Consumers place more value on innovation as food and drink is named the most innovative sector in the BrandZ Top 75 Most Valuable UK Brands ranking.

The rankings, compiled by  WPP and Kantar Millward Brown show newer brands Just Eat, Innocent, Deliveroo and Brewdog entering 2018 UK list, which has been extended to include 75 brands.

Vodafone remains at no.1 with an increase in value of 6% to reach $28.9 billion, followed by HSBC (+7%, $23.6 billion) and Shell (+10%, $20.3 billion).

The BrandZ UK Top 75 is worth $271 billion (around £205 billion) – equivalent to just over 10% of the UK’s GDP. The 50 most valuable brands on the list have gained 5% in total value in the last year, compared with the 2017 BrandZ UK Top 50. The top innovators increased brand value by 25% more than their rivals.

This growth has been driven by the Top 10 risers, which have grown at nearly four times the rate of the rest of the brands. The fastest riser is Prudential, which increased its brand value 40% in the last year, followed by Dyson (31%), Asos (31%), and Dulux (18%). The BrandZ research shows that consumers perceive these fast-rising brands as particularly innovative and good at communicating, and they also have much stronger brand equity than the average across the ranking.

The brands that have entered the UK ranking for the first time, which are worth on average $1.1 billion, include Just Eat (no.30), bet365 (no.44), Compare the Market (no.46) and Ocado (no.49). Consumers view them as highly differentiated, recognising them for ‘shaking things up’ and providing a great experience.

However, the older established names that remain at the top, such as Dove (no.10) and Shell (no.3), are worth $4.9 billion on average. These brands are considered less different, but more meaningful and top of mind.

Higher perceptions of innovation are proven to stimulate value growth: the brands in the BrandZ UK ranking that consumers perceive as the most innovative rose +18% in value in the last year, while the least innovative declined -7%.

David Roth, at WPP, said: “The nation’s most valuable 75 brands have all risen to the top in a highly competitive, crowded and uncertain environment. Consumers value innovation, and it is key to helping UK companies’ future-proof their brands, deliver sustainable growth and increase in value; ever more vital in a post-Brexit world.”

The 2018 BrandZ Top 10 Most Valuable UK Brands

The BrandZ research indicates that the UK is still catching up when it comes to innovation. In 2017, consumers perceived the UK’s most valuable brands as only slightly more innovative than the average brand, putting them at risk from global competitors and new disruptors.

The innovation score across the 50 most valuable brands in the UK was 102; in 2018 this has risen to 105 (the average brand is 100). This is lower than the 50 most valuable brands in the Global Top 100 (113), the US (111), Indonesia and China (both 108), Germany (107) and India (106).

Jane Bloomfield, Head of Business Development at Kantar UK, said: “Established and new brands can learn a lot from each other. Those older brands that form the bedrock of the UK economy have great staying power, having built salience and meaning. To grow, they need to work on increasing consumer perceptions that they are different, innovative and relevant.  The disruptors entering the ranking, meanwhile, need to make their difference meaningful and salient to consumers – if they fail to do so they could have a short lifespan.”