Instant noodles, coffee still most preferred F&B brands

MANILA, Philippines — A report by marketing data and analytics company Kantar showed that Filipino consumers still prefer instant noodles and coffee as food and beverage (F&B) brands emerged as the top chosen brands by shoppers amid the growing demand for fast moving consumer goods (FMGC).

In its 2023 Brand Footprint report, Kantar said instant noodle brand Lucky Me ranked as the most chosen FMCG brand of Filipinos in 2022 as it garnered 911 million consumer reach points (CRP).

Data shows that Lucky Me was purchased by 98.9 percent of local households, which translates to around 27.4 million shoppers. These households chose the brand, on average, 33 times per year.

Coffee brands Nescafé and Kopiko followed in second and third place with 688 CRP and 627 CRP, respectively.

Condiment brand Silver Swan, ranked fourth with 585 CRP, while soft drink brand Coca-Cola garnered 488 CRP to make it to the top five.

Kantar Philippines World panel division client manager Bea Coronel said the Brand Footprint ranks the FMCG brands based on their CRP.

This measure combines population or the number of households in the country; penetration or the percentage of households purchasing the brand; and consumers’ choice or the number of times the brand is being chosen by Filipinos over the course of 12 months.

According to Coronel, the report aims to capture a key moment when Filipinos purchase their FMCG needs.

“Filipinos have been spending more for their FMCG needs, especially in 2022 when we came out of the pandemic and our lifestyles began to shift and return to normalcy. There is now a higher demand for FMCG and companies must be able to capitalize on that split second when shoppers decide and choose one brand over another. At Kantar, we capture that powerful moment using the CRP measure in order to reveal which brands are consistently winning their way into the shopping baskets of Filipinos,” Coronel said.

Other F&B products that made it to the Top 10 are Bear Brand (6th with 482 CRP), Maggi (8th with 431 CRP), Great Taste (9th with 424 CRP) and Datu Puti (10th with 406 CRP).

Only one home care brand penetrated the Top 10 ranking, with Surf getting 467 CRP at 7th place.

Despite the inflation headwinds, Coronel said that 61 percent of brands in the country are growing.

Kantar said the majority of brands, whether small or super brands, are getting it right and are able to penetrate Filipino homes.

It noted, however, that 57 percent of small brands or those brands that are reaching less than 10% of Filipino shoppers have enjoyed growth in the past year.

“When brands grow bigger, they are likely to increase in reach through a combination of penetration and frequency. When combined, these two factors allow brands to win and gain more loyal shoppers,” she added.