11 (12) Pepsi
Sales: £308m (+13.2%)
Launched: 1965
The delisting of Pepsi Raw was no surprise with sales of less than £1m. It was the only blot on an otherwise bright landscape for Pepsi. Convenience and impulse sales were boosted by putting Pepsi Max and Diet Pepsi into 600ml bottles at the same price as the former 500ml format. The challenge, as for so many brands, is how to push through commodity-fuelled price hikes without damaging top-line growth.
12 (13) Tropicana
Sales: £292.2m (+7.7%)
Launched: 1991
PepsiCo’s juice brand produced an impressive turnaround last year. During 2009, sales had slumped 6.6% as consumers traded down to concentrated juice. But sales rallied last year, in large part thanks to new flavours and pack sizes.
In January Tropicana introduced Orange Creations. With a firmly premium pitch, these blend orange with other juices including lime and watermelon. Last month it added raspberry and pineapple to the mix, widening the portfolio to six blends.
“People love experimenting with flavours. They will buy a carton of orange and an Orange Creation too, it’s very incremental to our business,” says Tropicana marketing manager Peter Charles.
With volumes flat, Tropicana’s growth is also down to price rises delivered via pack size changes. Ditching its 1.75-litre pack in favour of 1.5 and 2-litre allowed it to “hit hotter consumer price points,” said Charles. Single-serve bottles are also growing well.
Charles believes the recession was an opportunity as well as a threat. “More people started having breakfast at home and having juices with more breakfasts.”
But better marketing has also been essential. Last month it kicked off the Daily Ray of Sunshine campaign, a national push that includes sampling teams leaving bottles of Tropicana on a quarter of a million doorsteps.
The marketing and NPD are paying off. “You can’t rely on past glories, that’s where the risk lies with some branded businesses,” says Charles. “You have to make sure you’re supporting your brands and keep explaining why the product is great.”
13 (14) Whiskas
Sales: £274.6m (+8.1%)
Launched: 1958
Mars shook up the petcare category in 2010 with Whiskas Simply, a gourmet cat food range claiming to be the first to use grilled or steamed fish rather than mass-cooked. To date, the range has proved a roaring success. It smashed a target of £20m in first-year sales by generating £36.5m in the 12 months following launch and has contributed to an impressive 8.1% value growth in total Whiskas sales.
14 (11) McCain potatoes
Sales: £262.1m (–3.8%)
Launched: 1909
McCain has changed the direction of its marketing in a bid to arrest declining sales. Having previously focused on the health credentials of the brand, with its products receiving green lights for salt, sugar and fat content under the FSA traffic-light labelling scheme, it is now trying to connect with shoppers on an emotional level. It has also signed up comedians Armstrong and Miller to front a new campaign for its McCain Wedges.
15 (17) Lurpak
Sales: £247.7m (+9.8%)
Launched: 1901
The BSM category can be notoriously short on NPD but category leader Lurpak did its bit in 2010. The Arla Foods brand made the most of last year’s healthy-eating trend with an unsalted, reduced-fat spreadable variant. More recently, it launched a sea salt variant – the first mainstream block butter brand to do so. The results speak for themselves – after sales slipped in 2009, Lurpak returned to value growth last year.
Britain's 100 Biggest Brands 2011
Sales: £308m (+13.2%)
Launched: 1965
The delisting of Pepsi Raw was no surprise with sales of less than £1m. It was the only blot on an otherwise bright landscape for Pepsi. Convenience and impulse sales were boosted by putting Pepsi Max and Diet Pepsi into 600ml bottles at the same price as the former 500ml format. The challenge, as for so many brands, is how to push through commodity-fuelled price hikes without damaging top-line growth.
12 (13) Tropicana
Sales: £292.2m (+7.7%)
Launched: 1991
PepsiCo’s juice brand produced an impressive turnaround last year. During 2009, sales had slumped 6.6% as consumers traded down to concentrated juice. But sales rallied last year, in large part thanks to new flavours and pack sizes.
In January Tropicana introduced Orange Creations. With a firmly premium pitch, these blend orange with other juices including lime and watermelon. Last month it added raspberry and pineapple to the mix, widening the portfolio to six blends.
“People love experimenting with flavours. They will buy a carton of orange and an Orange Creation too, it’s very incremental to our business,” says Tropicana marketing manager Peter Charles.
With volumes flat, Tropicana’s growth is also down to price rises delivered via pack size changes. Ditching its 1.75-litre pack in favour of 1.5 and 2-litre allowed it to “hit hotter consumer price points,” said Charles. Single-serve bottles are also growing well.
Charles believes the recession was an opportunity as well as a threat. “More people started having breakfast at home and having juices with more breakfasts.”
But better marketing has also been essential. Last month it kicked off the Daily Ray of Sunshine campaign, a national push that includes sampling teams leaving bottles of Tropicana on a quarter of a million doorsteps.
The marketing and NPD are paying off. “You can’t rely on past glories, that’s where the risk lies with some branded businesses,” says Charles. “You have to make sure you’re supporting your brands and keep explaining why the product is great.”
13 (14) Whiskas
Sales: £274.6m (+8.1%)
Launched: 1958
Mars shook up the petcare category in 2010 with Whiskas Simply, a gourmet cat food range claiming to be the first to use grilled or steamed fish rather than mass-cooked. To date, the range has proved a roaring success. It smashed a target of £20m in first-year sales by generating £36.5m in the 12 months following launch and has contributed to an impressive 8.1% value growth in total Whiskas sales.
14 (11) McCain potatoes
Sales: £262.1m (–3.8%)
Launched: 1909
McCain has changed the direction of its marketing in a bid to arrest declining sales. Having previously focused on the health credentials of the brand, with its products receiving green lights for salt, sugar and fat content under the FSA traffic-light labelling scheme, it is now trying to connect with shoppers on an emotional level. It has also signed up comedians Armstrong and Miller to front a new campaign for its McCain Wedges.
15 (17) Lurpak
Sales: £247.7m (+9.8%)
Launched: 1901
The BSM category can be notoriously short on NPD but category leader Lurpak did its bit in 2010. The Arla Foods brand made the most of last year’s healthy-eating trend with an unsalted, reduced-fat spreadable variant. More recently, it launched a sea salt variant – the first mainstream block butter brand to do so. The results speak for themselves – after sales slipped in 2009, Lurpak returned to value growth last year.
Britain's 100 Biggest Brands 2011
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