Brand Leaders

Staying ahead of the game.

by Pamela Accetta Smith

What’s in a name? According to marketing experts, everything.

It is very important for a company to convey a consistent and accurate understanding of what its brand name represents.

And just how critical is a brand name to a successful business? Just ask the Nestlés, Deans, Krafts, Breyers or Yoplaits of the world. Through the use of consistent long-term branding strategies, these names have come to represent a very specific product image. Experts say a brand name, if created successfully, defines a company’s culture and products, and often provides a mental link for the consumer who associates brand attributes with aspects of the company itself.

TOP 10 natural shredded cheese brands*
	$ Sales(In Millions)	% Changevs. Year Ago	$ share	Unit Sales(In Millions)	% Changevs. Year Ago	unit share
Total Category	$1,973.7	9.4%	100.0	792.9	2.0%	100.0
Private Label	839.0	6.5	42.5	349.7	-2.0	44.1
Kraft	553.0	18.0	28.0	221.3	11.2	27.9
Sargento	224.0	1.2	11.4	85.0	-5.8	10.7
Crystal Farms	78.9	18.6	4.0	30.5	14.5	3.9
Borden	64.3	12.1	3.3	31.2	2.0	3.9
Kraft Classic Melts	32.3	-3.3	1.6	13.4	-7.0	1.7
Kraft Free	30.5	12.8	1.6	11.1	8.5	1.4
DiGiorno	23.9	-8.9	1.2	7.0	-11.1	0.9
Sorrento	15.0	-11.4	0.8	6.3	-5.0	0.8
Stella	12.3	2.7	0.6	3.9	-2.3	0.5
*Total sales of all forms of natural shredded cheese brands in supermarkets, drug stores and mass merchandisers (excluding Wal-Mart) in the 52-week period ending December 26, 2004. Source: Information Resources Inc.

Many of the top brands listed in each dairy category have held leadership positions for many years, but for those challenging the top spots, reaching the top doesn’t come easy. Sometimes a line extension with an innovative benefit such as packaging or healthful initiative is enough to overthrow the leaders, or at least move up in the ranks.

Regardless of where a brand ranks among its competitors, maintaining market share can be difficult, and gaining market share even more so. But a little strategic thinking can go a long way toward building a successful brand.

According to marketing solutions Web site ycommunicate.com, once a brand identity has been developed, regardless of how or what it represents at the time of its creation, two basic elements can affect the perceived meaning of a name or emotional attachment to a name: advertising and unforeseen acts.

Leading Brands by Category
Flavored Milk/Eggnog/Buttermilk	Nestlé Nesquik
Natural Cheese	Kraft
Natural Shredded Cheese	Kraft
Ice Cream	Breyers
Frozen Novelties	Nestlé Drumstick
Pudding/Mousse/Gelatin/Parfaits	Jell-O
Yogurt/Yogurt Drinks	Yoplait
Butter	Land O’Lakes
Cottage Cheese	Breakstone
Sour Cream	Breakstone
Dip	T. Marzetti

Each of these can affect a company, both negatively and positively. Also, mass-media advertising builds a specific profile for a company through a consistently conveyed message about its product. It can often create top-of-mind awareness and long-term brand identity, or a call to action on a specific initiative. By its very nature, a brand identity’s effectiveness is rooted in its longevity.

But, of course, the product has to be good — darn good.

What follows is a comprehensive look at the dairy case — where does your brand rank?

TOP 10 natural cheese brands*
	$ Sales(In Millions)	% Changevs. Year Ago	$ share	Unit Sales(In Millions)	% Changevs. Year Ago	unit share
Total Category	$5,815.0	11.5%	100.0	2,154.5	3.6	100.0
Private Label	2,097.6	7.1	36.1	868.3	-2.4	40.3
Kraft	1,308.1	15.1	22.5	511.0	10.4	23.7
Sargento	390.6	13.0	6.7	143.5	4.1	6.7
Tillamook	194.9	12.1	3.4	43.8	5.5	2.0
Crystal Farms	133.3	20.3	2.3	60.1	17.1	2.8
Sorrento	105.2	18.5	1.8	32.6	14.7	1.5
Precious	103.5	19.0	1.8	31.5	30.1	1.5
Frigo	100.4	8.5	1.7	31.0	-4.2	1.4
Polly-O	92.7	14.5	1.6	26.4	9.4	1.2
Borden	83.3	17.5	1.4	41.2	6.0	1.9
*Total sales of all forms of natural cheese in supermarkets, drug stores and mass merchandisers (excluding Wal-Mart) in the 52-week period ending December 26, 2004. Source: Information Resources Inc.

TOP 10 cottage cheese brands*
	$ Sales(In Millions)	% Changevs. Year Ago	$ share	Unit Sales(In Millions)	% Changevs. Year Ago	unit share
Total Category	$867.0	0.9%	100.0	414.8	-0.0%	100.0
Private Label	310.3	-0.4	35.8	159.5	-0.4	38.5
Breakstone	83.4	7.0	9.6	32.2	6.3	7.8
Knudsen	75.7	-1.2	8.7	28.4	-3.8	6.9
Friendship	27.2	1.9	3.1	13.2	1.9	3.2
BreakstoneCottage Doubles	27.2	5.0	3.1	24.7	7.8	6.0
Dean’s	26.8	1.3	3.1	12.2	-2.3	2.9
Hood	22.6	26.1	2.6	10.5	18.8	2.5
Light N Lively	18.5	-3.3	2.1	7.2	-4.4	1.7
Prairie Farms	18.4	3.3	2.1	8.9	3.0	2.1
Hiland	14.5	-20.4	1.7	7.4	-21.1	1.8
*Total sales of all forms of cottage cheese brands in supermarkets, drug stores and mass merchandisers (excluding Wal-Mart) in the 52-week period ending December 26, 2004. Source: Information Resources Inc.

TOP 10 frozen novelties brands*
	$ Sales(In Millions)	% Changevs. Year Ago	$ share	Unit Sales(In Millions)	% Changevs. Year Ago	unit share
Total Category	$2,233.2	1.1%	100.0	763.5	-0.9%	100.0
Private Label	329.6	1.1	14.8	140.9	1.0	18.5
Nestlé Drumstick	128.3	12.1	5.7	38.0	19.0	5.0
Klondike	122.6	-7.0	5.5	41.1	-10.1	5.4
Weight WatchersSmart Ones	99.4	-2.8	4.5	23.2	-6.1	3.0
Dreyer’s/Edy’sWhole Fruit	91.6	7.5	4.1	30.8	4.5	4.0
Silhouette	89.9	-28.9	4.0	19.7	-30.1	2.6
Popsicle	88.7	-3.7	4.0	33.7	-3.1	4.4
Klondike Carb Smart	66.0	1,248.2	3.0	17.7	1,286.3	2.3
Häagen-Dazs	55.5	16.1	2.5	18.5	20.5	2.4
Klondike Slim-A-Bear	50.1	7.0	2.3	15.1	5.4	2.0
*Total sales of all forms of frozen novelties brands in supermarkets, drug stores and mass merchandisers (excluding Wal-Mart) in the 52-week period ending December 26, 2004. Source: Information Resources Inc.

TOP 10 Flavored Milk/Eggnog/Buttermilk brands*
	$ Sales(In Millions)	% Changevs. Year Ago	$ share	Unit Sales(In Millions)	% Changevs. Year Ago	unit share
Total Category	$719.8	-0.5%	100.0	396.7	-7.4%	100.0
Private Label	199.9	3.8	27.8	110.7	-1.8	27.9
Nestlé Nesquik	102.9	-8.3	14.3	60.0	-8.8	15.1
Dean’s	29.6	-10.8	4.1	17.2	-18.0	4.3
Kemps	26.0	43.8	3.6	11.4	11.0	2.9
Hershey’s-Morningstar	18.4	-22.0	2.6	9.7	-34.3	2.4
Mayfield	12.8	4.2	1.8	6.1	-8.5	1.6
Borden	11.6	-12.3	1.6	5.4	-19.2	1.4
Prairie Farms	11.4	7.9	1.6	6.6	3.1	1.7
Garelick Farms	11.3	3.4	1.6	5.9	-2.4	1.5
Hood	10.5	10.9	1.5	4.0	6.7	1.0
*Total sales of all forms of flavored mik, eggnog and buttermilk brands in supermarkets, drug stores and mass merchandisers (excluding Wal-Mart) in the 52-week period ending December 26, 2004. Source: Information Resources Inc.

TOP 10 dips brands*
	$ Sales(In Millions)	% Changevs. Year Ago	$ share	Unit Sales(In Millions)	% Changevs. Year Ago	unit share
Total Category	$394.8	2.0%	100.0	190.5	-3.3%	100.0
T.Marzetti	75.9	4.4	19.2	25.4	2.9	13.3
Dean’s	48.5	3.5	12.3	28.1	1.3	14.8
Heluva Good	29.0	7.5	7.3	15.4	-0.8	8.1
Kraft	28.5	-11.9	7.2	17.6	-12.2	9.2
Classic Guacamole	16.9	-8.8	4.3	4.4	-11.2	2.3
Litehouse	8.0	141.7	2.0	2.9	126.4	1.5
Marie’s	7.2	-32.0	1.8	2.3	-35.7	1.2
Salads of the Sea	4.6	161.1	1.2	1.4	157.1	0.8
Bison	4.5	-6.8	1.1	2.8	-4.6	1.5
Yoders	4.0	2.1	1.0	2.6	-0.6	1.4
*Total sales of all forms of dip brands in supermarkets, drug stores and mass merchandisers (excluding Wal-Mart) in the 52-week period ending December 26, 2004. Source: Information Resources Inc.

TOP 10 Ice Cream/Sherbet brands*
	$ Sales(In Millions)	% Changevs. Year Ago	$ share	Unit Sales(In Millions)	% Changevs. Year Ago	unit share
Total Category	$4,375.4	1.0%	100.0	1,349.5	-1.7%	100.0
Private Label	835.4	-2.8	19.1	290.9	-8.4	21.6
Breyers	529.1	-2.9	12.1	152.6	-2.8	11.3
Dreyer’s/Edy’s Grand	422.2	10.4	9.7	125.5	14.3	9.3
Blue Bell	246.3	3.8	5.6	75.8	2.3	5.6
Häagen-Dazs	211.5	14.3	4.8	63.6	16.7	4.7
Ben & Jerry’s	179.7	-3.6	4.1	57.1	-5.1	4.2
Dreyer’s/Edy’sGrand Light	129.7	55.5	3.0	36.0	61.3	2.7
Wells’ Blue Bunny	103.4	-2.6	2.4	28.1	-1.6	2.1
Turkey Hill	93.6	9.4	2.1	32.9	11.4	2.4
Dreyer’s/Edy’s	78.3	7.3	1.8	21.3	9.6	1.6
*Total sales of all forms of ice cream and sherbet brands in supermarkets, drug stores and mass merchandisers (excluding Wal-Mart) in the 52-week period ending December 26, 2004. Source: Information Resources Inc.

Top Pudding/Mousse/Gelatin/Parfait Brands*
	$ Sales(In Millions)	% Changevs. Year Ago	$ share	Unit Sales(In Millions)	% Changevs. Year Ago	unit share
Total Category	$570.4	-0.1%	100.0	260.5	-4.8%	100.0
Jell-O	145.1	5.4	25.4	52.0	2.0	20.0
Jell-O Gelatin Snacks	86.2	11.1	15.1	30.4	8.0	11.7
Kozy Shack	83.3	10.5	14.6	34.4	4.6	13.2
Jell-O Free	56.3	-3.9	9.9	19.8	-6.8	7.6
Swiss Miss	48.2	8.2	8.5	18.9	8.4	7.3
Private Label	34.6	0.1	6.1	18.2	5.7	7.0
Jell-O Smoothie	22.8	59.4	4.0	7.9	54.6	3.1
Jell-O Extreme	15.0	-22.9	2.6	5.4	-25.1	2.1
Jell-O Crème Savers	11.1	-54.3	2.0	3.9	-55.7	1.5
Señor Rico	9.3	1.4	1.6	29.0	-4.5	11.1
*Total sales of all forms of pudding, mousse, gelatin and parfait brands in supermarkets, drug stores and mass merchandisers (excluding Wal-Mart) in the 52-week period ending December 26, 2004. Source: Information Resources Inc.

TOP 10 Yogurt/Yogurt Drink brands*
	$ Sales(In Millions)	% Changevs. Year Ago	$ share	Unit Sales(In Millions)	% Changevs. Year Ago	unit share
Total Category	$2,799.7	6.7%	100.0	3,180.4	3.2%	100.0
Private Label	330.8	-0.7	11.8	585.1	1.7	18.4
Yoplait	283.5	-0.8	10.1	438.5	1.6	13.8
Yoplait Light	174.5	12.6	6.2	275.5	18.6	8.7
Dannon Light ‘n’ Fit	164.2	6.5	5.9	208.5	5.4	6.6
Yoplait Go-Gurt	129.4	5.3	4.6	49.0	5.7	1.5
Dannon Danimals	94.6	2.5	3.4	38.4	-8.3	1.2
Yoplait Trix	91.5	-1.6	3.3	36.4	-1.4	1.1
Yoplait Whips	86.0	1.7	3.1	137.7	6.7	4.3
Stonyfield Farm	83.7	13.3	3.0	65.5	14.6	2.1
Dannon Fruiton the Bottom	78.0	0.6	2.8	128.8	2.1	4.1
*Total sales of all forms of yogurt and yogurt drink brands in supermarkets, drug stores and mass merchandisers (excluding Wal-Mart) in the 52-week period ending December 26, 2004. Source: Information Resources Inc.

Top Butter Brands*
	$ Sales(In Millions)	% Changevs. Year Ago	$ share	Unit Sales(In Millions)	% Changevs. Year Ago	unit share
Total Category	$1,277.8	18.4%	100.0	441.7	-9.3%	100.0
Private Label	581.0	20.1	45.5	220.6	-11.2	49.9
Land O’Lakes	379.5	14.7	29.7	115.1	-8.8	26.1
Challenge	63.4	19.7	5.0	18.7	3.5	4.2
Breakstone	32.3	23.6	2.5	13.4	0.6	3.0
Tillamook	29.1	33.1	2.3	9.1	6.3	2.1
Crystal Farms	23.9	25.9	1.9	9.1	-8.0	2.1
Kellers	19.6	9.1	1.5	6.8	-20.8	1.6
Hotel Bar	16.2	0.2	1.3	5.8	-25.7	1.3
Cabot	15.1	19.0	1.2	4.5	-8.8	1.0
Darigold	9.8	4.1	0.8	3.4	-22.8	0.8
*Total sales of all forms of butter brands in supermarkets, drug stores and mass merchandisers (excluding Wal-Mart) in the 52-week period ending December 26, 2004. Source: Information Resources Inc.

TOP 10 sour cream brands*
	$ Sales(In Millions)	% Changevs. Year Ago	$ share	Unit Sales(In Millions)	% Changevs. Year Ago	unit share
Total Category	$673.2	3.7%	100.0	438.9	-1.5%	100.0
Private Label	196.0	3.0	29.1	149.2	-1.6	34.0
Breakstone	102.7	1.5	15.3	69.1	-1.8	15.7
Daisy	80.7	23.5	12.0	45.6	16.4	10.4
Knudsen Hampshire	50.3	-4.1	7.5	22.1	-6.9	5.0
Daisy Light	31.2	17.2	4.6	17.7	10.4	4.0
Friendship	13.4	8.0	2.0	11.2	-0.7	2.6
Knudsen	10.5	-4.1	1.6	5.1	-8.1	1.2
Dean’s	9.6	-4.8	1.4	6.6	-12.8	1.5
Cacique	9.4	-3.5	1.4	2.7	-8.2	0.6
Tillamook	9.1	3.4	1.4	5.4	2.2	1.2
*Total sales of all forms of sour cream brands in supermarkets, drug stores and mass merchandisers (excluding Wal-Mart) in the 52-week period ending December 26, 2004. Source: Information Resources Inc.