounds m)
1 Andrex 190-195 -0.1 Kimberly-Clark
2 Double Velvet 55-60 -1.0 SCA
3 Charmin Ultra 45-50 6.6 Procter & Gamble
4 Quilted Velvet 25-30 3.8 SCA
5 Nouvelle Quilted 20-25 12.6 Fort James
6 Andrex Aloe Vera 10-15 72.3 Kimberly-Clark
7 Andrex Moist 5-10 11.3 Kimberly-Clark
8 Dixcel Kitten Soft 5-10 6.6 Fort James
9 Charmin Ultra Double 0-5 -24.4 Procter & Gamble
10 Charmin Comfort 0-5 647.4 Procter & Gamble
YELLOW FATS
Rnk Brand Sales to Jun 03 % chng Manufacturer
(pounds m)
1 Lurpak Spreadable 55-60 4.0 MD Foods
2 Dairy Crest Clover 45-50 10.8 Dairy Crest
3 Anchor Block 40-45 16.4 Anchor Food
4 Flora Pro-Active 40-45 21.1 Unilever Bestfoods
5 Flora Extra Light 35-40 4.3 Unilever Bestfoods
6 Flora 75g Fat Standard 30-35 -10.3 Unilever Bestfoods
7 St Ivel Utterly Butterly 30-35 -2.8 St Ivel
8 Olivio 30-35 1.6 Unilever Bestfoods
9 Lurpak 25-30 -4.0 MD Foods
10 I Can't Believe It's 25-30 -4.2 Unilever Bestfoods
Not Butter
COLA
Rnk Brand Sales to Jun 03 % chng Manufacturer
(pounds m)
1 Diet Coke* 195-200 20.3 Coca-Cola
2 Coke* 185-190 0.3 Coca-Cola
3 Pepsi* 40-45 20.0 PepsiCo
4 Pepsi Max 35-40 7.5 PepsiCo
5 Diet Pepsi 35-40 16.8 PepsiCo
6 Virgin Cola 5-10 -35.0 The Virgin Cola Co
7 Caffeine-Free Diet Coke 0-5 27.2 Coca-Cola
8 Cherry Coke 0-5 -23.6 Coca-Cola
9 Crystal Cola 0-5 967.1 Crystal Drinks
10 Vitalise 0-5 -12.4 Frucor Beverages
*All products include bottles and cans. Diet Coke includes: Diet Coke,
Diet Coke with Lemon and Diet Coke Vanilla.
Coke includes: Coke and Coke Vanilla. Pepsi includes: Pepsi and Pepsi
Twist
CAKES (SHELF-STABLE)
Rnk Brand Sales to Jun 03 % chng Manufacturer
(pounds m)
1 Cadbury Mini Rolls 30-35 -9.0 Manor Bakeries
2 Mr Kipling Pies 20-25 11.2 Manor Bakeries
3 Soreen Malt Loaf 5-10 2.9 Warburtons
4 Mr Kipling Cherry Bakewells 5-10 2.8 Manor Bakeries
5 McVitie's Jaffa Cake Bars 5-10 -1.2 McVitie's
6 Mr Kipling Viennese Whirls 5-10 65.7 Manor Bakeries
7 Mr Kipling Lemon Slices 5-10 5.7 Manor Bakeries
8 Mr Kipling Country Slices 5-10 12.3 Manor Bakeries
9 Mr Kipling Battenburg Bites 5-10 -9.2 Manor Bakeries
10 Mr Kipling Angel Slices 5-10 18.5 Manor Bakeries
ICE CREAM
Rnk Brand Sales to Jun 03 % chng Manufacturer
(pounds m)
1 Magnum* 30-35 -11.9 Unilever Ice Cream and
Frozen Food
2 Carte D'Or* 25-30 -3.5 Unilever Ice Cream and
Frozen Food
3 Haagen-Dazs* 25-30 -1.3 Haagen-Dazs
4 Viennetta 20-25 9.2 Unilever Ice Cream and
Frozen Food
5 Mars 15-20 -5.3 Masterfoods
6 Ben & Jerry's 15-20 1.2 Unilever Ice Cream and
Frozen Food
7 Blue Ribbon 15-20 -3.7 Unilever Ice Cream and
Frozen Food
8 Cornetto 10-15 -21.2 Unilever Ice Cream and
Frozen Food
9 Galaxy 5-10 24.5 Masterfoods
10 Lyons Maid Fab 5-10 23.1 Nestle Rowntree
*Magnum includes: adult choc stick, ice cream dessert and bars. Carte
D'Or includes: tubs/block ice cream and sorbet. Haagen-Dazs includes:
tubs/block ice cream and sorbet
FROZEN READY MEALS
Rnk Brand Sales to Jun 03 % chng Manufacturer
(pounds m)
1 Heinz Weight Watchers 55-60 0.2 HJ Heinz
ready meals
2 Birds Eye Platters 30-35 20.3 Unilever Ice Cream
and Frz Fd
3 Birds Eye Indian 10-15 -21.1 Unilever Ice Cream
Main Meals and Frz Fd
4 Mr Brain's Faggots 10-15 12.5 Kraft Foods
5 Birds Eye Sliced 10-15 -3.5 Unilever Ice Cream
Meat Meals and Frz Fd
6 Findus Create A Stir 5-10 -17.1 Findus UK
Lasagne
7 Birds Eye Traditional 5-10 -9.8 Unilever Ice Cream
Meat Meals and Frz Fd
8 Oriental Express Chinese 5-10 -44.9 RVP Foods
9 Oriental Express 5-10 1025.6 RVP Foods
Stir Fry Chinese
10 Patak's 5-10 65.8 Patak (Spices)
COOKING SAUCES
Rnk Brand Sales to Jun 03 % chng Manufacturer
(pounds m)
1 Dolmio 20-25 18.5 Masterfoods
(liquid pasta sauce)
2 Colmans 20-25 1.7 Colman's of Norwich
(dry cook-in sauce)
3 Homepride 20-25 0.7 Campbell Grocery
(liquid cook-in sauce) Products
4 Chicken Tonight 15-20 -3.4 Unilever Bestfoods
(liquid cook-in sauce)
5 Dolmio Extra 15-20 6.0 Masterfoods
(liquid pasta sauce)
6 Loyd Grossman 15-20 22.3 Premier Int'l Foods
(liquid pasta sauce)
7 Ragu (liquid pasta sauce) 10-15 -0.7 Unilever Bestfoods
8 Dolmio 10-15 -9.6 Masterfoods
(liquid pasta stir-in)
9 Schwartz Authentic Mix 10-15 1.7 McCormick and Co
(dry cook-in sauce)
10 Chicken Tonight 10-15 -12.0 Unilever Bestfoods
Sizzle & Stir
(liq cook-in sauce)
INSTANT COFFEE
Rnk Brand Sales to Jun 03 % chng Manufacturer
(pounds m)
1 Nescafe Original 135-140 -4.9 Nestle
2 Nescafe Gold Blend 60-65 3.4 Nestle
3 Kenco 45-50 2.3 Kraft Jacobs Suchard
4 Kenco Rappor 15-20 -7.0 Kraft Jacobs Suchard
5 Douwe Egberts 15-20 8.3 Douwe Egberts
6 Maxwell House 15-20 -29.4 Kraft Jacobs Suchard
7 Carte Noire 10-15 1.4 Kraft Jacobs Suchard
8 Nescafe Cappuccino 10-15 49.2 Nestle
9 Nescafe Fine Blend 5-10 14.8 Nestle
10 Nescafe Alta Rica 5-10 1.8 Nestle
TEA
Rnk Brand Sales to Jun 03 % chng Manufacturer
(pounds m)
1 PG Tips Pyramid bags 95-100 -7.6 Unilever Bestfoods
2 Tetley bags 80-85 0.2 Tetley
3 Typhoo bags 25-30 13.6 Premier Brands
4 Yorkshire bags 20-25 -1.4 Taylors Tea &
Coffee
5 Twinings Speciality bags 15-20 -0.8 R Twining
6 Brooke Bond D bags 5-10 13.0 Unilever Bestfoods
7 PG Tips loose 5-10 -11.9 Unilever Bestfoods
8 Typhoo (decaffeinated) bags 5-10 27.1 Premier Brands
9 Tetley (decaffeinated) bags 0-5 5.5 Tetley
10 Brooke Bond Scottish Blend bags 0-5 28.3 Unilever Bestfoods
BIGGEST BRANDS METHODOLOGY AND DATA SOURCE
All market data provided in the Biggest Brands survey has been supplied by Information Resources (IRI) using syndicated InfoScan databases. InfoScan is IRI's retail sales tracking service, based on data from EPOS scanners and manual store audits. It is used to monitor and evaluate product performance in the grocery, health and beauty and impulse markets. Products have been selected at the brand level within IRI's InfoScan databases. Different flavours, pack sizes and variants under the same brand are included together, but different product positionings, which offer a functional or perceived difference, using the same master brand name are seen separately. Beers, wine and spirits, and own-label are not included in this survey. Value sales figures cover the time period 52 weeks ending June 14 2003 and are quoted in millions of pounds sterling within bands of £5m. The percentage change figure is based on the 52 weeks ending June 14 2003 compared with the 52 weeks ending June 15 2002. For HBA categories, all dates are one day later than stated. Data has been provided for multiple grocers, which comprises Asda, Iceland, Kwik Save, Safeway, Sainsbury's, Somerfield and Tesco. Exceptions to this are: multiple grocers including Waitrose: grocery and impulse categories, excluding confectionery; multiple grocers including Waitrose and Woolworths: confectionery categories; multiple grocers including Boots The Chemists and Superdrug: health and beauty categories excluding clothes care, household and bathroom tissue categories; multiple grocers and drugstores including Boots The Chemists and Superdrug: clothes care, household, bathroom tissue and batteries categories. Products for the top ten FMCG launches 2002 have been selected based on annualised sales for 2002 in all outlets. Products have been selected in accordance with IRI's annual Pacesetters study. For selection as a new brand, a product must have been launched in 2002. For the purposes of the study, relaunches, product replacements, new scents, flavours, sizes and colours were excluded unless they offered functional or perceived innovation. Brand extensions and new formats were included. Annualised sales are based on sales for 2002 and the first seven four-weekly periods of 2003 to ensure more than six months' data for all brands has been included. Further methodology is available on request. Web site: www.infores.co.uk.
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