How changing needs impacted brand choices during 2021
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
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.
