Sales: £83.5m +21.1%
Highland Spring has definitely sprung. While many bottled water brands have enjoyed buoyant sales over the past year, Highland Spring has enjoyed some of the strongest growth - and it isn’t just down to the scorching summer. The brand credits its Summer Cycling Challenge, fronted by Olympian Sir Chris Hoy, for much of its £14.5m growth. Deals have also helped. “It’s a very promotions-driven category,” says head of brand marketing Andrea McQuaid. “Multibuys work particularly well in grocery, where price has a big part to play.”
Sales: £80.4m +8.8%
Times may be hard in block Cheddar as many brands find themselves undercut - and often out innovated - by own-label rivals, but that’s not slowing Pilgrims Choice down. Ads featuring the brand’s diminutive cowboy ambassador have helped, as has a steady flow of innovation aimed at cashing in on growing sales of adult snacking formats. In October, the brand launched individually wrapped 21g sticks, following its move into sliced and grated formats in April. And last year, it registered a trademark for ‘Pilgrims Choice Cheese Raiders’, so expect more NPD this year.
Sales: £78.2m +12.7%
Having targeted the nation’s little Hank Marvins with Fridge Raiders, Mattessons is now hoping to win over adult snackers with Double Dippers, packs of marinated chicken breast pieces with a creamy dip and crunchy toasted crumb, launched in September. Not that it’s neglecting its after school Fridge Raiders brand. As well as the ongoing Hank Marvin advertising campaign, Mattessons has pledged to bring out a new variant for the sub-brand every six months.
Sales: £75.5m +10.0%
Dettol isn’t just getting tough on germs, it’s getting tough on the competition with a move into a new category. Not content with the strong performance of its surface care lines - thanks to a steady flow of NPD backed by deals - the brand is now looking to clean up in laundry. In September, it launched Dettol Laundry Cleanser, a product designed to be added to the wash at the same time as detergent. Reckitt Benckiser says similar launches in Italy and Germany have created markets worth €70m and €30m respectively.
Sales: £75.1m +13.0%
Sales of Thorntons’ chocolates are declining in its own stores - chiefly as a result of the closure of 36 sites in the past year - but are up 13% in other retailers. The confectioner says it has been particularly pleased with its performance in the c-store market and with its seasonal lines at Christmas. It is looking to maintain its growth through investment in new manufacturing equipment for its Easter eggs and boxed chocolates. It also kicked off a range revamp last year with a view to revitalising the look and feel of its portfolio while reducing complexity and duplication.
127 (146) Lindt Lindor
Sales: £71.6m +17.7%
Lindt’s Golden Bunny will be jumping for joy at the performance of the chocolatier’s Lindor brand. Ideally placed to tap growing consumer interest in premium chocolate, the brand has grown strongly, fuelled by innovation including the Lindor Maxi Ball – a giant Lindor ball that opens up to become a bowl of milk chocolate truffles – and new Lindor flavours. The brand also benefited from a UK-specific TV campaign and below-the-line support last year. “The brand is going from strength to strength and we believe we can build on this momentum,” says Lindt UK marketing director Annabelle Delorme.
135 (148) Knorr
Sales: £67.1m +12.9%
Traditional cooking sauces may be going off the boil but that’s not bothering Knorr. The brand has been cashing in on demand from home chefs who want to get creative in the kitchen but lack the time required to knock up a sauce from scratch. In Febraury, brand owner Unilever added a range of jelly-based seasoning pastes, Flavour Pots, to its range of stock and gravy pots, backed by a £3.5m TV campaign. “People now expect a cooking sauce to act as a scratch ingredient rather than something to just plonk in at the end,” says marketing manager Lucy Walsh.
143 (153) Bisto
Sales: £64.6m +18.0%
Not just any old brand could get away with launching a new frozen ready meals range in the wake of the horsemeat scandal. The fact Bisto did just that, and has since racked up more than £11m in sales with its new line-up, is testament to the power of this aah so British brand. And with more of us tucking into traditional roast dinners, the brand is in a good position to build on its growth in 2014.
144 (149) Maynards
Sales: £64.6m +12.8%
Sour is the new sweet if Maynards’ performance is anything to go by. Sour Patch Kids is now worth more than $100m in the US and since Mondelez brought it to the UK in 2012, it has been a big hit here too. Last June, it made its TV ad debut as part of a £2.6m marketing investment in the sub-brand. Maynards also brought carnage to the confectionery category at Halloween with ghoulish packs containing decapitated Sour Patch Kids.. This month, Mondelez launched a new brand of jelly and foam sweets under the Maynards banner, Discovery Patch, backed by a £3m campaign.
159 (160) Double Decker
Sales: £34.6m +9.2%
Dairy Milk may be going great guns, but that doesn’t mean Mondelez has neglected its other chocolate brands. Last autumn, it launched a new ad featuring an excitable Asian shopkeeper (prompting claims of racial stereotyping) to support an on-pack competition offering the chance to win one of five Cadbury countlines made from real gold. Cadbury Dairy Milk countlines were involved in Unwrap Gold, but Double Decker also appeared to be a big winner, adding £2.9m to its top line and boosting volumes 4.5%.
See the complete list of Britain’s 100 Biggest Grocery Brands
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