Instant noodle brand tops Kantar ranking

LUCKY Me, an instant noddle brand manufactured by Monde Nissin, claimed the top and most coveted position in Kantar’s ranking of Brands of the Decade in the Philippines.

Kantar’s Brand Footprint report showed that Lucky Me was bought by almost all Filipino homes at 98.4 percent and was chosen by local shoppers 31 times per year over the past decade, giving it a total of 9.4 billion Consumer Reach Points (CRP).

According to the Worldpanel Division of Kantar, the Brand Footprint ranks successful FMCG brands based on their CRP. This measure combines population or the number of households in the country; penetration or the percentage of households purchasing the brand; and consumers’ choice or the frequency of the brand being chosen by Filipinos over the course of 12 months.

Following Lucky Me is coffee brand, Nescafé, with 7.3 CRP.

Other food and beverage brands in Top 10 listing are Silver Swan (5.4 billion CRP), ranked fourth; Bear Brand (4.9 billion CRP) ranked sixth; Milo (4.9 billion CRP) on seventh spot; and Ajinomoto (4.6 billion CRP) on eight spot.

The Top 10 list was rounded up by three personal care brands and one lone homecare brand. Detergent brand Surf ranked third, registering 5.6 billion CRP.

Meanwhile, Palmolive received 5.2 billion CRP to get the fifth spot, whereas Safeguard (4.2 billion CRP) and Cream Silk (4.1 billion CRP) took the ninth and tenth spots, respectively.

Bea Coronel, client manager at Kantar Philippines, explained that the combination of high penetration and frequency are the top two drivers of brand growth.

“In fact, 88 percent of brands in the country have achieved growth this way during the last 10 years. These FMCG brands have been successful in finding more shoppers and reaching them at the right moment to win their households over via their shopping baskets,” she said.

Kantar also shared that Filipinos spent less on hair care products during the pandemic.

Despite this, Keratin Plus saw its CRP grow by 77 percent with an 8.3 percent penetration in 2021 versus a year ago.

The brand’s selling proposition of salon-level benefits at an affordable price has resulted in having lower income homes purchase Keratin Plus 21 million times more last year compared to its performance in 2020.

Another insight, Coronel added, is that Filipinos continue to prioritize value for money when choosing FMCG products for their family.

Now that the economy is reopening and many consumers have slowly returned to their usual spending habits, Kantar sees consumers buying again in sari-sari stores and in platforms they have grown accustomed to.

According to Kantar, brand growth can be achieved if FMCG companies are able to use different levers to maintain a constant level of penetration amid a growing population, such as in the Philippines.

“FMCG brands should get to know the behaviors of their target consumers better, be more present in places where they shop, and communicate effectively with them to create more moments where they can catch their attention. They must also find ways to innovate and address the emerging needs of consumers or offer more categories for them to choose from,” Nierva said.