DAIRY brand Birch Tree saw the highest growth in brand preference in the Philippines last year due to the demand for its smaller milk sachets, according to a report from Kantar Philippines.
Kantar’s Worldpanel division in the Philippines found In its 2020 Asia Brand Footprint report that the brand reached four million homes in two years after its 33 gram sachets provided an affordable milk alternative to the bigger packs.
The brand focused its sales on sari-sari stores, selling its products to middle and lower income Filipinos that form the majority of family milk shoppers. Birch Tree is manufactured by Century Pacific Food, Inc.
Noodle brand Lucky Me retained its spot as the most preferred brand in the Philippines for the fifth consecutive year in 2019. The report released on Wednesday said that 97.2% of Philippine households bought the product more than 35 times a year.
The rankings are based on a 52-week study between November 2018 to October 2019.
Lucky Me was followed by Nescafé, which reached more than 82% of households, while condiment brand Silver Swan, coffee brand Kopiko, detergent brand Surf, and milk company Bear Brand were in the third to sixth spots.
Coca-Cola jumped to the 9th spot from 17th the previous year after it reformulated and executed an effective stock keeping unit or inventory tracking, Kantar said. The brand reached 73.5% of households.
Hair care product brands Palmolive (ranked 7th), Sunsilk (8th), and Creamsilk (10th) remained at the top.
Kantar Philippines Worldpanel Division General Manager Marie-Anne Lezoraine said that the brands maintained their spots because they constantly adapted their portfolio to new consumer needs, and conveyed this in their communications.
“Price, however, remains an important factor for Filipino shoppers and several of the fastest growing brands have used this lever to gain more shoppers,” she said.
Next to Birch Tree, local laundry detergent Wings is the fastest growing brand in the country after it favored product introductions in Mindanao and Visayas over traditional launch strategies.
“This proved to be a good strategy, as more than 40% of Filipino homes purchase Wings in Visayas, and almost 70% of homes from Mindanao choose Wings as their laundry detergent,” the report said.
Personal care brand Bioderm, detergent brands Calla and Pride, beverage brands Coca-Cola and Royal Tru Orange, food brand Gardenia, diaper brand EQ, and oral care brand Happy also saw high brand preference growth last year.
The Kantar report analyzing brand trends across Asia noted more interest in hygiene, cooking, and baking essential products during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Kantar said these brands made use of the ability to recognize new consumer needs, create more shopping opportunities by making products relevant to consumers, stretch across different categories to attract buyers, create new variants that will attract new targets, and increase accessibility by widening its geographical location. — Jenina P. Ibañez
Source: Business World
