beverages

Harris Breaks Out Top Beverage Brands

Green-Mountain-coffeeHarris Interactive has provided more detail on the equity rankings of beverage brands within its 2012 Harris Poll EquiTrend study, based on surveying consumers about 1,500-plus brands over 127 product categories.

Harris had reported that two beverage brands made the list of 15 brands across all categories deemed “mega-brands” by dint of having been ranked #1 within their respective categories every year since 2005: Coca-Cola (soft drinks) and Gatorade (sports drinks). 

Here are more, just-released specifics on how various beverages categories played out: 

Beverage Brands of the Year: Non-alcoholic beverage brands ranked by consumers as #1 within their categories (in addition to the two mega-brands above) include: Green Mountain (coffee); Diet Coke (diet soft drink); Lipton Iced Tea (bottled ice tea); Lipton Teas (hot tea); SoBe Adrenaline Rush Energy Drink (energy drink); Juicy Juice (fruit-flavored drink); Tropicana Juices (fruit juice); Poland Spring (bottled water); Goya Coco Water (coconut water); and Glaceau vitaminwater (enhanced water).

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Green Mountain led 13 other ground-coffee brands on the basis of earning the highest quality and purchase-consideration scores. The other six coffee brands that exceeded the average equity score for the category (in order) are Folger’s, Dunkin’ Donuts, Millstone, Eight O’Clock, Maxwell House and Caribou. Harris declined to reveal how Starbucks or the other six brands studied fell in the rankings, because its policy is not to reveal the equity scores of brands that did not score above the average for the category, according to a spokesperson for the researcher.  

Green Mountain “is by no means the best-known coffee brand, but it is clear that those who do know it love it,” Harris Interactive EVP Robert Fronk points out. “Its high standing may also be a reflection of the efficacy in ‘doing well by doing good.’ It has attained a reputation as an exceptional corporate citizen. One implication from this study is that good corporate citizens that also produce high-quality products are very likely to generate exceptional levels of brand equity.”

Within carbonated soft drinks, Coca-Cola is followed by Pepsi, Sprite, 7-Up and Dr Pepper. Within diet CSDs, Diet Coke is followed by Sprite Zero, Diet Dr Pepper and Coke Zero. 

Among energy drinks, SoBe Adrenaline Rush is followed by the Amp and Rock Star brands.

Harris noted that Glaceau vitaminwater, which was the only brand among enhanced waters to exceed the category’s average, showed particularly strong year-over-year momentum. Among non-enhanced bottled waters, Poland Spring is followed by Deer Park, Arrowhead, Ice Mountain, Aquafina and Dasani.

In fruit juices, Tropicana is followed by Ocean Spray, Florida’s Natural, Welch’s, Minute Maid and Dole. In fruit-flavored drinks, Juicy Juice is followed by Kool-Aid and Capri Sun.

In hot teas, runners-up to Lipton include Bigelow, Twinings, Celestial Seasonings and Tazo. In bottled teas, Lipton is followed by Luzianne and Turkey Hill.

Alcoholic Beverage Brands of the Year: Category leaders include regional Yuengling Traditional Lager (full-calorie beer); Michelob Ultra (light beer); Glenlivet Single Malt (Scotch whiskey) and Skyy (vodka).

Full-calorie beer brands following Yuengling are Blue Moon, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Newcastle Brown Ale, Guinness Stout, Samuel Adams Lager, Modelo Especial, Becks, Heineken and Corona Extra. Light beers following Michelob Ultra are Corona Light, Heineken Premium Light, Budweiser Select, Bud Light, Coors Light, Miller Lite and Miller High Life Light. 

Scotches following Glenlivet are Glenfiddich, Bushmills Irish Whiskey, Chivas Regal, Jameson Iris Whiskey and Jack Daniel’s. Vodkas following Skyy are Grey Goose, Ketel One and Svedka.

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