The region managed stronger FMCG growth in 2019 versus 2018, but is still a long way from the performance of previous years.
With six out of the top 10 countries for population growth over the next 30 years coming from Africa (Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Egypt and Ethiopia), the region remains a good bet for future FMCG growth.
To tap into this potential, brands need to understand the way that people shop in this region is very different. In most African markets, shoppers buy FMCG twice as often as other regions. Whilst the number of potential occasions is high, the amount spent on each trip is low. So brands need to have an offering which cater to this type of behaviour.
Tiger, Egypt Tiger is a well-established salty snacks brand in Egypt. It is owned by Egypt Foods and competes with the top players in the category, Chipsy and Crunchy. In 2019, the brand saw extraordinary CRP growth to enter the top 10 most chosen Egyptian brands.
To achieve this growth, Tiger focused on innovation. Tapping into the trend for spicy flavours, the brand introduced a chili pepper flavour that helped grow its penetration and frequency. It also stretched its target by launching the 1 EGP SKU in order to target lower income households in rural areas.
Tasty Tom, Ghana Tasty Tom, manufactured by Olam International Limited, is now the number one Tomato Paste brand in Ghana—accounting for nearly one-third of sales in the category.
Riding the wave of its improved and enriched Tomato Mix variant, it gained an additional 254,000 households in 2019. Now reaching 92% of Ghanaian households, Tasty Tom managed to plug demographic gaps by improving penetration of its key pack sizes. The 70g pack was successful across all demographics, with faster traction among low-income families.
Nittol, Nigeria Nittol was launched during the 2014 Ebola outbreak in Nigeria, benefitting from the first-mover advantage into the antibacterial fabric detergent category.
The brand gained over 3% penetration points in both 2018 and 2019 and is now bought by over 40% of Nigerian households.
Its CRP growth makes it one of the top 50 most chosen FMCG brands in Nigeria, further cementing its place in the top 10 most chosen homecare brands. Nittol provides consumers with options to disinfect their homes beyond clothing—incorporating floors, toilets and other areas. The brand has been successful due to its affordability, quality, fragrance, packaging, and its effective distribution chain. In addition, it offered low volume packs in the form of sachets, making it accessible across all demographics.
Popco, Kenya PWANI launched Popco Laundry Bar with a single white variant in 2014, never reaching 10% penetration in its first few years in market. However, by the end of 2018, the brand had introduced 1Kg Citrus Fresh, Lavender Dew and Aloe Drops variants, which helped the brand grow from 8% penetration to 25% by the end of 2019.
Popco successfully leveraged its position as a value for money brand by reaching lower income households with a lower price point than its competition—with the new variants being the key driver for growth.
Nutella – Saudi Arabia With FMCG starting to recover in Saudi Arabia, Nutella from Ferrero was one of the fastest-growing brands in the market. Nutella rebounded from a weak performance in 2018 – with a CRP growth of 9% in 2019 – making Chocolate Spread the fastest recovering category in the Saudi market.
Nutella’s growth can be attributed to its strong performance overall working on all the marketing levers. It saw growth in all regions and demographics, with spend on the brand rebounding to levels even higher than in 2017.
It capitalised on seasonality in the local market, with campaigns and special edition packs for Ramadan and ‘back to school’ seasons.
With targeted communication around specific occasions – such as ‘breakfast’ and ‘cooking’ – supported with TV and digital campaigns, it was successful in driving consumption.
Marmum – United Arab Emirates Marmum, one the top Dairy manufacturers in United Arab Emirates (UAE), had a very successful 2019. CRP growth of 48% helped move it up nine places in the ranking and break into the top five brands in the market. It operates in key dairy categories including Milk, Yoghurt, Laban (Drinking Yoghurt) and Juices.
In a diverse market like UAE, the brand has a portfolio which helps cater to the ethnic population with targeted flavours for the South Asian community in the Laban category. In 2019, Marmum also sponsored an ethnic event on its farms in UAE, targeting the same South Asian community.
At a broader level, it ran a mother brand campaign with emotional messaging of ‘Made with love’.
It was supported with continuous digital engagement throughout the year, in-store activations and promotions for the different categories it operates in.
Fanico, Ivory Coast
Fanico from Unilever was the fastest growing brand in 2019.
After a long period of stability, it gained over 450,000 new shoppers (+27% penetration growth and +150% volume growth). The laundry bar category is one of the biggest, being highly saturated with 99.5% penetration and Fanico achieving 78.9%.
