With more brands growing within markets and a higher proportion of big brands winning, how did the most prominent global brands fair?
Born in the USA
Despite all the changes happening in the global FMCG landscape, we only saw one new entrant into the Top 50 this year—with American brand Campbell’s entering the ranking for the first time.
For the past five years in a row, 44 brands have been mainstays in the Top 50 ranking and nine of the Top 10 have also remained present.
This showcases how strong, consistent, and resilient the brands are in this list. But this is no surprise considering the average age of brands in the Top 50 is 103.
The history of these brands throws up some interesting facts about globalisation. 39 of these brands originated from just four countries—22 from the USA, seven from the UK, and five each from Switzerland and Germany.
Despite this, there are some big variations in where the biggest brands are purchased and where their growth comes from.
India overtook the US in 2019, making up a higher share of the Top 50 CRPs than any other market—accounting for 20% (versus 17% for the USA).
India also became the most important market for growth in 2019. And whilst this continued in 2020, the growth was more evenly distributed across markets—with the USA accounting for 24% of total CRP growth last year (compared to 5% in 2019).
What may be surprising for some is the level of contribution coming from the Chinese Mainland. Despite a slowdown in FMCG growth in 2020, the strength of local brands is very strong in this market—with 89% share (compared to 63% globally). In fact, the highest placed global brand in China – Lay’s – was ranked 13th, while all of the Top 10 were local or regional brands.
Despite the resilience and consistency of the Top 50 mentioned, it is possible to make an impact and shake up the order. Fuelled by India’s continued growth, four brands have moved up 10 or more places in the last five years—Brooke Bond, Close-Up, Dettol and Vim.
Breaking into the Top 50
There are two rules to follow if a brand wants to enter the ranking: 1. Global penetration of at least 10% 2. Being chosen five times or more per year
45 of the Top 50 brands have reached a penetration of over 10%, and those that don't are unique with a high footprint in specific markets. A few brands fall just outside of the Top 50 with penetration over 10% (the highest of these is 16.4%). However, none of these brands had a purchase frequency over five.
How did the biggest global brands fair?
Last year, 29 of the Top 50 global brands grew their CRPs. That's the highest number ever recorded in the nine years of Brand Footprint.
But given we saw the most robust global FMCG performance in quite some time (+10% value growth), should we have expected more growth from the Top 50?
The performance of the Top 50 is heavily linked with the sectors in which they operate. 22 of the brands play in Food & Dairy, and 16 of these grew.
15 of the brands operate in Health & Beauty, which is a disproportionately high number and shows the potential global reach of brands in this sector. However, only eight of these brands grew. And if we remove Dettol, Lifebuoy and Safeguard – all of which play within hand soap/sanitisation – the number falls to five in 12, which is in line with the sector's slowdown in 2020.
Seven of the brands are beverages. Of these, only three grew, which highlights the continuing long-term trend and slowdown of carbonated soft drinks. However, for the first time since 2013, we saw a positive performance for both Coca-Cola and Pepsi—but, as we will discover in a later chapter, this isn't the complete picture because their out-of-home performance shines a different light on these results.
The remaining six brands are in the Homecare category, and only two of these were in growth. Again, this is due to category performance, with four being fabric care brands and this category slowing in 2020.
Now is the time to unveil this year's most chosen FMCG brands in the world. A big congratulations to all brands for being part of this elite group, and especially Dettol for being the fastest growing brand in the world in 2020. 26 brands are now chosen over one billion times in a year, with the Top 10 brands chosen on average three billion times.
The Top 25 Most Chosen Global FMCG Brands 2020
The Next 25 Most Chosen Global FMCG Brands 2020
Biggest penetration gains 2020
With penetration being the crucial driver of brand growth, each year we have a secondary ranking of the most significant penetration gains.
This year, five of the 10 gains are more extensive than any seen in 2019, pointing to more consistent global growth with shopper gains seen across more markets.
