- 23/08/2024
- Posted by: ilana.czerwinski
- Categories: Beauty & Personal Care, Bouillon, Consumer Goods / FMCG, Dairy, Energy drinks, Household Care, Non-alcoholic beverages, Online Panels, SagaShopper, Uganda
To explore the Top FMCG brands in Uganda, we recently engaged our online panel to disclose the contents of their shopping baskets using the SagaPoll survey app. By capturing specifics like barcodes, images, formats, and prices of the packaged goods they purchase regularly, we get first-hand insights into Uganda’s consumer preferences. So which brands are most commonly found in Ugandan shopping baskets?
Favourite brands in Uganda
Leading the ranking is White Star bar soap, with other household cleaning products like Magic laundry and hand wash detergents appearing later in the list. However, our basket exercise reveals that non-alcoholic beverages clearly dominate Uganda’s top-selling products, making up over half of the podium.
Bottled water is the top category, featuring local brands such as Yaket, Rwenzori, Nivana, Westlake, and Ice Spring. Soft drinks also make a strong showing with Novida, Mirinda, and Fanta, alongside Sting energy drinks and Oner juice. Notably, Novida and Fanta reflect an international influence, with origins from the United States. Food items tend to rank lower on the list. They primarily consist of dairy products like Jesa (Uganda), seasonings such as Habari (Kenya), Royco (UK) and edible oils and fats like Fortune Butto from Uganda and Blue Band from the Netherlands. Notably, Unilever recently re-launched Royco in Uganda with a custom formulation tailored specifically for the local market, boosting its local consumption.
Ranking of the top FMCG products in Uganda in May 2024
| Brand | Category | Packaging | Manufacturer | Origin |
| 1. White Star | Bar Soap | 1kg | Bidco Uganda Ltd (BUL) | Uganda |
| 2. Yaket | Bottled Water | 550ml | Yaket International Limited | Uganda |
| 3. Rwenzori | Bottled Water | 500ml | Rwenzori Bottling Company | Uganda |
| 4. Nivana | Bottled Water | 500ml | Crown Beverages Limited | Uganda |
| 5. Rwenzori | Bottled Water | 1.5l | Rwenzori Bottling Company | Uganda |
| 6. Blue Band | Margarine | 250g | Upfield | Netherlands |
| 7. Novida | Carbonated Soft Drinks | 330ml | Coca-Cola Beverages Uganda | USA |
| 8. Mirinda | Carbonated Soft Drinks | 330ml | Crown Beverages Limited / PepsiCo | USA |
| 9. Fanta | Carbonated Soft Drinks | 330ml | Coca-Cola Beverages Uganda | USA |
| 10. Westlake | Bottled Water | 550ml | West Lake Water Company | Uganda |
| 11. Sting | Energy Drinks | 330ml | Crown Beverages Limited | Uganda |
| 12. Fortune Butto | Edible OIls | 500ml | Bidco Uganda Ltd (BUL) | Uganda |
| 13. Magic | Laundry Detergents | 45g | Bidco Uganda Ltd (BUL) | Uganda |
| 14. Magic | Hand Wash Detergents | 250g | Bidco Uganda Ltd (BUL) | Uganda |
| 15. Fortune Butto | Edible Oils | 1l | Bidco Uganda Ltd (BUL) | Uganda |
| 16. Oner | Juice | 500ml | Hariss International Limited | Uganda |
| 17. Jesa | Fresh/pasteurised Milk | 500ml | JESA Farm Dairy | Uganda |
| 18. Habari | Salt | 500g | Krystalline Salt limited / Kaysalt | Kenya |
| 19. Royco | Seasoning | 8g | Unilever | United Kingdom |
| 20. Ice Springs | Bottled Water | 600ml | Generation Bottling Company Ltd | Uganda |
Ugandan FMCG brands: local influence of everyday consumer goods
The survey results highlight the robustness of the FMCG sector in Uganda, showcasing the prominence of local brands like Bidco. Notably, Bidco appears with five SKUs in the Top 20 ranking, underscoring its strong market presence.
These consumption trends align closely with those observed in Cameroon, reflecting similar local product origins and basket compositions.
While Uganda’s FMCG market is largely dominated by local brands, notable exceptions highlight international influence, including products imported from Kenya, others originating from the Netherlands, or the U.S. but produced locally.
More on the leading FMCG brands in Uganda in 2024
This data from our online panel in Uganda provides valuable insights into Ugandan consumer preferences and shopping behaviours, enabling businesses to make more informed decisions. To conduct market research in Uganda or to learn more about consumer behaviour in this region, contact us today. Email us at contact@sagaciresearch.com or click below to get in touch.
Methodology
This data is sourced from our Shopping Panel within SagaPoll, Africa’s largest online panel.
Population: adults in Uganda above 18 years old
Base: 538 panel members
Period: 29th April to 6th May 2024