Banking and beer: South Africa’s top brands navigate economic challenges

The list, published today in South Africa’s Most Valuable Brands magazine, puts South Africa’s most valuable brands at a combined value of $29.7 billion. Kantar BrandZ 2024 Most Valuable South African Brands ReportBanking, telecom and alcohol brands have dominated the market due to their ability to deliver key growth drivers amid challenging economic conditions.

First National Bank The number one brand in South Africa, valued at over $3.1 billion, the bank has grown both its retail and private banking customer bases; with new pricing structures and continued innovation, customers can conveniently access its services through its award-winning digital banking channels and mobile app, and trust that the bank is acting in their best interests.

Following closely is Standard Bankwith its brand value increasing by 2%. Telecommunications providers continue to dominate; this year Vodacom ($2.46 billion) rose one spot to third place, Mobile Network ($2.39 billion) ranks fourth. Vodacom has benefited from acquisitions, network expansion and a focus on improving customer experience. The result is a customer ecosystem that offers products such as telecommunications, fixed connectivity, financial and insurance services.

South African brands are once again struggling financially, with the overall value of the top 30 brands falling by 6%. High inflation and rising interest rates have led to reduced consumer spending, while a power crisis that has caused blackouts has limited the time companies have to operate and achieve growth. The volatility of the South African rand is another contributing factor. Between 2018 and 2024, the rand has depreciated by around 35%, while the value of the top 30 South African brands has held up much better.

However, against this backdrop, 40% of the brands in the ranking have increased in value, with financial services and alcohol brands being particularly strong. Alcohol brand Castle (No. 5; $1.99 billion) has consistently ranked in the top 30 and this year entered the top 5, the same ranking as last year.

Kantar BrandZ Top 30 Most Valuable South African Brands 2024

Ranking 2024	brand	Valuation Category	Brand value in 2024 (US$ million)
1	First National Bank	Financial Services	3,069
2	Standard Bank	Financial Services	3,066
3	Vodacom	Telecommunications Providers	2,459
4	Mobile Network	Telecommunications Providers	2,391
5	castle	Alcohol	1,994
6	Nando’s	fast food	1,815
7	Absa	Financial Services	1,295
8	Capitek Bank	Financial Services	1,277
9	Discover	Financial Services	1,064
10	Investment Company	Financial Services	926
11	Woolworth	retail	919
12	television	Media and Entertainment	893
Thirteen	Shoprite	retail	876
14	Nedbank	Financial Services	757
15	Sanglam	Financial Services	697
16	flying fish	Alcohol	618
17	checkers	retail	580
18	Savannah	Alcohol	547
19	Old Mutual Insurance Company	Financial Services	486
20	Cruel Fruit	Alcohol	480
twenty one	Number of clicks	retail	471
twenty two	Sasol	vitality	379
twenty three	Select and pay	retail	370
twenty four	free	Financial Services	362
XXV	Mr. Price	retail	360
XXVI	Export Insurance	Financial Services	343
XXVII	Takarot	retail	331
XXVIII	Hunter’s	Alcohol	313
XXIX	Life and Health	Hospital	312
thirty	Cell C	Telecommunications Providers	298

Download the full report www.kantar.com/campaigns/brandz/south-africa

Banking and Wealth Management Group Investment Company (No. 10; $926 million) was the fastest growing brand, up 33%, driven by strong leadership, increased UK equity and the ability to deliver a consistent brand experience. Export Insurance (No. 26; $343 million) grew 26% in brand value by focusing on delivering great value and a diverse range of services to its customers. Third fastest growing insurance, investment and financial planning provider Sanglam (No. 15; market cap $697 million) also increased the size of its offering, up 21%.

Ivan Moroke, CEO, Kantar Insights South AfricaComment:

Across all business sectors, South African brands are continuing to rise above the current challenging market conditions. A large number of these brands are taking actions and initiatives to meet customer needs that demonstrate they are meaningful and relevant to the lives of today’s consumers. These strong, forward-thinking brands are proving they can identify what is needed for growth and implement plans to achieve it.

Beyond Beer

cider giant Savannah (No. 18; $547 million) Hunter’s (ranked 28th; $313 million) both entered the top 30 for the first time thanks to their parent company’s acquisition by Heineken and strong brand equity.

Fruit beer, flying fish (No. 16; $618 million) grew 12%, becoming the fifth fastest-growing South African brand.

When it comes to the success of alcohol brands, while both flavored alcoholic beverages (FAB) or ready-to-drink (RTD) and beer consumption are declining, FAB and RTD are showing greater resilience. Cruel Fruit Growth of 15% to a brand value of $480 million puts it in fourth place, moving up five spots to 20th. Its innovations include new flavors like Litchi Séche, a pop-up bar for women called SheBeen, and augmented reality experiences to deliver immersive visual information.

Successful brands are distinctively different

These success stories show that strong brands are resilient. Not only can they weather tough financial conditions, but they can also grow if they can make a meaningful difference for more people. 60% of the brands on the list make a meaningful difference, with experience and exposure being the main factors. Overall, South African brands are ahead of brands in Canada, Europe and Latin America in terms of meaningful difference.

Retail and drugstore chains Number of clickswhich rose one spot to No. 21 with a brand value of $471 million, won by providing a consistent shopping experience for customers no matter where they are. Capitek Bank (No. 8; $1.28 billion) continues to invest heavily in its online and offline businesses to make customers’ lives easier and is another brand that scores highly in “meaningful difference.” Financial services brands focused on health Discover (No. 9; $1.06 billion) and First National Bank (FNB) are also strong contenders.

Build a strong brand

Kantar’s new Brand Growth Blueprint Designed to help businesses build profitable, powerful and sustainable brands, it recognises that a meaningful difference for more people is a key driver of growth. The evidence-based decision framework combines input from Kantar experts, industry leaders and advanced analytics using Kantar’s unique BrandZ and Worldpanel data assets. Using this insight, marketers can gain greater control over the factors that shape the future of their brand and ensure they are consistently building the necessary growth accelerators.

Other key highlights from the Kantar BrandZ Most Valuable South African Brands report include:

Financial services play an important role: Financial services make up 45% of the value of South Africa’s top 30 brands, with both banking (35%) and insurance (10%) seeing growth.

Sustainability is key: 68% of South African consumers are willing to invest their time and money in brands that strive to do good. Sustainability continues to be a growing driver of demand and brand value, but few brands are fully activating opportunities in this area. Among the top performing brands, Vodacom champions “saving the planet” through its renewable energy initiatives, Savanna campaigns around climate change with its unique style, and Woolworth (No. 11; $919 million) continues to make progress in its good business journey.

Beyond Borders: South African brands continue to make their mark on the international stage. Fast food chains Nando’s Ranked sixth with a brand value of US$1.8 billion, it tops the list globally; Brutal Fruit Cider was launched in the UK in May this year.

Brand love is crucial: Despite limited household budgets, people are willing to pay more for their favorite brands. Kantar’s Mzansi Consumer Barometer Data shows that nearly a quarter of consumers belong to this group. This makes brands such as Clicks checkers (17th, $580 million) and Woolworths continued to justify their prices, even though consumers perceived them to be higher than last year.

Special Award

Clicks was awarded the Kantar BrandZ Most Meaningful Differentiation Brand Award 2024; Savanna was recognised for the Most Memorable Advertising; Capitec Bank was deemed best at capturing market share; OUTsurance was awarded the Great Value Award, while Vodacom was the top brand for finding new space to operate.

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

To quickly understand how a brand is performing compared to competitors in a specific category, Kantar’s free interactive tool BrandSnapshot (powered by BrandZ) provides intelligence on 14,000 brands. Learn more here.

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About Kantar BrandZ: Kantar BrandZ is the global currency for brand value, quantifying the contribution of brands to corporate financial performance. Kantar’s annual global and local brand valuation rankings combine rigorously analyzed financial data with extensive brand equity research. Since 1998, BrandZ has shared brand-building insights with business leaders based on interviews with 4.3 million consumers across 21,000 brands in 54 markets. Learn more about Kantar BrandZ here.

The Kantar BrandZ Top 30 Most Valuable South African Brands 2024 report contains the most authoritative and comprehensive brand ranking in the region. The ranking is based on the opinions of more than 45,000 respondents on 858 brands across 56 categories. To be included in the ranking, brands must meet the following eligibility criteria:

• The brand must have originated in South Africa
• The brand must be owned by a public company
• Private label brands must have complete financial statements and make them available to the public

About Kantar: Kantar is the world’s leading marketing data and analytics company and an indispensable brand partner to the world’s top companies. We combine the most meaningful attitudinal and behavioral data with deep expertise and advanced analytics to reveal how people think and behave. We help clients understand what happened and why, and how to develop marketing strategies that shape their future.

For more information about Kantar BrandZ, please contact:

Stina van Rooyen
Head of Brand, South Africa, Kantar Insights
moc.ratnak@neyoornav.anitS

Ilse Dinner, Marketing and Communications Director, Middle East and Africa, Kantar Insights
moc.ratnak@rennid.esli