Find out Northern Ireland’s Top 100 grocery brands
More than just a list of successful brands, the brand footprint ranking is a comprehensive overview of global and local consumer behaviour. It highlights the brands that truly excel at the point of purchase – the critical decision point where the consumer opts for one brand over another.
In a landscape marked by fluctuating economic conditions and shifting consumer priorities, the resilience and efforts of certain brands have shone through, driving their growth and securing their place in the hearts and baskets of Northern Irish shoppers.
The recently released 2025 Ireland Brand Footprint report by Worldpanel by Numerator sheds light on the brands that have not only endured but thrived in challenging times.
In this exclusive supplement, Neighbourhoud Retailer publishes Northern Ireland’s Top 100 Grocery Brands, in association with Worldpanel by Numerator, providing valuable insight into NI’s most popular brands in take-home grocery.
In Northern Ireland over the 52 weeks to 15th June 2025, branded sales grew at 1.8% with shoppers spending an additional £42.5 million on branded goods. Over the course of the last two years, shoppers have been looking for ways to mitigate rising costs and manage household budgets and as a result many have turned to Private Label (PL) offerings.
PL is performing slightly behind brands at 1.7%, however it is worth noting that in Northern Ireland, brands still hold the highest value share at 54.9%.
Business Development Director at Worldpanel by Numerator, Emer Healy said it is clear that specifically Irish and British brands are important to Northern Ireland consumers, something strongly reflected in the rankings.
“Within the top five, four Irish and British brands hold position – Hovis, Cookstown, Kingsmill and Denny again showing how important heritage brands are for consumers,” said Emer.
“This reflects strong shopper loyalty despite the rise of own-label alternatives. This suggests that heritage, familiarity and perceived quality still play a major role in consumer choice.”
There has been a notable shift within the landscape with rising costs and high inflation rates impacting on how consumers are trying to manage their households budgets, with the latest data revealing that the latest inflation to 15th June 2025 is 2.79%, inflation in NI continues to fall, versus last year it has continued to fall gradually.
“However, versus last year there has been a step change as 56% of brands managed to grow their CRP within the year versus 20% last year,” added Emer.
“In terms of attracting new shoppers, 41% of brands managed to attract new shoppers into their brand offerings, which is up on 39% last year.
“Out of the top 100, Keeling’s managed to see the strongest penetration growth, now holding 37.5% penetration which is up 18ppts versus last year, showing how strong the brand’s activation has been across the year and how shoppers in Northern Ireland are looking for the best quality in the market.
“This has been reflected in the top 100 brands as only 20% of brands have managed to grow their CRP within the year. In terms of attracting new shoppers, only 39% of brands managed to attract new shoppers into their brand offerings.”
There have been some interesting movements within the 2025 top 100, significantly a jump of 41 places sees Keeling’s now hold 43rd place. With the strongest CRP growth amongst the top 100, Keeling’s influx of new shoppers has resulted in a rise of +70.2%.
Pringles also saw CRP growth of 56.6%, jumping 14 places in the rankings to hold 21st place. Their growth is driven by not only welcoming new shoppers into the brands offerings but also a boost in frequency.
Oykos jumped a staggering 62 places and entered the top 100 for the first time holding 99th position. Their growth is driven by not only welcoming new shoppers into the brands offerings but also a boost in frequency.
Meanwhile, there were contrasting results for some brands, with Skinny Bars falling 28 places in the rankings and seeing their CRP growth decline by 22.3%; notably Lucozade fell 15 places in the rankings and saw their CRP growth decline by 20%; while Aero fell 19 places in the rankings and saw their CRP growth decline by 18.7%.
Stand-out performers in this year’s BFP are Tayto and Pringles, who likely benefited from strong, engaging campaigns. Their growth in CRP, frequency, and spend suggests effective brand activation and promotional strategies.
“In this year’s Worldpanel by Numerator Brand Footprint for Northern Ireland, a clear shift in consumer behaviour has emerged as the cost-of-living crisis continues to shape shopping habits,” said Emer.
“Many brands have experienced a notable decline in both frequency and penetration, indicating that shoppers are visiting stores less often and purchasing fewer brands overall.
“Instead, consumers are consolidating their shopping trips and opting to buy in larger quantities, favouring brands that offer multipack deals or strong value propositions. This trend reflects a more deliberate and budget-conscious approach to grocery shopping, where efficiency and perceived value are driving brand choice more than ever.”
