Decoding brand choices across Asia
Shopper insights from Kantar’s 2024 Brand Footprint study
Globally, 2023 marked the second-highest FMCG value growth in more than a decade, with spend increasing 8.6% over the year. With the growth rate having hit the heights of 10.6% in 2020 due to pandemic lockdowns, it had declined to 2.6% in 2021 as inflation began to bite, before rebounding.
Zooming into the regional breakdown, we see that growth was particularly high in Latin America (+24.6%) and Africa (+22.4%) – in both cases as a result of inflation. In Asia, meanwhile, the picture was somewhat different. The watchword in 2023 was ‘stability’, with annual FMCG value growth of 3.7% compared with 3.4% the previous year .
Taking a closer view of Worldpanel’s key matrix, in Asia the frequency of trips – which rose 1.6% year-on-year – and spend per household at US$828 (+1%) also remained fairly steady.
In this challenging environment, understanding the choices consumers make when they decide which FMCG products to put in their basket is critical for growth. Brands need to get closer to shoppers, comprehend what is happening at that ‘moment of truth’ – online or offline, in a traditional or modern trade channel – and determine how to capture more of those precious brand choices.
This is why Kantar Worldpanel created Brand Footprint, our annual ranking of the most-chosen FMCG brands worldwide. Using a unique metric known as Consumer Reach Points (CRP), we measure and compare the success of brands across different markets and regions. One CRP represents a single instance of a shopper choosing a brand, integrating data on population, penetration, and frequency to provide a holistic view of brand performance. Every strategy, campaign, and marketing investment converge at that pivotal moment: the shopper’s final choice.
In this report, we examine the brand choices consumers across Asia made in 2023, sharing insights into their behaviour, as well as the macro trends that influenced the decisions they made. We then reveal Asia’s 25 most-chosen brands, and put a selection of standout performers in the spotlight to explore the drivers of their success.
Returning to FMCG value growth, if we home in on individual key markets within Asia we see that trajectories vary across the region, with Indonesia, Taiwan and the Philippines all growing more slowly than last year. Korea and India are performing more strongly, although this can partly be explained by the impact of inflation pushing up prices.
Focusing on the number of brand choices made across Asia, we see an increase in total Consumer Reach Points (CRPs) of 3.6% over the last year – almost exactly matching FMCG value growth (3.7%). This uplift has largely been driven by South Asia, where the number of CRPs has increased from 106 billion in 2021 to 123 billion in 2023.
Globally, half (50%) of the Top 250 FMCG brands are growing their CRPs, and 64% increasing their value. Asia’s most-chosen brands are over-indexing on both measures, with 62% boosting their CRPs, and two thirds (66%) growing their value.
When looking into brand sizes, 43% of CRPs are from small (penetration 1-10%) and medium (penetration 10-30%) brands.
87% of growing brands are small and medium brands.
In 2022, most of the growth in CRPs came from smaller brands (62%), but this year the medium-sized players have also gained traction. If we look at all of the brands that have grown in Asia, 29% came from this segment, an increase from 25% the previous year. This trend is strongest in dairy, home care and personal care.
77.6% of consumer choices are local brands.
Home is where the spend is; and Asian consumers love the ‘made in…’ label. The homegrown heavyweights are continuing to steadily increase their stronghold, further increasing their share of total CRPs from 76.7% in 2021. This is particularly true in South Asia (81.4%) and North Asia (81.6%). This is not going to change, so brands must find ways to speak to the market, innovate, and optimise their distribution strategy – all areas where local brands have the advantage.
In other regions of the world, discounters are the fastest expanding channel for FMCG, but proximity and convenience rule in Asia. Discount stores are beginning to emerge strongly in the Philippines and Malaysia, however.
Brands and manufacturers must get to know their competition, to know what retail strategy to take – and in Asia they’re not just fighting with other branded products for a space in consumers’ baskets. They must also beat unbranded products, including fresh food, as well as retailers’ private label ranges.
The correlation between the size of households’ brand repertoire and annual FMCG expenditure can be a good indicator of what drives brand choices, and where opportunities to build penetration lie.
Spend per household is low in Bangladesh and India, and shoppers there have more limited brand repertoires, while consumers in Taiwan have high expenditure but purchase across a smaller range of brands. Indonesia has the most diverse brand repertoire, but shoppers tend to choose cheaper brands.
It’s important to determine: Are you within the shopper’s repertoire? What is already on offer in this category, within the target market? What will drive consumer loyalty? Are there opportunities for premiumisation? What is the right price point?
Nearly 90% of all growing brands do so by gaining penetration.
In 2023, more than half (53%) of the brands that increased their CRPs in Asia did so by combining greater penetration with increased purchase frequency. Improving penetration alone was successful for 36%, while only 11% grew by upping frequency.
The larger the brand, the closer this relationship between penetration and frequency: 68% of large brands grow with both. When a brand is small, it grows by gaining new buyers; 40% did this in 2023. As they mature, getting people to buy more often becomes imperative: in other words, more people, making more trips.
Brands can unlock significant growth in CRPs with just a 1% increase in penetration. This may sound fractional, but in most markets it represents millions of new shoppers.
Decades of research into why brands grow has enabled Kantar to pinpoint three accelerators that make brands more meaningfully different, to more people.
Predispose more people. This is about building saliency, ensuring the brand comes to the shopper’s mind first when they consider the category or product.
Drivers: Media strategy, and availability
Be more present. Products should be easily reachable and clearly seen, in all the right places.
Drivers: Distribution and sales
Find new space. Identify and communicate new needs, occasions, and reasons to buy.
Drivers: Innovation
Set a realistic penetration growth target.
Brands need to have their size and competitive situation in each market front of mind – aiming for average growth of between 1.3% for larger brands, and 0.6% for those at the smaller end of the scale.
As market polarisation continues, brands must think about how to position themselves –
as a value brand, focused on affordability, or one that offers premium variants to meet the desire for indulgence… to Predispose More People.
An optimised omnichannel strategy is vital.
What differentiates a shopper’s motives when they shop online, versus when they shop in-store, or on the go? This is how to Be More Present.
Develop a deep, true understanding of consumption occasions.
Identifying and dissecting consumers’ unmet needs will unlock opportunities for innovation, through Finding New Space.
