Birds Eye has taken the top spot in branded activity chart this week.

It accounted for 29% of the promotional space taken by the top five brands in the Assosia survey, placing it nine percentage points above Heinz. 

Though it has moved up three places and 12 points since this time last year, the brand just missed out on a ranking in the top five year-to-date chart. It currently sits in sixth place, but with the winter months coming the brand may be able to improve on its position as consumers turn to more winter fare.

Activity by Heinz across its canned and sauces/condiments ranges puts the brand in second place last weekend with 20% of activity, having not even made the top five in the same weekend in 2006. In the year-to-date chart, Heinz takes fifth place with 13% of activity.

But at the weekend, McVitie's was snapping at its heels only one point behind in third place with 19% of activity. It had offers across four of the five retailers on its range of biscuits and cakes last week. 

Again the brand did not feature in the research results captured from the same weekend period in 2006, but does snatch second place in the 2007 year-to-date chart with 19%, ahead of Kellogg's and Cadbury, which share third place with 18% each.

Nestlé pipped Cadbury to fourth place last weekend, taking a 16% share.  In the same period in 2006, Nestlé headed the weekend's results with 29%, the same percentage that Birds Eye has now. 

In the year-to-date chart, Nestlé is clearly in the lead, 13 points ahead of second-placed McVitie's, reflecting its commitment to featured space activity.

The final brand to reach the top five overall branded chart last weekend was Cadbury with 15%. 

Sharing third place in the year-to-date figures with Kellogg's, both with 18% of activity, the brand was second in the same weekend audited in 2006.