Biggest brands: Top 10 by category

summer weather.

Ninety seven per cent of the population buy these products regularly and
27% consume a carbonate every day. Water does not yet feature in the top
10 here, partly because of the strength of own-label, but all key water
brands did show double-digit growth last year.

Market leader Diet Coke extended its lead over Coca-Cola's core brand,
helped by the launch of lime and lemon variants, while Pepsi grew sales
after developing more independent positionings for diet variants Diet
Pepsi and Pepsi Max.

Tropicana fruit juice improved sales by 8%, based on its natural
credentials and a recent strategic shift in advertising, which saw the
'singing parrot' ads ditched in favour of a 'New York breakfast' theme
to give it a premium positioning. By contrast, sales of Ocean Spray, a
concentrate, fell.

Ribena and Robinsons lost ground in line with the hit to the overall
squash market, but Schweppes sales rose on the back of heavy in-store
promotion.

CHOCOLATE CONFECTIONERY - £1415m-£1420m

The twin consumer drivers of health and indulgence are at play in the
chocolate confectionery market, where the trend over the past year has
been away from family-targeted multipacks toward more premium, sharing
products. A saturated market in terms of household penetration,
chocolate confectionery has maintained growth as buyers purchased more
frequently and spent more per trip, with sales rising by 6% to
approximately £1.4bn.

Growth has stemmed primarily from the indulgence and sharing segments of
the market, with big bags, blocks and boxes of chocolates in particular
demand as consumption shifts from everyday functional snacks to
chocolate as a treat.

Cadbury Dairy Milk, the market leader with sales close to £165m,
grew by just 2% last year following the rebrand two years ago that
brought different Cadbury products under the Dairy Milk umbrella brand,
sparking sales increases of 41%.

The biggest faller was Mars, which suffered partly from declining sales
of multipacks and partly, it seems, from the failure of the 'Pleasure
you can't measure' campaign to persuade more women and girls to eat the
lighter Mars Delight variant.

Kit Kat's 5% sales fall reflects the long-term decline of the Chunky
variant, which was down 30% over the year. The novelty of last year's
launch of Kubes has faded, with sales plummeting 60%, while the
four-finger version's flavour variants have created temporary interest
but done little to arrest the overall decline.

BISCUITS - £1265m-£1270m

Sales of biscuits rose by 9% over the past 12 months to nearly £1.3bn, driven by heavier consumption of crackers and crispbreads, and
healthier and premium biscuits. Sales of healthier biscuits grew by 15%,
fuelled by cereal bars, which satisfy the dual criteria of health and
convenience.

The sector has seen considerable new product development as established
cereal lines, including Kellogg's Frosties, Fruit and Fibre and Crunchy
Nut, extended into the handheld format.

Sales of crackers and crispbreads, including own-label, grew by more
than 12% to about £230m, helped by new products such as Ryvita
Minis, a healthy crisp-style snack, and Quaker Seasons, which have
become the sector's fifth- and sixth-bestselling since their launches in
January.

The 'everyday treats' sector experienced double-digit growth over the
year, reflecting consumers' taste for indulgence. McVitie's Penguin and
Jaffa Cakes grew by 18% and 15% respectively, the latter on the back of
new formats and pack designs.

The top-selling biscuit overall remains the two-fingered Kit Kat, which
grew by 11% last year with a range of new flavour variants. However,
Kit-Kat's pre-eminence may prove short-lived. 'The line extensions have
been a bit of a one-hit wonder,' says a TNS Superpanel analyst. 'It will
be difficult for the core product to regain its shelf space.'

CEREALS - £910m-£915m

Sales of cereals rose by 4% last year, driven by consumer demand for
healthy food. This helped to balance out the decline in at-home
breakfasts and the inroads made by own-label brands. Volume growth was
just 1%.

Kellogg's Special K delivered impressive growth of 10%, helped by its
'Drop a jeans size' TV and on-pack campaign in January. Ironically,
Special K appears to have been helped by Nestle's activity for the
launch of Fitnesse; similarity in the ads caused consumer confusion and
drove buyers to Special K.

Crunchy Nut Corn Flakes declined over the period, unable to build on the
previous year's growth that came from a redesigned pack and brand
extensions, and despite its 'obviously another Crunchy Nut'
campaign.

Sales of Crunchy Nut and original Kellogg's Corn Flakes may revive as a
result of the recent move to reduce their salt content.

There has been little innovation in the market this year, which has been
riding on the results of successful new product development last
year.

BABYCARE - £850m-£855m

The babycare market was static last year. Nappies is the biggest sector,
with 41% of the market. The second-biggest is baby wipes, which
outperformed the overall category with growth of 7%, despite heavy price
promotion and the increasing incursion of own-label brands. Baby drinks,
milk and healthcare also outperformed the total market.

Sales at category leader Pampers fell nearly 2%, largely because Tesco
and Asda's own-label nappies ate into Pampers Baby Dry's share. However,
Pampers has managed to increase uptake of its premium ranges, which has
helped it sustain its overall penetration of 70% of households with
children under four years old. Its fastest-growing products are toddler
wipes and baby and children's toiletries.

Tesco's 28% rise in value sales in the babycare market demonstrates just
how big a threat own-label poses. It has launched more premium nappy
lines this year, and extended its wipes range.

Growth in the total baby food market, which includes milks and drinks,
was driven by NPD. Cow & Gate launched finger-foods, as did Heinz, while
SMA grew the milk sector with more first milks for younger babies. Sales
of wet baby food are declining, except in the case of Cow & Gate, which
has benefited from high levels of promotion.

BAGGED SNACKS - £825m-£830m

Given the national preoccupation with health issues such as obesity and
levels of salt intake, the 3% sales dip in the crisps and snacks market
is hardly surprising. Seven of the top 10 brands are in decline, with
only Walkers Quavers and Lites and McCoy's increasing their sales over
the year. Consumers are not dropping out of the market, but are buying
less often and spending slightly less.

Quavers was the biggest success of the year, with sales up 17%. These
potato snacks are perceived to be healthier than crisps, given their
light, floaty appearance, but the main sales driver was a Halloween
push, with the launch of a special-edition Quavers Ghosts pack and a
Ghosts and Ghouls multipack, which included Quavers and Monster
Munch.

Pringles is one of the biggest brands in the category, bought by more
than half of households last year. Its decline of 9% was partly arrested
by the launch of Pringles Dippers in February 2004, which added more
than £7m in sales.

Although the major manufacturers have been launching lighter,
'healthier' crisps, the majority have not yet made it into the top 10
brands. Only Walkers Lites is ranked here, at number 10, after bucking
the market trend with sales growth of 11% last year, although Golden
Lites also performed well. Walkers will have high hopes for its
healthier Potato Heads brand, which is aimed at children. It has made
more than £14m and captured 2.6% of the total crisp market in
value terms since its introduction in January.

BREAD - £815m-£820m

Bread is the fourth-fastest-growing category this year, with sales of
branded loaves up 8% - a healthy performance for a staple food - largely
due to product launches that tapped into the trends toward more premium
and healthy offerings.

Hovis' lead is being challenged by Warburtons. The latter drove the
market's value with a sales increase of 17%. The number of households
buying the brand was up by 10%.

Hovis, which was bought by more than three-quarters of households last
year, reduced salt content in its products, relaunched one of its ranges
under the name Hovis Enjoy and launched a half-loaf as part of the Hovis
Square Cut White range.

Kingsmill, the category's third-biggest brand, grew its sales by 4% over
the period, having focused its promotional activity on a relaunch that
created an umbrella brand identity for the first time.

YELLOW FATS - £660m-£665m

Price increases helped grow the yellow fats market by 3% in value terms
last year, despite its virtually static volume growth. The
best-performing variants are low-fat spreads and spreadables, which
continue to steal share from block butter, dairy spreads and margarines,
reflecting consumers' desires for convenience and taste. Health is a
secondary consideration, although brands that combine health and taste
steal a march, as the strong performance of Lurpak Lighter Spreadable,
which grew 22%, and Flora Light, which grew 17%, testify.

While consumers are willing to pay for premium products in this
category, the increasing propensity to grab breakfast and lunch 'on the
go' represents the main challenge for brands.

YOGHURT - £660m-£665m

Healthy living was the main factor behind last year's booming yoghurt
market, which saw sales rise 11% to £663m. The 22m households that
buy yoghurt spent more in both volume and value terms, and last year
spent an average of £40 on the product.

Luxury yoghurt brands increased their value sales by 7% over the period,
largely through price increases, despite 300,000 households abandoning
the products. Muller dominates the sector: Muller Corner grew sales by
13%, but the newer variant Muller McVitie's Corner enjoyed a hefty 217%
rise, largely due to heavy multi-buy activity.

The fastest-growing sector is bio-yoghurts, which contain active
bacteria that aid digestion. These now account for 19% of the market's
value, helped by price increases of about 18%. Sales of low-fat yoghurt
have been hit accordingly, which may explain Ski's 26% sales slump.

LAUNDRY - £650m-£655m

The laundry market has been static over the past year, marked only by
the differing fortunes of the top two manufacturers, Unilever and
Procter & Gamble. Sales of Unilever's Persil and Surf fell by 11% and 9%
respectively.

Meanwhile, although P&G's Ariel was static, sales of its Bold brand rose
by 16% after a major relaunch.P&G built on its strategy of promoting
Bold as an essential part of family life with a campaign supporting the
launch of its Bold 2-in-1 detergent and fabric softener with lavender
and camomile.

The product, claimed to be the first of its kind, marked Bold's move
into new areas of aromatherapy and natural trends. Despite falling
sales, Persil is still the biggest laundry brand in the UK, with 39%
penetration of a near-saturated market.

Households are purchasing laundry products less frequently, and buying
more per trip, driven by promotions. This creates fewer opportunities
for consumers to switch brands, leading to greater loyalty.

SKINCARE - £615m-£620m

British men's desire to hold back the years has been a key factor in
keeping the skincare market buoyant. Branded sales grew by 4% to £620m, and the success of new male-specific products such as L'Oreal Men
Expert and the relaunched Simple Skin Defence have helped boost sales of
the L'Oreal Dermo Expertise range by 14% and Simple by 19%, making them
the best performers in the category.

The total men's skincare market grew 27% in value last year, with 14.2%
of the population buying male-specific products. However, men's ranges
account for just 6% of the market, so a significant market remains
untapped.

More than 22% of consumers bought facial cleansing wipes last year, and
the sector will gain strength as anti-ageing cleansing wipes emerge.

Despite being category leader, Olay experienced the biggest sales fall -
11% - over the year, in stark contrast to its growth of 15% the year
before, which was based on the performance of its Regenerist anti-ageing
moisturisers. The fall may be due to Regenerist's high price or to the
launch of a competing and more heavily supported Olay brand - Total
Effects.

Traditional market players such as the core Nivea brand and Vaseline
have lost sales due to low marketing support.

COFFEE - £540m-£545m

The relatively mature and static instant-coffee market grew by 6% last
year, boosted by the popularity of new and more expensive 'speciality
coffees' such as cappuccinos. These products grew 45%, making them one
of grocery's fastest-growing sectors.

Nestle continues to dominate the category, with sales of about £290m representing more than half the market. Its sales grew by 14% last
year on the back of a range of speciality coffees, including
decaffeinated, caramel and hazelnut cappuccinos.

The only other two brands that grew sales - Clipper, by 30%, and Cafe
Direct, by 10% - are fair-trade brands, underlining the consumer trend
of ethical purchasing. However, fair-trade brands account for only 5% of
the market at present.

Despite the inroads own-label is making into the grocery market, it has
just 17% of the instant-coffee market, held back by the advertising
clout of the branded players. Innovations in the instant-coffee market
have also helped stem the emerging threat from ground coffee, which is
worth a relatively modest £100m.

TOP 10 SOFT DRINKS

Rank Brand Value %
2005 2004 (pounds m) chng
1 1 Diet Coke 220-225 4
2 2 Robinsons 185-190 -7
3 3 Coke 160-165 -4
4 4 Pepsi (regular and diet) 150-155 4
5 5 Tropicana 80-85 8
6 6 Ribena 65-70 -12
7 7 Fanta 60-65 2
8 8 Ocean Spray 50-55 -5
9 9 Schweppes 50-55 11
10 10 Capri-Sun 40-45 1

Source: TNS Superpanel



TOP 10 CHOCOLATE CONFECTIONERY

Rank Brand Value %
2005 2004 (pounds m) chng
1 1 Cadbury Dairy Milk 160-165 2
2 2 Maltesers 65-70 8
3 6 Quality Street 50-55 14
4 4 Galaxy 50-55 -1
5 10 Thorntons 45-50 52
6 5 Celebrations 45-50 -4
7 3 Mars 45-50 -12
8 7 Kit Kat 40-45 -5
9 8 Terry's Chocolate Orange 30-35 -10
10 9 Cadbury's Heroes 30-35 -6

Source: TNS Superpanel



TOP 10 BISCUITS

Rank Brand Value %
2005 2004 (pounds m) chng
1 1 Kit Kat 70-75 11
2 2 McVitie's Choc Digestive 35-40 8
3 3 Quaker Snack-a-Jacks 30-35 -12
4 6 McVitie's Penguin 25-30 18
5 5 Twix 25-30 6
6 4 Fox's Rocky 25-30 -5
7 8 McVitie's Jaffa Cakes 20-25 15
8 7 Cadbury Fingers 20-25 -2
9 9 McVitie's Digestives 15-20 1
10 10 Ryvita Crispbread 15-20 15

Source: TNS Superpanel



TOP 10 BABYCARE

Rank Brand Value %
2005 2004 (pounds m) chng
1 1 Pampers 265-270 -2
2 2 Huggies 115-120 -8
3 3 Johnson & Johnson 105-110 -2
4 4 Cow & Gate 80-85 4
5 7 Tesco 70-75 28
6 5 Heinz (incl Farleys foods*) 65-70 -7
7 6 SMA 60-65 6
8 8 Boots 35-40 -5
9 9 Asda 30-35 7
10 10 HiPP 20-25 -9

Source: TNS Superpanel *does not include Farleys milks



TOP 10 BAGGED SNACKS

Rank Brand Value %
2005 2004 (pounds m) chng

1 1 Walkers (regular crisps) 240-245 -7
2 2 Pringles 90-95 -9
3 3 Walkers Sensations 45-50 -17
4 4 Hula Hoops 35-40 -14
5 7 Walkers Quavers 35-40 17
6 8 McCoy's Crisps 30-35 5
7 6 Mini Cheddars 30-35 -13
8 9 Wotsits 30-35 -5
9 10 Doritos 30-35 -4
10 n/a Walkers Lites 20-25 11

Source: TNS Superpanel



TOP 10 BREAD

Rank Brand Value %
2005 2004 (pounds m) chng
1 1 Hovis 245-250 4
2 3 Warburtons 200-205 17
3 2 Kingsmill 195-200 4
4 5 Allinson 10-15 15
5 7 Brace's Bakery 10-15 14
6 4 Nimble 10-15 -12
7 6 Rathbones 5-10 -11
8 9 Mother's Pride 5-10 26
9 8 Roberts 5-10 19
10 10 Sunblest 0-5 -25

Source: TNS Superpanel



TOP 10 YELLOW FATS

Rank Brand Value %
2005 2004 (pounds m) chng
1 1 Lurpak Spreadable 55-60 5
2 2 Flora Pro-Activ Light 55-60 5
3 3 Clover 45-50 2
4 4 Flora Light 40-45 17
5 5 Bertolli 35-40 -1
6 7 I Can't Believe It's Not Bttr 35-40 2
7 9 Lurpak Lighter Spreadable 35-40 22
8 6 St Ivel Utterly Butterly 35-40 -7
9 8 Anchor 25-30 -7
10 10 Flora 25-30 8

Source: TNS Superpanel



TOP 10 CEREALS

Rank Brand Value %
2005 2004 (pounds m) chng
1 1 Weetabix 65-70 2
2 2 Kellogg's Corn Flakes 60-65 -4
3 3 Kellogg's Crunchy Nut CF 45-50 -2
4 7 Kellogg's Special K 35-40 10
5 6 Nestle Shredded Wheat 35-40 5
6 8 Nestle Shreddies 30-35 12
7 4 Kellogg's Rice Krispies 30-35 -6
8 5 Kellogg's Frosties 25-30 -16
9 9 Kellogg's Coco Pops 25-30 0
10 10 Nestle Cheerios 20-25 -5

Source: TNS Superpanel



TOP 10 YOGHURT

Rank Brand Value %
2005 2004 (pounds m) chng
1 1 Muller Light 115-120 12
2 2 Muller Fruit Corner 70-75 12
3 3 Ski 45-50 -26
4 4 Muller Crunch Corner 40-45 -1
5 8 Danone Activia 35-40 54
6 6 Yeo Valley Organic 35-40 17
7 5 Yoplait Weight Watchers 35-40 -4
8 7 Danone Shape 25-30 -5
9 9 Nestle Sveltesse 20-25 71
10 10 Muller McVitie's Corner 20-25 217

Source: TNS Superpanel



TOP 10 LAUNDRY

Rank Brand Value %
2005 2004 (pounds m) chng
1 1 Persil 180-185 -11
2 2 Ariel 150-155 0
3 3 Bold 90-95 16
4 5 Fairy 70-75 13
5 4 Daz 60-65 -3
6 6 Surf 55-60 -9
7 7 Ecover 5-10 30
8 8 Surcare 0-5 22
9 9 Easy Wash 0-5 17
10 10 Acdo 0-5 -8

Source: TNS Superpanel



TOP 10 SKINCARE

Rank Brand Value %
2005 2004 (pounds m) chng
1 1 Olay 85-90 -11
2 2 L'Oreal Dermo Expertise 45-50 14
3 3 Boots 40-45 7
4 4 Boots No.7 40-45 13
5 6 Garnier Skin Naturals 30-35 2
6 7 Nivea Visage 30-35 7
7 5 Nivea 30-35 -5
8 8 Vaseline 25-30 -8
9 9 Simple 25-30 19
10 10 Clean & Clear 20-25 4

Source: TNS Superpanel



TOP 10 INSTANT COFFEE

Rank Brand Value %
2005 2004 (pounds m) chng
1 1 Nescafe 285-290 14
2 2 Kenco 90-95 -1
3 4 Maxwell House 25-30 -11
4 3 Douwe Egberts 25-30 -14
5 5 Cafedirect 15-20 10
6 6 Carte Noir 10-15 -4
7 8 Birds 0-5 -12
8 9 Clipper Tea 0-5 30
9 7 Red Mountain 0-5 -35
10 10 Percol 0-5 -33

Source: TNS Superpanel