Vogel's voted best thing since sliced bread

Vogel's is the nation's favourite loaf, a survey has found.

The bread brand of food company Goodman Fielder won the packaged bread category of researcher ACNielsen's inaugural Consumers' Choice Survey.

It measured the "brand equity" or consumer perception of New Zealand's top selling supermarket brands within 19 categories.

Although Vogel's was the second largest brand in value share and the third largest in volume share, it ranked first in the minds of the 1000 shoppers surveyed late in February.

Quality Baker's Nature's Fresh ranked second , and Molenberg took third place.

ACNielsen associate director Julie MacKenzie said it illustrated the largest brands in a category were not necessarily the brands with the highest brand equity. Vogel's equity was underpinned by a great product, a unique brand, and strong, consistent support and innovation, she said.

"These factors put Vogel's in a league of its own, allowing it to command a price premium over other loaf bread and a premium over Burgen, a similar type of bread."

Vogel's was also less promotionally driven than other breads, indicating people bought it whether or not it was on promotion, she said.

Overall, Watties achieved the highest equity score of all brands surveyed.

Within the frozen vegetable category it also had the highest value and volume share.

Instant coffee brand Nescafe outperformed even fresh coffee brands in equity terms. Although Pam's dominated in value and unit share figures in the fresh milk and cream category, the study showed Anchor and Meadow Fresh were the preferred brands. 
 
Consumers' choice survey

Category winners:

* Wine
Jacob's Creek, Montana, Villa Maria


* Bread
Vogel's


* Fresh milk & cream
Meadow Fresh, Anchor


* Beer
Speights, Monteith's


* Biscuits
Tim Tam, Toffee Pops


* Sugar confectionery
Pineapple Lumps


* Cheeses
Mainland


* Cat foods
Whiskas


* Carbonated drinks
Coca-Cola


* Snack foods
Bluebird Potato Chips


* Prepacked bacon/chicken
Kiwi


* Breakfast cereals
Sanitarium Weet-Bix


* Butter and margarine
Meadow Lea, Olivani


* Toilet Tissues
Purex


* Fruit juice and drinks
Just Juice


* Yoghurt and dairy foods
Fresh'n Fruity


* Frozen vegetables
Watties


* Coffee
Nescafe


* Cooking sauces
Watties, Dolmio


Source: ACNielsen