Kenyan mobile payment brand M-PESA has for the third year been voted Kenya’s leading Superbrand, ahead of parent company, Safaricom placing second. Three FMCG brands made an entry into the top ten for the first time, namely Pampers, Weetabix, and Supa Loaf. The results are derived entirely from a comprehensive survey to Kenyan consumers undertaken by Kantar TNS. Previous survey results were derived from a weighting of consumer survey results and council member nominations.
Official Ranking 2019 Brand Name Category
1 Mpesa Financial-General
2 Safaricom Telecommunications, Broadband & Software
3 Colgate Household-Personal Hygiene-Dental
4 Pampers Household-Personal Hygiene-Diapers
5 Dasani Drinks-Bottled Water
6 Citizen TV Media-TV Stations
7 Mumias Food-Sugar
8 Tuskys Retail-Supermarkets
9 Supa Loaf Food-Bread and Bread Products
10 Weetabix Food-General
In the 2019/20 survey, 5 brands made an entry into the top 10 as 5 others retained their positions as among the top 10 from the previous year. New entries into this listing include Weetabix, Dasani (both of whom were surveyed for the first time) Mumias and Super Loaf.
Superbrands is running its programme for the sixth time in East Africa. For 2019/20, just fewer than 1,000 brands were shortlisted. Consumers’ insights and results were derived based on Superbrands’ globally used parameters of the three pillars of quality, reliability and distinctiveness.
Jawad Jaffer, Superbrands Project Coordinator noted, “As markets and brands evolve, consumer preferences play a more prominent role. With this the 6th edition, we felt it was more important to give the consumers the power to decide which brands best resonated with them and play a crucial role in their everyday lives.“
Key trends observed from the survey financial access and payments in which mobile money and payments are still mainstream and virtual wallets are considered to be bank accounts. The digital space has also opened up more opportunities evolving from social media; whereby social media is no longer a differentiator but commonplace where brands must make the strongest impression to their audience.
Convenience and convergence of services have also become a determining factor in how consumers interact with brands. Consumers are increasingly more demanding which has led to growth in demand for homegrown quality products and services. Most interesting, the survey also revealed an increase in shopping frequency across all social classes with value brands driving consumption. It is clear that products and services with strong brand awareness and affinity are increasingly becoming the preferred option for Kenyans.
Adeola Tejumola, CEO West, East and Central Africa Kantar TNS said,
“With an increasing number of brands consolidating and retaining their position among the Kenyan brand elite and the new entrants, the branding scene in Kenya seems to be making great strides in terms of growth and consumer appeal. These top brands are once again led by the impressive MPESA and its parent brand Safaricom while Colgate makes a surprising entry rightfully into the top three. There was however a big dip in the performance of some of the leading food brands, which perhaps have become less exciting to consumers as they mature in the local market. The top 10 overall is a balanced blend of global brands, such as Colgate and pampers, and local brands, such as Safaricom, Supaloaf and fast-growing breakfast cereal brand Weetabix”.
Participants of this survey were scientifically selected with a variety of demographic factors being considered including age, gender, location with a specific focus on the urban population. Households were selected randomly with only one respondent from each household being surveyed.