Britain’s best-known brands

15 July, 2010

Peach Factory research has revealed the nation’s most memorable eating and drinking out businesses. Our unique BrandTrack survey asked consumers to name, spontaneously and unprompted, all the pub, restaurant, fast food, café and sandwich stores as they could remember. Yes, McDonald’s was top of the list, but who else made the top 20? Did Nando’s, PizzaExpress and Wetherspoons make the cut? See for yourself.

The UK’s best known brands in eating and drinking-out
(in ranking order)
1.   McDonalds
2.   KFC
3.   Burger King
4.   Pizza Hut
5.   Wetherspoons
6.   Harvester
7.   Pizza Express
8.   Subway
9.   Beefeater
10.   Nando’s
11.   Toby
12.   Starbucks
13.   Frankie & Benny’s
14.   Costa
15.   Brewer’s Fayre
16.   Wimpy
17.   Cafe Rouge
18.   Greggs
19.   ASK
20.   Little Chef
Source: Peach BrandTrack, 2010 (% recalling spontaneously and unprompted)

And what about regional variations and differences between younger and older consumers? London, they say, is it’s own market and brands such as PizzaExpress, Nando’s, Starbucks, Café Rouge and ASK have much higher profiles in the capital – and others such as Pret a Manger, Caffe Nero, Zizzi and TGI Fridays come into the reckoning. See www.peach-report.com/BrandTrack

London’s best known brands in eating and drinking-out
(in ranking order)
1.   McDonalds
2.   KFC
3.   Burger King
4.   Pizza Hut
5.   Pizza Express
6.   Wetherspoons
7.   Harvester
8.   Nando’s
9.   Subway
10.   Starbucks
11.   Beefeater
12.   Cafe Rouge
13.   Pret
14.   ASK
15.   Zizzi
16.   Wimpy
17.   Costa
18.   Caffe Nero
19.   TGI Fridays
20.   Wagamama
Source: Peach BrandTrack, 2010 (% recalling spontaneously and unprompted)

The age factor is an interesting one too. For the under 25s brands such as Greggs, the high street sandwich standby, and Bella Italia come into the picture. TGI Fridays is stored in the memory, perhaps because of all those children’s birthday treats, but recognition the business can work on. Domino’s too makes it into the list, despite the fact that it doesn’t do restaurants – angain testimony to the strength of the delivery brand among the young.

For the over 55s, pub restaurants like Beefeater, Toby and Brewers Fayre move up the list – although Harvester remains top pub restaurant brand across the board. Costa does well too among the older generation, and interestingly Marks & Spencer’s café only just misses out on the top 20! There is also a nostalgia for Wimpy and Little Chef.

The listings shows, however, the power of the country’s five “mega-brands” – McDonald’s, KFC, Burger King, Pizza Hut and Wetherspoons. They dominate all the lists, with Harvester and PizzaExpress bubbling under.

But the hot contender to watch is probably Nando’s. It won’t be too unhappy it failed to make the over 55s list – it’s still 10th most recalled brand overall, 8th in London and 7th among the under 25s. It’s future is definitely in front of it.

Best known brands in eating and drinking-out among the under 25s
(in ranking order)
1.   McDonalds
2.   KFC
3.   Burger King
4.   Pizza Hut
5.   Wetherspoons
6.   Subway
7.   Nando’s
8.   Pizza Express
9.   Frankie & Benny’s
10.   Harvester
11.   Starbucks
12.   Beefeater
13.   Greggs
14.   Costa
15.   TGI Fridays
16.   Dominos
17.   Bella Italia
18.   Caffe Nero
19.   Toby
20.   Cafe Rouge
Source: Peach BrandTrack, 2010 (% recalling spontaneously and unprompted)

Best known brands in eating and drinking-out among the over 55s
(in ranking order)
1.   McDonalds
2.   KFC
3.   Burger King
4.   Pizza Hut
5.   Harvester
6.   Wetherspoons
7.   Beefeater
8.   Toby
9.   Brewer’s Fayre
10.   Costa
11.   Little Chef
12.   Cafe Rouge
13.   Starbucks
14.   Pizza Express
15.   Wimpy
16.   Subway
17.   Caffe Nero
18.   Frankie & Benny’s
19.   ASK
20.   Pret a Manger
Source: Peach BrandTrack, 2010 (% recalling spontaneously and unprompted)