Guinness (brand value up 26% to €2.4 billion) has retained its position as the world’s most valuable Irish brand, according to a new report from leading brand valuation consultancy, Brand Finance. The brand value of Guinness has increased by a quarter this year, in connection with increased demand for the product in a post-pandemic world.
Every year, leading brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance puts 5,000 of the biggest brands to the test, and publishes over 100 reports, ranking brands across all sectors and countries. The top 25 most valuable and strongest Irish brands are included in the annual Brand Finance Ireland 25 2023 ranking.
The Guinness brand has shown significant growth this year, with organic net sales growing by 32%. The brand is increasingly being recognised as one of the most creative, innovative, and sustainable beers in the world, having launched several campaigns, including a pan-African campaign that attracted 1.5 million new Guinness drinkers. The brand is also investing in innovation and marketing, with recent award-winning dispense and liquid innovations, and new visitor experiences set to open in Chicago and London in 2023.
The brand is also committed to sustainability and has embarked on a three-year regenerative agriculture pilot in Ireland to reduce carbon emissions. Overall, Diageo and the Guinness brand are committed to building and nurturing one of the world's most iconic brands while being rooted in culture and local communities and ensuring that the brand helps these communities prosper.
Declan Ahern, Director of Brand Finance commented:
“With the world firmly facing a post-pandemic future, Irish brands are at the heart of celebrations across the world. Across the world, people celebrating events from the end of a work week, to the start of a marriage, raise glasses of Guinness or Baileys. These Irish brands are front-and-centre of people’s lives across the world, spreading a little Irish cheer and love globally.”
In addition to calculating brand value, Brand Finance also determines the relative strength of brands through a balanced scorecard of metrics evaluating marketing investment, stakehol der equity, and business performance. Compliant with ISO 20671, Brand Finance’s assessment of stakeholder equity incorporates original market research data from over 100,000 respondents in 38 countries and across 31 sectors.
Over the past year, Baileys has seen growth in many markets outside North America: Northern-European communities are enjoying the drink as people socialise, and Southern Europe sales are recovering in connection to tourism re-opening after the pandemic. The brand produces its indulgent blend of aged Irish whiskey and Irish dairy cream in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, and it is enjoyed all over the world.
Brand Finance research has found that Baileys has the highest familiarity rating at 75% of any spirit brand in the United Kingdom, with almost 90% of those consumers who report being familiar with Baileys considering it. Baileys is also developing a reputation as one of the world's leading brands that prioritizes responding to the needs of stakeholders and society, as they strive to build and nurture an iconic brand that is inclusive and sustainable.