Whittakers tops trusted brand list
Chocolate company Whittakers once again tops the list of Kiwis’ most trusted brands, but they have lost faith in Samsung and Dettol.
The New Zealand Reader’s Digest Most Trusted Brands survey has had the 120-year-old family Wellington company claim the top spot for the sixth year in a row, as well as winning the most iconic brand category.
The remaining winners in order were Canon, Tip Top, Edmonds, Resene, Air New Zealand, Mitre 10, Toyota and Sleepyhead.
Whittakers took the two tops spots in the top 10 for winning two categories.
In the same survey last year, Samsung was voted the second most trusted brand and Dettol claimed the third spot, but neither brand was voted as trustworthy this year.
South Korea technology product company Samsung faced public relations scandal last year when a fault in its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone battery caused some to catch on fire, resulting in a global recall.
Samsung head of product development Todd Selwyn said Samsung’s international market share did not drop in 2016.
However, the survey results suggest that New Zealand consumers’ trust in the brand has been hit.
Technology product company Panasonic, Indian tea company Dilmah, Japanese electronics and music company Sony and United Kingdom biscuit brand Huntley & Palmers also failed to be recognised as trustworthy this year despite featuring in last years top 10.
The survey carried out by Roy Morgan Research asked 1400 New Zealanders to explain why they put their trust in particular brands.
A Wellingtonian male respondent said Whittakers gained his trust because it did not use packaging tricks to fool customers.
Whittakers tapped into Easter sales for the first time last year when it added a chocolate kiwi to supermarket shelves.
Samsung head of product development Todd Selwyn said Samsung’s international market share did not drop in 2016.
Category winners suggested that New Zealanders have the most trust in GJ Gardner Homes for building houses, Kiwibank for banking, AA Insurance for life insurance, Panadol for pain relief, Z for petrol, New World for supermarket shopping and Oyster Bay New Zealand for wine.
Cadbury and the All Blacks did not feature on the top 10 list.
The owner of confectionary giant Cadbury, Mondelez International, announced it would close the doors on its Dunedin factory earlier this year, putting more than 350 employees out of work and attracting a public backlash.
Reader’s Digest Australasian managing editor Louise Waterson said the results proved that New Zealanders valued honest brands.
‘‘Maintaining this ranking involves a genuine commitment to protect and fulfil the promises made to the consumer,’’ she said.