Sales: £164.0m +14.2%
Müller’s flagship fat-free range benefited from the continuing popularity of Greek-style yoghurt in 2013. Its Müllerlight Greek Style sub-range hit sales of £50m and 125m pots, giving a huge boost to the overall Müllerlight brand. The launch of new Müllerlight Smooth Desserts also helped drive sales, and Müller plans to further capitalise on the indulgent desserts trend with new flavours in 2014. “Desserts have a huge potential for growth,” says marketing and R&D director Michael Inpong.
Sales: £160.6m -6.5%
John West is confident that, despite a slump in sales, which it blames on rising raw material prices and a reduction in promotional activity, its strategy of driving value into the canned fish sector will bring long-term gains.
It’s certainly been thinking outside the can of late, launching a Steam Pots range of couscous and tuna meals in January. “Our strategy is to continue to provide the highest quality, offering innovative fish products,” says marketing director Jon Walsh.
Sales: £159.7m +5.6%
Last year was the 75th anniversary of Ribena and a year of big changes, with GSK selling the brand to Suntory, along with Lucozade.
Any disruption around the deal failed to put Ribena off its stride. The hotter weather over the summer undoubtedly helped the soft drinks brand deliver strong growth, but new product development also helped. Tapping into the growing popularity of tropical flavours, it launched 500ml RTD Mango & Lime and Pineapple & Passion Fruit flavours.
Sales: £158.8m +4.6%
After the farmer protests of 2012, 2013 marked the year value growth returned to the notoriously cut-throat liquid milk category - and Cravendale grabbed a sizeable share of that extra value.
The Arla brand has added nearly 5% to its value over the past year and is now worth nearly £160m.
Crucially - and in contrast to many others in dairy - Cravendale’s growth wasn’t simply inflation-led. It also managed to shift more volume in 2013, helped by an innovative new loyalty programme and strong sales of its one-litre format, which saw sales increase by 46% year on year.
A punchy communications and marketing programme - including its Cats With Thumbs TV adverts - also helped keep the filtered milk brand front of mind in 2013.
Replicating these successes in 2014 won’t be easy, not least in light of the current supermarket milk price wars. But brand owner Arla Foods is confident it can continue to convince consumers its filtered milk is worth paying a premium for, and is launching a new marketing drive under the strapline “marvellous milk” at the end of March.
As part of that, Cats with Thumbs are being retired and Arla will roll out a new generation of quirky TV ads, featuring a biscuit-headed boy desperate to dunk his head in Cravendale milk.
Cravendale bottles are also set to get a makeover, with the new “marvellous milk” strapline set to feature prominently on the front of packs.
Cravendale hopes to further capture family audiences by launching a new three-litre bottle later in 2014.
Sales: £157.1m +18.3%
A stellar performance from the water brand, with the third-highest growth in the top 100.
It’s boomed across the portfolio, with Volvic plain up 11%, Touch of Fruit by 14%, and Juiced by 119%, according to Danone.
“Innovative campaigns rooted in social media have helped the brand to reach new audiences,” says Pam Pines, head of marketing for Danone Waters UK and Ireland. These included a YouTube channel, Volvic Volcanicity, which has recorded 1.8 million views.
Sales: £156.8m -3.3%
Snacks are where it’s at for Mr Kipling, with its Snap Pack format driving cake sales in the on-the-go and lunchbox markets. Three flavours launched last year - Banoffee, Caramel and Chocolate - and have already brought in the best part of £8m. Owner Premier Foods is this year investing £20m in a new production line to make 300 million cake slices a year. The brand also kept up a steady stream of NPD, with products including Summer Fancies and Jam & Custard slices.
Sales: £153.0m 0.0%
It’s been a rather flat year for Dolmio, as value stayed static on unit sales that inched up just 1.3%.
It launched Dolmio Lasagne Kits, which include tomato sauce, creamy sauce and traditional pasta sheets, in July and has continued to fork out significant amounts on ads.
“Advertising spend is important for the brand, with Dolmio and Uncle Ben’s each individually accounting for 35% of all world food media ad spend,” says a Mars spokesman.
Sales: £151.9m -0.6%
Britain’s biggest ‘Italian’ brand has seen value sales dip on a slight volume increase. Swallowing cost increases - particularly in olive oil, which has had a tough year following the poor harvest of 2012 - has helped the brand drive volumes. That’s not all. “Our strength across multiple categories puts us in a unique position to drive sales of products that can be used together,” says marketing director Dean Towey, who says cross-category PoS promotions have been key.
Sales: £149.3m -3.9%
Sales of everyday tea have gone off the boil and, like many rivals, Britain’s biggest tea brand is hoping to bag new sales through fruit, herbal and green lines.
Backed by a £5m marketing spend and costing under £1.30 in 20-pyramid bag packs, the range will bring new consumers to the category, hopes Unilever. It will also look to drive loyalty through the continuation of the PG Tips Cuppa Club, which enables shoppers to collect points for prizes including afternoon tea.
Sales: £148.3m +8%
Britain’s biggest banger brand has made the major league. With value sales up by a sizzling £11m, Richmond has become Britain’s 50th biggest grocery brand.
Much of this is down to a near 20% increase on the average retail price - volumes for the brand, in fact, have fallen by close to 10%. Having said this, a timely extension into the buoyant meatballs market last April also helped boost value sales, with the Mini Meatballs range, available in both chilled and frozen formats, now worth £2.2m, says owner Kerry Foods.
While a well timed tie-up with the animated film Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 last year helped raise awareness of the NPD, Kerry marketing manager Caroline Segalen says the launch has also managed to tap a growing trend in grocery. “Mini Meatballs has successfully tapped into the trend for quick, wholesome meal solutions that the modern mum is looking for,” she says. “The launch has brought younger and more affluent families into the fold with 45% of Mini Meatballs’ consumers new to the Richmond brand.”
The brand is looking to further boost its sales following the launch of Chilled Mini Burgers earlier this month, says Segalen: “By offering consumers greater choice while leveraging its credibility as a trusted family brand, Richmond is set to further drive trial and attract new consumers to the category. ”
A new heavyweight marketing campaign - carrying the slogan ‘peace at family mealtimes’ - has just been launched with the aim of returning Richmond to volume growth in 2014.
See the complete list of Britain’s 100 Biggest Grocery Brands
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