Sweet success for Porirua company

Porirua chocolate- maker Whittaker’s has come out top for the second successive year in a survey of New Zealand’s most loved brands.

Suggesting that New Zealanders have a sweet tooth, Tip Top and Pineapple Lumps were second equal in the Colmar Brunton survey.

Air New Zealand was fourth and the All Blacks fifth.

‘‘While the All Blacks were the second-most-loved brand for men, they were eighth for women and fifth overall,’’ Colmar Brunton chief executive Jacqueline Ireland said.

The brands on the 20-strong list were ‘‘all authentic, have been consistently invested in and have shown a clear and meaningful point of difference over time’’, she said.

Whittaker’s had benefited from consistency and its latest advertising campaign, employing British celebrity chef Nigella Lawson, which ensured the brand stood out, Ireland said.

Whittaker’s has struck public relations and retail gold with the Lewis Road Creamery Fresh Chocolate Milk craze.

The Lewis Road Creamery has struggled to meet demand for the product, and some supermarkets have been forced to hire security guards to enforce sales limits on the chocolate milk.