From coffee to cup noodles, Gokongwei-led Universal Robina Corp. products maintained their strong market presence in the postpandemic period, landing among the top chosen brands in the country, according to London-based brand consulting firm Kantar Group.

Among the company's top ranked brands were Great Taste instant coffee, Piattos potato chips and Nissin instant noodles.

"This survey reaffirms the quality, value-for-money and enduring appeal to consumers of our brands," Mian David, URC's chief marketing officer, said in a recent statement.

Kantar ranked URC's Great Taste as the fourth most chosen beverage brand in the Philippines and 15th among so-called fast-moving consumer goods in its Brand Footprint survey for 2022. Using a metric called consumer reach point (CRP), Kantar is able to quantify how many shoppers are buying the brand and how often.

In the survey, Great Taste scored 283 points while URC snack brands Piattos (7th) and Nova corn chips (20th) obtained 146 million CRPs and 61 million CRPs, respectively.

URC's C2 ready-to-drink tea was among the top brands in the Philippines (No. 19 with 62 million CRPs) and Vietnam, where it ranked No. 8 in the country.

Meanwhile, Payless and Nissin instant noodles were part of the top 10 fastest-growing brands in the country.

Payless reached a score of 56 million CRPs, up 10 percent from a year earlier, while Nissin's CRPs rose 7 percent to 59 million.

"Nissin, for instance, has been successful in reaching more homes for all its segments, not just its popular ramen. Payless' Xtra Big, on the other hand, is driving growth, as more shoppers go on more trips," the company noted. —Miguel R. Camus INQ