Which F&B brands take the cake in Asia’s food fight?

CATEGORY ANALYSIS: FOOD & BEVERAGE

Food

This year, Nestle consolidated its position as Asia’s top F&B conglomerate, an unmovable trend since the inception of our Asia's Top 1000 Brands research.

Heinz has also proved a worthy contender. Prior to 2018, the brand had been on the wayside as it trailed behind Kellogg’s and Maggi, but in the last three years, it has quickly and steadily climbed to second place, behind Nestle. In the canned food category, Heinz is top in the region, beating out Campbell, Kraft and Del Monte.

In the competitive instant noodle category, Japanese brand Nissin doesn’t noodle about—despite outrage over its “whitewashed” portrayal of ambassador Naomi Osaka in a campaign, its other high-profile sponsorships and campaigns have certainly proven effective.

Elsewhere, F&B powerhouses Meiji, Maggi and Lotte remained consistent in their rankings.

Beverages

Unsurprisingly, Coca-Cola cemented its spot as top drinks brand in Asia as rival Pepsi dipped eight spots to 106 in the overall top 1000 brands list. Tea brand Lipton remained very far ahead of competitors Twinings and Dilmah.

In the isotonic drinks category, Gatorade fell 12 spots overall but Pocari Sweat—which was last year embroiled in ownership drama over the Hong Kong protests—barely broke a sweat as it retained its position this year.

In the coffee category, Nescafe came out champ as American chain Starbucks continues to revel in its dominance. Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, however, saw a 30-point drop in this year’s rankings, and is swiftly beaten out by Malaysian coffee chain, OldTown.

RedBull, Tropicana, Sprite and Meiji narrowly missed the list of top 10 beverage brands.

Restaurants

Despite McDonald’s unshakable reign in the region, KFC’s uptick—from 82 to 79—in this year’s rankings is perhaps a sign that the latter’s clever campaigns in China and beyond have made an impact. Burger King, meanwhile, leaped 25 spots in the overall top 1000 list, a positive year-on-year pattern for the brand since 2014.

Pizza chain Papa John’s—which last year pumped US$40 million into a new marketing strategy including a deal with basketball star Shaquille O'Neal—climbed 57 spots this year. TGI Friday’s—the only non-fast food establishment in this list—is stable alongside Sizzler and Outback, a sign that the region remains hungry for old-fashioned American steakhouses.

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