Truly dominant brands in FMCG exist, but rare
Identifying the category leader in 79 categories across 16 countries reveals vast differences regarding brand preference. In only 16 categories we find the same brand being the leader in volume sales in at least half of these markets. Some examples of such brand leaders are Coca Cola, Nutella or Kleenex. In terms of baskets, 7 of these categories are personal care categories, and only 4 are foods categories. The local appeal of food also shows when searching for categories that boast different #1 brands in every country: All three such categories are food categories. For example, beer brands (albeit not the brand owners) are still often local heroes.