According to the 2007 Nielsen Top 100 Brands Report, the top three supermarket brands remain unchanged, with Winfield, CocaCola and Longbeach taking the top three positions. These three brands have held the top positions since the inception of the report in 1994.

The Top 100 Brands Report, published biennially by marketing and media research firm The Nielsen Company, also reveals that Winfield, Coke and Longbeach remain the only three supermarket brands in Australia to be valued at over $750 million after breaking through this barrier for the first time in 2005.

Although tobacco brands continue to dominate the top 100 list, there has been a slight reduction to 13 brands in 2007 from 14 brands in 2005. Other categories which have performed well in 2007 include carbonated beverages, fruit juices and bread, all having four brands in this year’s top 100 list.

Growth in 2007 has slowed down to just 9.9 per cent compared to the 11.8 per cent growth achieved in the two years to July 2005. The value of the top 100 brands is now around $15.5 billion, which accounts for 37.5 per cent of total packaged grocery, which remains fairly unchanged since 2005.

To make the 2007 top 100 brands list, brands needed to achieve annual sales in excess of $66 million, which is up $4 million in two years and up $11 million since 2003. This year saw five brands drop out from the previous top 100 list, to be replaced by new entrants Paradise Biscuits coming in at number 83 with annual sales between $75-100 million and Devondale (92), Lean Cuisine (93), Peter Stuyvesant (97) and Mortein (98) with sales of $50-75 million.

Each of these brands enjoyed strong growth in the past two years, particularly Devondale, which was up more than 60 per cent and Paradise Biscuits which had a 55 per cent gain on its 2005 sales. Devondale and Paradise Biscuits recorded the strongest sales growth of any brands in this year’s list.

The 2007 ranking of the top 25 umbrella brands remains unchanged at the top, with Arnott’s, Cadbury and Kellogg ranking as the top selling umbrella brands. Overall the composition of the umbrella brands was relatively unchanged with just one new entrant in 2005 – Mainland.

“This Nielsen report highlights the importance of the ongoing investment required to build a strong brand,” said Megan Treston, director, Retail Client Service, Nielsen Australia.

“Today’s Top 100 Brands are where they are because of years of investment in marketing and brand building. Advertising, new product development, packaging and product quality are all critical factors in the success of these brands.

“Those brands that have seen the strongest positive movements in rank over the past two years also highlight a couple of emerging consumer trends in the areas of convenience (single serve options in frozen meals, soup, ice cream and biscuits, and snacking options in cheese) and organics (baby food, pasta and cereal).”