Growth of SA's most valuable brands outpaces growth of economy

The telecom provider also claims the accolade as this year’s fastest riser, growing 85% in brand value year-on-year. MTN’s rise in brand value has been assisted by a combination of overseas expansion and sound strategic positioning.

 It is followed by First National Bank (No.2, $3.5bn) and Vodacom (No.3, $3.1bn) as South Africa’s top three most valuable brands.

Twelve South African brands boast above average growth (>21% rise in brand value). Rising nine positions, financial services company Investec (No.16, $700m) is the second-fastest riser, followed by retail giant Checkers (No.23, $531m), part of the Shoprite Group that has focused heavily on accelerating its digital transformation.

Dis-Chem (No.27, $410m), returns to the Top 30 after an absence of two years. Operating across multiple categories such as health, baby and beauty, the retail pharmacy is perceived by consumers as a well-trusted and purposeful brand that offers fair prices.

Brutal Fruit (No.28, $396m) is this year’s newcomer to the ranking and has grown its revenue significantly, while extending its branding outside of its traditional core alcohol category and into cosmetics following the launch of its ‘You Belong’ fragrance.

Reputation for resilience and resourcefulness

Ivan Moroke, CEO South Africa for Kantar’s Insights Division commented, “South Africa’s most valuable brands have been leaning into their home country’s reputation for resilience and resourcefulness to meet the many health, social and environmental challenges they are confronting. 

“Through technology and sustainability initiatives, as well as adding customer-centric services and expanding overseas operations, the strongest brands, led by MTN, have found avenues for significant growth as the country returns to steady financial recovery.”

Reflecting South Africa’s broader economic resilience, the growth in the ranking’s overall brand value was deep and distributed throughout. 

Although the Top 30 ranking showed a slight decline of -3% in 2021, with only nine brands growing in value, this year the picture is very different. Only two brands show any decline at all, while 28 grew, and 12 grew in value by more than 20%.

The Kantar BrandZ Top 10 Most Valuable South African Brands 2022 are as follows:

1. MTN (Telecoms) 
2. First National (Banking)
3. Vodacom (Telecoms)
4. Standard Bank (Banking)
5. Castle Beer (Alcohol)
6. Nando’s (Fast Food)
7. Discovery (Insurance)
8. Absa (Banking)
9. DStv (Entertainment)
10. Capitec Bank (Banking)