Schwepps, Nescafe and Terra win highly-sought places on Africa and Middle Eastern consumers' shelves

Schwepps, Nescafe and Terra are among the food and drinks brands now penetrating the highly sought-after African and Middle Eastern markets, according to Kantar, as global names strive for a foothold in the region.

The growing global population means that market penetration is harder to achieve for all brands, the London-based analysis and consultancy said in its latest report.

The number of households has grown by more than 180 million (+17%) between 2012 and 2021, meaning to achieve a 1% penetration today takes 1.8 million more households than a decade ago, Kantar's global thought leadership director of the Worldpanel division, Benjamin Cawthray, said in a related presentation.

Cawthray also highlighted the fact that most households – worldwide – have a roster of 55 brands which they purchase each year, on average.

These 55 brands change each year, he said, adding that: "The challenge for brand owners still remains how to enter a shopper's portfolio, and then ideally, stay there."

Together, these trends are pushing brands to look for new shoppers in a bid to maintain and increase their penetration, including in regions such as Africa and the Middle East, according to Kantar.

Brands are now battling "hard" to be chosen in African and Middle Eastern households, it said.

Schwepps grows in Egypt thanks to celebrity promotion & increased store presence

Food brands winning new consumers in the Africa and Middle East region include Schwepps in Egypt.

The drinks-maker moved up 11 places in the sales rankings to become one of the top 20 most chosen brands, Lobna Nashed, commercial director, Egypt, Worldpanel division at Kantar said during the presentation.

The company has grown consistently from 2019 to date in terms of penetration, most recently jumping 4.4 penetration points, she said, adding that the company also placed the product in more locations and used "impactful celebrities" in advertising to make the brand more appealing.

Nashed added that increasing brand presence – particularly in stores – has become more vital in Egypt since the pandemic, after which consumers are shopping less often for larger hauls.

Schwepps' growth, however, bucks the trend for Egypt overall, where the number of brands with declining consumer reach points (CRPs) is increasing as a result of this new consumer habit to limit purchase frequency.

"Potato chip brand Chipsy is the country’s most chosen brand, bought by more than 97% of the population, but its CRPs have dropped by 6% in the last year," Kantar said.

Success stories: Nescafe in Saudi Arabia & Terra in Nigeria

Meanwhile in Saudi Arabia, although fewer brands grew their CRPs in 2021 compared to 2020, "there are more brands enjoying growth than suffering a decline" overall (39%), said Kantar.

One such growth story came for Nescafe, which entered the top 25 for the first time, gaining five positions and increasing its CRPs by 9% - a fact Kantar attributes to "product innovation that enabled it to capture emerging trends and new occasions".

"Brands [in Saudi Arabia] appear to have moved away from the tried and tested method of deepening penetration as the main growth lever; the results suggest they may need to re-examine their strategies," the analyst said.

Another big growth story in the region can be seen for seasoning brand Terra, Nigeria's "bigger winner in penetration," according to Kantar. The brand almost doubled its shoppers with 92% growth from 2020 to 2021, propelling it 56 places higher in the ranking of the country's most chosen brand.

For Nigeria, beside population growth, another key factor which could have a big impact on consumer habits in the near future is inflation, Idriss El Ganari, general manager for Kantar Worldpanel division, Africa and Middle East added.

The fast-moving consumer good (FMCG) brand categories which are set to be most impacted by inflation – since they are already "expensive" – include a host of foods. After the top most affected FMCG product, powder milk is set to be second most affected, chocolate spreads fourth, barres cheese sixth, cereals seventh, cheese spreads eighth and coffee ninth, he said.