Brand Finance reveals top 5 dairy brands

Valued at $19.4bn, Nestlé again claimed the title of the world’s most valuable food brand, more than double the value of second-ranked Danone ($9.1bn). Nestlé’s brand value registered virtually no change from last year, with revenues performing at what Brand Finance said was only a satisfactory level caused by challenging sales in North and South America.

David Haigh, CEO of Brand Finance, said, “With producers and analysts used to the lack of change among the food and drink industry leaders, performance of emerging market brands is likely to cause a stir. We are already starting to see this from brands like Yili. The value of China’s largest dairy brand jumped ahead of international leaders such as Kellogg’s, Kraft, and Heinz.”​

World’s 10 Most Valuable Food Brands

Yili brand potential

Dairy is one of the strongest performing sectors in the food industry, registering an average 13% brand value growth year on year.

Within the sector, the Chinese market is the most dynamic in the world, set to overtake the US as the largest market for dairy products by 2022. This phenomenon is due to rising affluence and improved accessibility of products in China’s lower tier cities. As Chinese consumers increasingly prefer dairy products that are more premium, with health benefits and innovative flavors, leading brands such as Yili focus on the changing demand and product innovation.

Yili has risen from eighth place last year to third following 43% growth to $6.2bn brand value. The brand is dominant in the Chinese market but has a clear potential for expansion into non-dairy categories or internationally, Brand Finance said.

Although Yili is ahead of Danone in terms of brand potential, the French giant is still a more valuable brand, growing above the average for the industry at 15% year on year.

Top dairy brands

Brand Finance also highlighted the performance of Mengniu, another Chinese dairy brand, which grew at a similar pace as Yili, up 45% year on year, but from a lower base, with its brand value now established at $3.4bn.

The report noted the top dairy brand in 2018, with a brand value of $9.1bn, was Danone, with Yili in second spot at $6.2bn.Mengniu jumped into the top 5 on the back of its $3.45bn brand value, while Arla dropped a spot with a 9% decrease in brand value to $3.43bn. Indian cooperative Amul also slipped a spot to fifth, with a brand value of $2.5bn.

In terms of brand potential, Brand Finance rates Yili in top spot, followed by Danone and Mengniu.

The full report can be downloaded here.​​