Who topped Circana’s annual top 25 FMCG manufacturers list?

15th November 2023 By Bridget O'Connell | bridget@foodticker.co.nz | @foodtickernz

A difficult trading environment has resulted in competition spicing up in the ranks of the top 25 New Zealand FMCG manufacturers in 2023, with alcohol and tobacco specialists losing ground.

According to the annual manufacturer performance rankings revealed as part of Circana’s State of the Industry event, it is a ‘threepeat’ for Goodman Fielder, which managed to hold on to the number one spot again in the year to 10 September 2023.

The dairy and bakery company first ascended to the top of the table in 2021, when it knocked British American Tobacco off its perch, and this year it added $37.2m to take its sales total to $740.5m, up from $704m in 2022.

Also adding significant growth to its total was 2023’s second-place holder, Coco-Cola Europacific Partners, which added almost $58m of sales to take its total to $650.4m.

A change in third place saw the return of Fonterra Brands NZ on the back of an additional $35.8m of sales taking it to $582.4m.

This reversed last year’s sales contraction of $13m when it slipped to fourth place, plus it pushed British American Tobacco further down the charts to fourth place this year.

Ranks five and six held firm on last year, occupied by Nestlé and Kraft Heinz, but one of the biggest climbers of the year – confectionery, snacking and pet manufacturer Mars – jumped four spots from eleventh to seventh after growing sales by almost $62m.

Alongside Mars, another big mover was George Weston Foods, climbing from seventeenth last year to thirteenth in 2023.

Looking at those who had the most challenging year, drinks group Lion New Zealand lost ground, slipping to eighth after losing $3.4m of sales, with the decline something also seen at its other beer-focused peers.

DB Breweries lost $6.7m off its 2022 total and two places, dropping to sixteenth; Pernod Ricard’s total contracted $4.7m and two ranks; and Asahi Beverages New Zealand lost about $100,000 in sales but also slipped two spots to bring up the rear at 25th.

For all these groups, it was the second year in a row that sales and, in most cases, rankings had gone south.

Speaking on its industry webinar on Wednesday presenting the results, Circana’s head of retail, solutions, and innovation, Debbie Simpson-Pudney, said the winners this year that had improved their rankings had done so in a difficult trading environment.

“Goodman Fielder holds its top ranked position as the number one supplier in New Zealand, measured by turnover, followed by CCEP,” she said.

“Fonterra and Mars are also showing a positive rank change versus last year.

“It’s the alcohol and tobacco companies that are having a bit tougher in the current environment, but I did also want to call out George Weston Foods, Bluebird, Cotton Soft and Arnott’s for their strong turnover performance in the latest MAT.”