- The trend of diversifying consumer choices continues: 51% of the commercial brands validated as eligible for Superbrand status come from industries such as Retail, Services, Construction, Furniture, Technology, Automotive, Media, Healthcare, HoReCa, while 49% are active in the FMCG sector
- Romanian brands maintain their relevance: 32% of the commercial brands eligible for Superbrand status originate from Romania, with 3 brands ranking among the top eligible brands for Superbrand status in both Consumer and Business sections
- Sustainability (ESG) was included for the first time in Romania as a selection criterion for Business Superbrand status
Bucharest, October 23, 2024 – Superbrands Romania, a program conducted by the BDR Associates agency, announces the completion of the first phase of the current edition. Commercial and Business brands eligible for Superbrand status have been identified based on their impeccable branding reputation and culture. The evaluation process was conducted with the support of the members of the Superbrands Council, comprised of 30 renowned specialists and business leaders from various companies, together with Ipsos, the official partner of Superbrands in Romania.
“Reputation has become a priority goal for brands in Romania, and brand communication is proving essential for strengthening market position, increasing prestige, and earning the trust of consumers or business partners. We are reaching an exceptional milestone for the programs in Romania, celebrating 20 years of continuous contribution to the reputational positioning of brands in the market in 2025. Romanian-origin brands are rising significantly, year after year, in consumer preferences or becoming formidable business partners. It is an honor for our agency to develop the program dedicated to Romania, within the Global Superbrands Organization, ensuring its credibility and longevity in the local market”, stated Cătălina Rousseau, President & CEO of BDR Associates and Country Manager Superbrands Romania.
Main findings of the evaluation, judging, and market research stages:
Consumer Superbrands ranking and evolutions: Although it is known that Superbrands does not create a ranking and that all brands voted as eligible for status enjoy equal recognition, this year’s edition presents a representative ranking for the trend of diversifying the categories at the top of Romanian consumers’ preferences. Among the hundreds of brands declared eligible for Superbrand status, the ranking of the top 20 brands, according to voting, includes the following in 2024: Visa, Strongbow, Dedeman, Glovo, FAN Courier, Dr. Max, Untold, Uber, Lidl, eMAG, Revolut, Bolt, olx.ro, Kaufland, Netflix, Pampers, Nike, McDonald’s, Ikea and Banca Transilvania. Ten of them primarily come from services and retail categories.
Financial services: For the first time, a financial services brand ranks first in the Consumer Superbrands list for Romania. This position is held by Visa, which has moved up three places since the 2021 edition, while Revolut and Banca Transilvania complete the ranking of the top 20 brands eligible for Superbrand status in their respective fields. This new ranking evolution can be linked to the overlapping crises we are facing, which have led consumers to pay more attention to managing their personal and household budgets.
Romanian brands: Romanian brands continue to be relevant in a market dominated by international brands. Dedeman, FAN Courier, Untold, eMAG, and Banca Transilvania are among the top 20 brands validated as eligible for Superbrand status in 2024. Overall, one-third (32%) of the validated brands are Romanian creations, representing a similar percentage to the previous wave of the research.
Technology, a catalyst for brands: The activities of 7 of the top 15 commercial brands qualified for Superbrand status, ranging from food delivery and personal transportation services to financial services or audio-video streaming, are facilitated by the Internet or dedicated apps.
Sustainable brands: According to consumers participating in the survey, Lidl and Kaufland are considered the most sustainable brands in Romania, followed by Coca-Cola and Carrefour. Sustainable brands were defined as those that best meet the ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) criteria.
Other notable evolutions: This year, we notice the presence of a pharmacy chain – Dr. Max – on the list of brands eligible for Superbrand status in Romania, and the debut of Untold, Romania’s largest music festival, ranked in the top 10. Also, Lidl, the leader in Romania’s food retail market, climbs among the top 10 eligible brands, while the Restaurants, Fast Food, and Coffee Chains category enters the top 20 through McDonald’s. Surprisingly, the Strongbow cider brand has risen to the second position on the list of commercial brands eligible for Superbrand status.
„The landscape of brands voted eligible for this status in Romania in 2024 indicates the great diversity of options available for consumers, shifting purchase and consumption behaviors in line with the development of the tertiary sector – services and, respectively, the quaternary sector – information technology, as well as the evolution of the ‘leisure economy,’ placing festivals at the forefront. Consistency in brand communication is confirmed by Visa, ranked first this year, which has been among the top four commercial brands eligible for Superbrand status in three previous editions, while Dedeman, FAN Courier, eMAG, and Banca Transilvania continue to be the most appreciated Romanian brands”, notes Dorian Cazacu, Senior Client Director at Ipsos Romania.
Business Superbrands – the eligibility of business brands was evaluated and voted on by the Honorary Council of Superbrands Romania: The second phase of business brand evaluation, based on lists compiled by Ipsos, took place in the second half of September. In a dedicated section, the 30 members of the Council – business leaders and branding specialists, designated as eligible for Superbrand status the most important brands that provide products or services to companies operating in Romania, starting from a list that included 698 business brands from 30 categories, from agribusiness, technologies, banking, or specialized consultancy, to vending machines, self-checkout systems, and ATMs. For business brands, the selection also considered the sustainability criterion for the first time in Romania. This is the third edition of the Business Superbrands category in Romania, since the Superbrands program was launched in the local market in 2005.
Business Superbrands ranking: Among the hundreds of business brands evaluated, the top 20 operating in Romania, which exceed by far the average evaluations in their categories, represent various fields of activity: Colliers, NEPI Rockcastle, Mastercard, John Deere (IPSO Romania), Visa, One United Properties, Bitdefender, Globalworth Group, Amcham – American Chamber of Commerce in Romania, Bog’Art, DHL International Romania, FAN Courier, Strabag, Bosch, Siemens, Vodafone Romania, Google, Digi Romania/ RCS & RDS, Banca Transilvania, and Henkel Romania. In terms of brands with the highest absolute scores, the list is completed by Dante International (eMAG), Husqvarna, Carrefour Romania, Porsche Leasing Romania IFN, 3M, BVB – Bucharest Stock Exchange, OMV Petrom, Procter & Gamble Romania, Microsoft Romania, Farmacia Tei/ Bebe Tei, Philip Morris Trading, and Ikea.
Visa, FAN Courier, Banca Transilvania, eMAG, and Ikea achieve the performance of receiving some of the highest evaluations in both sections of this edition, Consumer and Business Superbrands.
About the Superbrands Research: The list of brands eligible for Consumer Superbrand status was obtained based on the international Superbrands methodology, which consists of two important stages. In the first stage, the Superbrands Council, including 30 professionals from various industries, such as management, marketing, advertising, communication, branding, media, consultancy, ensured the qualitative selection of the list of brands compiled by Ipsos Romania, evaluating 1,804 commercial brands from 61 categories. The criteria considered in the selection process were reputation, trust, quality, and market differentiation. Following this selection, 968 qualified brands were included in the market research conducted online among consumers by Ipsos for Superbrands Romania, on a representative sample of 1,500 Romanian urban consumers.
Separately, the Superbrands Council representatives voted the business brands, taking sustainability (the ESG criterion) into account. The full list of brands voted as eligible for both Consumer and Business sections will be published in the Superbrands Romania 2024 volume, which will be launched in 2025.
Among these, the brands invited to participate in the Program and the Superbrands Book will be awarded the Superbrands Stamp for 2024, which they can use indefinitely in their promotional campaigns. Additionally, they will be honored with trophies at the 20th-anniversary Superbrands Gala, which will take place at the beginning of 2025.
For more information about Superbrands Romania, 2024-2025 edition, please contact BDR Associates at +40 724 269728, contact persons: Raluca Rusu or Petruța Petcu (presa@bdr.ro)