Intelligent data and analytics company Engagement Labs has released rankings on the top performing food brands in the US.
The rankings of the top US food brands are based on Engagement Labs' TotalSocial data, which measures the most important drivers of brand performance in the only continuous measurement of social media and word of mouth conversations.
Based on the TotalSocial data, the food category as a whole performs equally offline (face-to-face conversations) and online (social media mentions).
The number one food brand on TotalSocial was Kellogg's. It had the strongest offline score, meaning the brand has been successful in driving face-to-face conversations when compared amongst its category peers.
This can be attributed to its campaigns, such as the recent transformation of its New York eatery into a Pop-Tarts Cafe, offering customers new ways to customise a Pop-Tart.
When it comes to online scores, Kellogg's falls short while Betty Crocker takes the top spot in the rankings. Betty Crocker performs better online than it does offline, with particularly brand sharing and influence scores.
Our data proves that online and offline work in tandem with one another.
These scores indicate that Betty Crocker is posting relevant, shareable content online that is gaining traction among its key influencers.
"We found that many food brands are what we call 'Whisper Brands' – they perform below average, both online and offline, compared to our full list of 500 brands,” said Ed Keller, CEO of Engagement Labs.
“However, there are three brands that were 'Conversation Commanders', performing above average both online and offline; Kellogg's, General Mills and Hershey's."
"Our data proves that online and offline work in tandem with one another. To drive business results, brands cannot solely rely on one over the other," said Keller.
For example, Quaker Oats performed substantially better offline than online, driven by a low online brand sharing score.
“While consumers are referencing Quaker Oats advertising and marketing in real-world conversations, they are not sharing the brand's content on social platforms. This suggests an opportunity for Quaker Oats to improve social media marketing," said Keller.
On the opposite end of the scale, Nestlé's digital investment is driving above-average online volume, brand sharing and influence scores.
However, its offline conversation volume is not keeping pace, which could be hindering its ability to fully capitalise on the power of social influence.
Overall, the food category is categorised by high sentiment scores both online and offline. In terms of online sentiment, Dole takes the lead.
Interestingly, Pillsbury is the stand-out leader for offline sentiment as it not only ranks first in the food category but the brand also ranks second out of all 500 TotalSocial brands.
