Tough Economic times,E-Commerce Adoption

FMCG and Support Services top the leading 20 Kenyan brands list.

Key Highlights

· MPESA retains number 1 spot with significant shifts in popularity for medical and hygiene related brands.

· The Kenyan consumer gravitated towards low-cost, high value offerings. Shunning premium products that do not differentiate themselves sufficiently.

· Top Twenty Kenyan Brands ranking released by Superbrand’s East Africa.

· The survey was conducted in the first half of 2022 across key cities of Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu of a sample adult population across all classes.

· 85% of Kenyan consumers will purchase a brand if they see the Superbrands seal on it.

2022 RANKING	BRAND	CATEGORY
1	M-PESA	Financial – General
2	Safaricom	Telecommunications, Broadband & Software
3	Jik	Household – Cleaning Products – General
4	The Kenya Red Cross	Relief Organisations
5	Kenpoly	Household – Plastic products
6	Dettol	Household – Personal Hygiene – Bodycare
7	Weetabix	Food – General
8	Bamburi Cement	Building Materials – Cement
9	Darling	Personal Hair Care – Wigs
10	Naivas	Retail – Supermarkets
11	Citizen TV	Media – TV Stations
12	Colgate	Household – Personal Hygiene – Dental
13	Supa Loaf	Food – Bread and bread products
14	Beyond Fruits	Retail – Greengrocers
15	Dasani	Drinks – Bottled Water
16	Nescafe	Drinks – Coffee
17	AutoXpress	Automotive – Services
18	Jumia Foods	Support Services – On Demand Delivery
19	St Johns Ambulance	Support Services – Healthcare
20	Kenya Airways	Travel – Airlines

In this survey, six new brands made an entry into the top 20 for the first time, compared to the previous 2020 listing. These include:Jik, Darling, Beyond Fruits, Nescafe, St John’s Ambulance and Kenya Airways.

**Jawad Jaffer Project Director.Superbrands E.A[Photo/Oxyge’ne PR.Agency]**

Key Take aways from 2022:

1.Consumers across different purchasing classes have had to opt for for more affordable brands because of budget constraints. Low-value brands are now no longer solely for the mass market and are much more visible to even the middle-class consumer.

2. With increased adoption of e-commerce through out the Covid-19 era,consumers are now increasingly researching about products before they make their purchase decisions. Some consumers are starting to place emphasis on differentiation, and punishing brands that are more premium or value, but not differentiated from the low-priced mainstream brands.3. Consumers state that innovation is needed in how brands present themselves to stand out and be considered superior to their competitors.

4. With difficult economic times, some brands cease to be as relevant as they were.Consumers no longer have the luxury of spending disposable incomes on betting for instance. This year no betting companies feature in the top 20 ranking. Whilst in 2020 Betika appeared as #10.

5. Other notable shifts are for brands playing in the hygiene and medical space (two critical categories/industries in the Covid era) e.g. Jik is up from rank 36 in 2020 to 3, St. Johns Ambulance from rank 51 in 2020 to 19, and Dettol up from rank 9 in 2020 to 6.

6. Kenpoly went up from rank 17 to 5. Kenpoly makes disposable cups, which were common at informal social meet-ups for quick consumption of alcohol and other beverages.

7. Not having the luxury to go out and grab fast foods or a quick coffee, and instead order in or prepare alternatives from home has pushed brands like Nescafe from rank 116 in 2020 to 16 and Jumia Foods from nowhere in 2020 to rank 18.

Most notably for 2022, consumers were asked about the impact the Superbrands seal had on their decision making process. 8 out of 10 respondents were more likely to go with a brand that featured the seal. Consumers believed Superbrands affiliation to help build a company’s reputation and help them stand out from the competition.

Jawad Jaffer, Project Manager, Superbrands East Africa said, “ We continue to see that the Kenyan consumer is a savvy decision-maker. They want brands to deliver value and purpose. This is reflected in the survey with 85% of respondents associating the Superbrands seal as a mark of quality and reliability”.

David Ogara, Associate-Account Director,Kantar observes, “With the middle-class consumer now experiencing brands across different price points in search of low-cost, higher value alternatives they are better informed and more selective. This now places them in a better position to truly decide which brands they believe are Superbrands across the different categories. The Kenyan consumer of today wants innovation and functionality”.