M-Pesa has been named Kenya’s strongest brand for 2026, edging out Safaricom, Samsung and a number of other local and international brands in the latest Superbrands East Africa consumer survey.
M-Pesa is at the top of the list with a Superbrands score of 91.909, Safaricom at 89.623 and Samsung at 89.622. WhatsApp and Google finish off the top five with scores of 89.584 and 89.527 respectively.
The findings (based on research by global insights firm Kantar across 112 categories) are all about the brands that have built up strong consumer recognition through quality, reliability and distinction.
Other brands in Kenya’s Top 10 are Naivas, Dettol, Bolt, Kenya Airways and YouTube.
Naivas took sixth with 89.193, Dettol’s personal care products seventh with 88.833, Bolt eighth with 88.786, Kenya Airways eighth with 88.707 and YouTube ninth with 88.675.
The ranking is against a backdrop of a changing consumer landscape where Kenyans are increasingly looking beyond price and promotional offers when they go to buy. Quality, reliability and trust are now the key factors.
86% of the consumers surveyed would be likely to buy a product or service that bore the Superbrands seal. 84% would say that the recognition would increase their trust in the brand and 85% would say it would lead them to consider buying a product or trying a new service.
The study also found that 81% of consumers felt the Superbrands seal helped a brand to stand out from the competition and exactly the same proportion said it helped them to identify the leading brand in its category.
However price is still a significant factor with 63% of respondents saying they would be prepared to pay more for a product or service that had the recognition.
“Kenyan consumers have a whole host of brands to choose from, but what ultimately counts is whether the brand delivers on its promise,” said Jawad Jaffer, Project Director and Associate Publisher at Superbrands East Africa.
He stressed that quality, reliability and distinction are still at the heart of the purchase decision and that you have to build consumer confidence through the consistency of the brand experience rather than just through advertising.
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The research looked at the established brands on the basis of three criteria: quality, reliability and distinction. That was the measure of how well the brand delivered on its promise, how reliable it was and how it distinguished itself from the competition.
Kantar Insights East Africa project leads Keith Pere and Wetindi Patrick noted that successful brands were those that met the consumer’s functional and emotional needs and did so in a way that was genuinely different.
Beyond just brand recognition the study looked at how consumers come across and interpret the Superbrands seal. Product packaging was by far the most common point of contact (64%), then TV at 31% and social media at 29%.
Of the respondents half of them saw the seal as a mark of excellence, quality and trust, the other 26 per cent incorrectly saw it as a manufacturer’s logo. A real need for greater public awareness clearly exists.
The research also looked at the impact of social media influencers on consumer purchase decisions. 58% of respondents said they trust influencer recommendations to some extent, with only 10% saying they trust them consistently.
Meanwhile 42% expressed a degree of distrust in influencer recommendations, either because they felt the endorsements were insincere or simply because they preferred to make their own purchasing decisions.
Consumer NPS for brands with the Superbrands seal also went up, from 10 in 2024 to 31 in 2026.
Other brands in the top 30 are Quickmart, TikTok, Coca-Cola, Colgate, Citizen TV, University of Nairobi, Sunlight, Fanta, Vaseline, Equity Bank, Mercedes-Benz, Radio Citizen, LG, Range Rover, KFC, Glovo, PK, Kenyatta University and Toyota.
The findings highlight just how much consumer confidence matters in terms of brand strength. To stay competitive businesses will need to continue to focus on product quality, reliability and having real customer relationships.
The full 2026 Superbrands Kenya list is available via Superbrands East Africa.
