FNB is SA’s most valuable brand, says Kantar

According to the “Kantar BrandZ Most Valuable South African Brands 2024 Report” FNB retains its position as the country’s most valuable brand for the second consecutive year. The brand is worth over $3.1bn.  The second-most valuable brand in South Africa is Standard Bank, which increased its brand value by 2%.

Telecom providers continued to dominate the rankings, with Vodacom (valued at $2.46bn) rising one place, to third position and MTN (valued at $2.39bn) coming in fourth.

South African businesses are operating in difficult financial circumstances as a result of high inflation, rising interest rates, rand depreciation and the power crisis, and  the overall value of the top 30 declined 6%. This year the country’s most valuable brands have a total combined value of $29.7bn, down from $31.6bn in 2023.

The top 30 South African brands have held their value significantly better than this; 40% of the brands in the ranking grew their value, with financial services and alcohol brands the big winners. Financial services accounted for 45% of the value of the top 30 South African brands ranking, with banking (35%) and insurance (10%) both growing. Alcohol brand Castle (in fifth position and valued at $1.99bn) has been a consistent presence in the top 30. It reached the same position as last year.

Kantar BrandZ Top 10 Most Valuable South African Brands 2024

Banking and wealth management group Investec (ranked number 10 and valued at $926m) was the fastest riser, growing 33% thanks to its strong leadership, its increased UK shareholding and its ability to deliver a consistent brand experience.

Insurance brand Outsurance (ranked number 26 and valued at $343m) saw an increase of 26% in brand value through its commitment to providing customers with great value and a diversified service offering. The third-fastest riser, insurance, investments and financial planning provider Sanlam (ranked number 15 and valued at $697m) also extended its offering to grow 21%.

Cider giants Savanna (ranked number 18 and valued at $547m) and Hunter’s (ranked number 28 and valued at $313m) both entered the top 30 for the first time on the back of the acquisition of their parent company by Heineken, plus strong brand equity.

Fruit-flavoured beer Flying Fish (ranked number 16 and valued at $618m) grew 12% to become the fifth-fastest growing South African brand.

While consumption for flavoured alcoholic beverages, ready to drink beverages and beer are declining,  the first two are showing more resilience. Brutal Fruit grew 15% to reach a brand value of $480m, an increase that saw it take the position of fourth-highest riser and move five places up the ranking to number 20.

“South African brands are continuing to transcend the challenging market conditions,” says Ivan Moroke, CEO, South Africa, Insights Division, Kantar. “A large proportion of them are meeting the needs of customers with actions and initiatives that mark them out as being meaningfully different and relevant to consumers’ lives today. These strong, forward-focused brands are proving that they can identify what it takes to grow and follow up by implementing programmes to deliver this.”

Moroke says success stories demonstrate that strong brands are resilient. “Not only do they weather challenging financial environments, they can also grow if they are able to be meaningfully different to more people. This year, 60% of the brands in the ranking are meaningfully different, with experience and exposure being major contributors. Overall, South African brands are ahead of their counterparts in Canada, Europe and Latin America when it comes to meaningful difference.”

Retail and pharmacy chain Clicks, up one place to number 21 with a brand value of $471m, has been awarded the 2024 Kantar BrandZ Most Meaningfully Different Brand Award for providing customers with a consistent store experience regardless of location. Capitec Bank (ranked number eight and with a brand value of $1.28bn), which continues to invest significantly in both its online and offline presence to make life easy for customers, is another brand that scores highly on being meaningfully different. Discovery (ranked number nine and valued at $1.06bn), and FNB were also strong contenders.

Other special awards were for Savanna for Most Memorable Advertising; Capitec Bank for Capturing Market Share; Outsurance for Great Value and Vodacom for Finding New Space in which to operate.

Among the key highlights from the “Kantar BrandZ Most Valuable South African Brands Report” are that sustainability remains vital. A total of 68% of South African consumers are prepared to invest time and money in brands that try to do good. Sustainability continues to be a growing driver of demand power and brand value, yet too few brands are fully activating the opportunities in the space.

Among the top performers, Vodacom championed “protecting the planet” with its renewable energy initiatives, Savanna campaigned around climate change in its own distinctive style, and sustainability stalwart Woolworths (ranked number 11 and valued at $919m) continued to make strides in its Good Business Journey.

Another highlight centred on brands expanding beyond our national borders. Fast food chain Nando’s ranked at number seven, with a brand value of $1.8bn flying the flag high globally, while Brutal Fruit Cider launched in the UK in May this year.

Despite household budgets being constrained, people will pay more for a well-loved brand. Kantar’s Mzansi Consumer Barometer data puts this at almost a quarter of consumers. This has enabled brands such as Clicks, Checkers (ranked number 17 and valued at $580m) and Woolworths to keep justifying their prices, despite consumers viewing them as more expensive than last year.

The Kantar BrandZ Most Valuable South African Brands ranking, report and extensive analysis are available at: www.kantar.com/campaigns/brandz/south-africa.

For a quick read on a brand’s performance compared to competitors in a specific category, Kantar’s free interactive tool, BrandSnapshot, powered by BrandZ, provides intelligence on 14,000 brands. Find out more here.