Coca-Cola is Ireland’s biggest selling brand for the 20th year in a row, according to the latest brands survey from Checkout magazine and NIQ Ireland.
The survey ranks brands based on the value of their sales, and would include sales of all varieties of a product.
In the case of Coca-Cola, that would include sales of its diet and zero sugar alternatives.
“Obviously Coca-Cola is an iconic brand and it’s obvious a very, very popular brand here,” said Maev Martin, editor of Checkout magazine, who was speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland. “There are a lot of variants in the Coca-Cola family – so people are quite possibly opting for no sugar options, because that’s a very big trend in the market.
“The variety of its product portfolio and the way it has responded to consumer trends, and also the fact that it’s such an iconic, global brand, that’s really what’s kept it at the top for the past 20 years.”
The soft drink brand is one of five to have held onto its ranking from last year.
Lucozade (2nd), Tayto (3rd), Cadbury’s Dairy Milk (4th) and Red Bull (8th) have also retained their 2023 position.
Energy drink brand Monster – which The Coca-Cola Company has a stake in – was the 5th best-selling brand.
Irish brands Avonmore and Brennans took 6th and 7th position, respectively.
Chewing gum brand Extra rose from 12th last year to 9th in this survey, pushing 7-Up down to 10th place.
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Irish brands were also well represented outside of the top ten, according to Checkout.
“Irish products have performed extremely well,” said Ms Martin. “Yogurt brand Glenisk rockets up the rankings by no fewer than 32 places, which is incredible.”
Glenisk rose moved 92nd to 60th in the year.
“That means that Glenisk is the brand which makes the biggest leap up the rankings in 2024.”
Crisp brand O’Donnells rose seven places to 42nd, while sausage-maker Clonakilty was up six places to 57th.
Meanwhile some classic products showed a resurgance in popularity during the year.
Ferrero Rocher jumped 13 places to return to the top 100, at 90th.
Snack brand Hula Hoops – which first launched here in 1973 – rose 22 places to take 96th spot.
“Ireland’s grocery market is a beacon of excellence where trusted brands consistently deliver quality and innovation, delighting consumers year after year,” said Maev Martin, editor of Checkout.
“While the retail landscape is still challenging, inflation has been decelerating this year, leading to greater stability and, in many instances, accelerated growth for grocery retail brands,” she added.
She said that as always, it is encouraging to see so many Irish brands among the biggest movers on the Checkout Top 100 Brands list for 2024.
“This year, it is particularly pleasing to see Irish yogurt brand Glenisk rocket up the rankings by no fewer than 32 places, from number 92 in 2023 to number 60. This means that Glenisk is the brand that makes the biggest leap up the rankings in 2024,” she noted.
She said the September 2021 fire at its plant in Killeigh in Co Offaly, halted production for four months and put the brand at a massive disadvantage in the market. Its year-on-year climb back up the rankings ever since, and its gargantuan achievement this year, is a testament to the consistent quality of the Glenisk product and to the esteem in which the brand is held by Irish shoppers,” she added.