Sales: £134.4m -0.2 %
Rice & pasta’s biggest spender on advertising forked out on a sponsorship of Jamie Oliver’s C4 show Money Saving Meals last autumn, backed by a ‘free for every reader’ give-away in The Sun and Metro.
Brand owner Mars says the campaign was “incredibly” successful. Indeed, although Uncle Ben’s has suffered a slight dip in value, volumes have surged 6%, suggesting the campaign, coupled with cut-price deals, has helped raise the brand’s profile.
It’s certainly had plenty to shout about in the past year. The brand has launched five new ready-to-heat pouches - in flavour variants including Peshwari and Mexican with Lime - and four new single-serve multipacks in long grain, wholegrain, Basmati and Pilau varieties.
Convenience is king, says a spokesman for Mars, which has promised to continue to target time-pressed consumers with the brand in 2014. “Convenience continues to drive more consumer purchases,” he says. “With 95% of us owning a microwave, simple, quick and easy to prepare meals are as popular as ever.”
The brand added a 250g long grain rice with egg pack to its Classic Ready To Heat this month to further tap the trend.
Sales: £130.1m +11.5%
Fanta fizzed up the rankings after a busy year. In the run-up to the important summer trading period, it launched a peach & apricot flavour, rolled out Fanta Red Fruits to all channels, and made last year’s limited-edition mango & passion fruit a permanent addition to the range.
Sales: £127.9m -5.7%
P&G will be hoping new liquid formats will help give a boost to 40-year-old Bold, after a near 6% fall in value sales and 1.9% slump in volume. The new Bold 2in1 liquid is widely seen as a long-overdue modernisation for the brand, which has struggled more than its rivals in recent years.
Sales: £127.3m -1.8%
Mondelez is looking to boost sales of Kenco through indie retailers after launching PMPs of its refill formats. In September, it kicked off a sponsorship and product placement deal with Sunday Brunch. Wholebean instant variant Millicano also continued to gather strength.
Sales: £126.5m +0.1%
A rather flat year for Surf, following the strong growth the previous year driven by the 2012 relaunch of the range. But Surf’s still up, just, thanks in part to the Surf with Essential Oils range and marketing focusing on the brand’s ability to clean, care for and refresh clothes.
Sales: £125.5m +1.9%
Bakers appealed to cost-conscious dog owners by cutting its prices 7.4% and launching the Empty Bowl Promise, a money-back guarantee. It also launched its first wet dogfood range, As Good as it Looks, backed by a £9m national campaign - the biggest launch in Purina PetCare history
Sales: £124.3m -2.9%
FA sponsorship and new sharing formats failed to improve Mars’ fortunes in 2013. As well as launching the bite-sized Mars Mix, the brand revived its limited-edition caramel variant, supported by a £2.8m ad spend, and boosted its ice-cream portfolio with Mars Minis.
Sales: £123.7m -3.9%
‘Power Me’ was Duracell’s refrain in 2013, as it recruited athlete James Cracknell to big up its “longevity, endurance and reliability”. It could also be a rallying cry for Duracell’s sales; volumes have fallen 10.9%, not helped by the average price of a Duracell battery increasing from 97p to £1.04.
Sales: £123.4m -14.0%
ABF blames Silver Spoon’s poor performance on “an especially competitive year”. It lost some distribution, notably at Asda where Napier Brown-owned Whitworths replaced it as the main sugar brand. ABF also claims the hot summer affected sales, because consumers did less home baking.
Sales: £123.2m 17.6%
Six years of growth and still Quaker’s steaming ahead. The launch of the Heaps of Fruit variant has helped the brand continue its ascent, says owner PepsiCo, adding that the new Oat So Simple Multigrain range - launched in December - will help it maintain momentum in 2014.
See the complete list of Britain’s 100 Biggest Grocery Brands
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