Kantar is today honouring the global brands that have “demonstrated their strength and adaptability” at its Most Resilient Brands 2022 Awards event at Cannes Lions 2023. The accolades from the global data and analytics company recognise those brands that flourished in the face of a challenging economic climate by attracting the most new buyers.
Kantar’s Worldpanel division analysed the shopping behaviour of more than one million households globally and the performance of 37,000 global FMCG brands between 2021 and 2022 to develop its ranking of the 50 FMCG brands which recruited the greatest number of new shoppers. The top 50 brands achieved an average year-on-year sales growth of 8%, almost double the global grocery industry growth of just 4.8% during the same time period.
Six of the Most Resilient Brands 2022 are being recognised in a special ceremony at the Cannes Lions event, including the top two brands in the ranking: Sprite and Sunsilk. Both attracted more than 30 million new shoppers between 2021 and 2022; an achievement previously only matched by Dettol during the height of the pandemic.
Representatives of Sprite (1 in the ranking), Sunsilk (2), Lays (4), Oreo (5), L’Oréal Paris Elvive (30), and Vanish (49) are accepting awards in person at the event.
Guillaume Bacuvier, CEO of Kantar’s Worldpanel Division, said: “Surpassing 30 million new shoppers in a year is an impressive feat, and speaks volumes about the resilience of our top two brands, Sprite and Sunsilk. These two household names have taken different routes to success, with Sprite focussing on a new global platform which encourages shoppers to choose the brand more often, and Sunsilk investing in targeted innovation which meets consumers’ specific needs in particular markets. Both set an impressive benchmark for success for FMCG brands.”
Kantar noted that Sprite had succeeded by investing in a new global campaign, ‘Heat happens’ – referencing the physical and emotional heat of everyday life and inviting consumers to cool down with a Sprite. This, coupled with strong local activation, a refreshed visual identity and new easier-to-recycle packaging resulted in consumers choosing the brand more often, with the brand recruiting 34 million new shoppers year on year.
An important theme among the winning brands was innovation as a growth driver. L’Oréal Paris’ Elvive (number 30 in the ranking) transferred expertise in skincare to a new category, launching hidra-hyaluronic variants which offer extended hydration for up to 72 hours. The brand boosted its shopper base by 21% as a result.
Sunsilk (number 2) relaunched its ‘Seda Boom’ range in Brazil. The range uses technology to maintain the finish of frizzy, curly and wavy hair. The launch was announced on TikTok, working with more than 50 content creators on the platform and using the hashtag #FocaNoSedaBoom. The brand added 32 million new shoppers over 12 months and has grown penetration by 2.8 points in the process.
The ranking also demonstrates how brands succeed through defending their core markets while expanding into new ones – particularly the ‘Big Five’ markets – India, China, US, Brazil and Indonesia. Three brands that mastered their geographical strategy were Fanta (15), Pepsi (18), and Sprite (1). These beverage brands not only have a big presence in a broad range of territories, but they also command attention and loyalty in populous markets.
