Irish Brand Footprint 2022 (c)
A ranking of the most chosen FMCG brands
IRISH
BRAND
FOOTPRINT
2022
A ranking of the most
chosen FMCG brands
10th Edition
A time to reassess
2021 was a unique inflection point. It was
a time to reassess everything from lifestyle to brand strategy.
The year is best summarised by one word: correction. Lifestyles slipped back to normal
as restrictions were steadily lifted and people started to enjoy their freedoms again. Shopping and consumption behaviour started to revert back to pre-pandemic levels, although most sought to keep some of the things they liked from lockdown life.
For many brands this year was one of course correction to ensure their strategies set them
up for success in a reshaped future.
In this 10th edition of our Irish Brand Footprint report, there is also plenty that is reassuringly familiar. 7 brands remain in the top 10 as they did in 2012. Avonmore and Brennan’s have consistently been Ireland’s top two most chosen brand for the last 10 years. Importantly, the stories behind brand growth continue to reflect the same themes: winners give shoppers more reasons and more opportunities to buy. We consider these in detail in the levers for
growth section.
The playing
field may have changed since 2012 but the rules have not.
The enduring stability of the top 10 brands reminds us that brand-building is a long-term game. Creating that virtuous circle of rising shopper engagement, sales, and in-store presence takes time, clarity of direction and investment. Fairy’s journey up the rankings from position 35 in 2012 in our first edition to position 23 today, with an increase of 4 million CRPs, exemplifies this point.
In this year’s results we can also see the potential to boost sales by connecting to evolving consumer needs. Cadbury Dairy Milk, with an increase of 21 million CRPs, delivered the fastest growth of our top 10 brands, moving up 1 place to reach the number 4 slot by catering for consumers craving variety after the monotony of lockdown.
As consumer’s lives started to become busier again, Birds Eye (13m CRP +4%) and McCain (5m CRP +15%) were able to capitalise on the retuning importance of convenient meal solutions. The playing field may have changed since 2012 but the rules have not. This is cemented by Birds Eye entering the top 10 chosen brands for 2021. The playing field may have changed since 2012 but the rules have not.
The consistent rules for growth
Whatever the context, and however rapidly consumer behaviour is changing, we know the consistent rules for how brands grow.
Our five levers for growth will be used throughout this paper to indicate how brands have succeeded. Click on the image to watch.
The most chosen FMCG brands
in Ireland
How changing needs impacted
brand choices during 2021
The top 20 FMCG brands
In a challenging environment for brands to find more shoppers,
39 brands in the top 100 managed to find more than 1%
penetration growth compared with 56 last year.
Looking back over the last several years it feels like there has been nothing but change for consumers and challenging conditions for brands. After a summer heatwave, the Beast from the East and World Cup in 2018 driving demand for brands, 2019 saw a fall in consumer confidence following the Brexit vote.
While 2020 brought about the reality of Brexit, COVID-19 arrived on our shores at about the same time. This led to the strongest growth in take home grocery for the last 15 years with an increase of 25.4% (12 week ending May 2020). Brands outperformed private label over the course of 2020 as shoppers looked to brands they trusted in. The issue of trust was particularly evident in terms of brand origin as pandemic consumers in Ireland opted to buy local and turned to the brands they knew during this time of uncertainty. In 2021, 80% of the top chosen brands were Irish, showing just how important homegrown brands were to shoppers. This same remains true this year with Irish brands claiming four of the top
five positions.
Click on the table to see the ranking in more detail
Brand focus:
Brennans
Brennans was the most chosen brand in Ireland during
2021 and has held the top spot since 2017.
Brenna’s also managed to grow their CRPs by 7% over the last
year. As shoppers spent more time at home which meant additional
meal occasions and mouths to feed, Brennan’s not only catered for
the classic family pleasers but also offered new products. The launch
of Brennans Bakehouse and Brennans Bagels helped to cater for a
variety of diets and tastes.
As a well-known Irish brand, Brennans took advantage of
St Patrick’s Day and released a limited edition ‘St. Patrick’s
Day Family Pan’ to celebrate all things Irish.
Through expanding their product offering and marketing efforts,
Brennans have continued to grow by leveraging all five of the levers
of growth.
Looking ahead
Uncertainty is our new normal
Looking ahead
There will be a clash of two influences on shopper behaviour
and consumer choice in 2022.
The first is the return to normality. The release of COVID-19 restrictions pushing people back towards their pre-pandemic behaviours: travelling more often and eating out or on the go more frequently. The second is
the cost-of-living crisis which may force shoppers to seek savings by limiting those same behaviours. The result is a future that is almost
as uncertain as it was 12 months ago as we emerged from the third lockdown. This is without even considering the potential for further disruption from new COVID-19 variants.
Even against this background we can be confident of the characteristics
of a winning brand in 2022. Drawing on the last 10 years of Brand Footprint and having measured shopper behaviour through the volatility of the last 24 months, we believe there are three things all brands must seek this year.
As we move into a market where winning new shoppers is fraught with difficulty, getting these fundamentals right will be more important than ever.
Methodology
At Kantar, we believe that in order to grow, brands need
to be chosen more often and by more people.
Now in its tenth year, Brand Footprint is our global study of which
brands shoppers are choosing to buy, and why. The metric used for
Brand Footprint is called Consumer Reach Points (CRP) and is
calculated by looking at penetration and frequency in combination
with the number of households in the country. Consumer Reach Points
is the most comprehensive measure available of how many times a
brand is chosen from retailers’ shelves. Data in this report covers the
52 weeks ending October 2021.
