During these uncertain times, BrandSpark® reveals which brands consumers trust most

Over 18,000 Canadians voted for the 2020 BrandSpark® Most Trusted Award Winners

TORONTO, March 17, 2020 /CNW/ - Now more than ever, Canadians are looking for transparency and direction. Consumers are shifting their purchasing behaviour and relying more heavily on ecommerce. Offering guidance amongst the unparalleled choice of products online and in store, the 7^th annual BrandSpark Most Trusted Awards (BMTA) have been announced, based on results from the largest trust study in Canada. Canadians voted for the brands that they trust the most in 150 categories ranging from Food & Beverage, Health, Beauty, Household, Pet, and Home Goods. BrandSpark bestows this award each year to help consumers shop smarter and to help brands easily identify themselves as the leader in the category.

"Consumers are shopping differently over the past days and weeks, with a mind toward pantry preparation, increased spending in the CPG category and more online purchases. BrandSpark has quantified consumer trust via the Canadian shoppers who vote and identify which brands are delivering on their promises," said Robert Levy, President of BrandSpark International.

Some highlights from this year's BrandSpark® Canadian Trust Study

• With the recent emphasis on prevention of disease and germ spread, Canadians have chosen Lysol as their most trusted multi-purpose disinfecting cleaner.
• Out of 150 brands in the study, Crayola has the largest share of consumer trust in its category (Children's Colouring), proving that the 134-year old brand continues to provide the best colouring experience in the industry.
• Sustainable food producers are building trust with brands like Clover Leaf (Canned Tuna), which was rated strongly by consumers for shared values. Catelli won in the pasta category; both categories are showing increased interest and purchase.
• While Bounty cleaned up in the Paper Towel category, Kirkland and Royale tied in Bathroom Tissue. Though store brands rated extremely high on 'fair pricing', trust in quality is still generally stronger for brand names, even in staple dairy categories like sour cream (Dairyland winner in the West, Gay Lea winner in Ontario).
• Perceptions of superior quality drove the winning brands across home appliances and personal electronics, but the strongest quality rating among category shoppers actually appeared in Chocolate for Lindt.
• Leveraging the consumer voice through recommendations can elevate brands across varied categories. BrandSpark Most Trusted winners that were cited particularly often as recommended by other consumers include Braun (Children's Thermometer), Bose (Portable Speaker), and Weber (Barbeque).
• Resonating with the values of target consumers can help create connections for any brand but is particularly important when offering natural products (eg. Natural Cosmetics, Natural Skin Care) and in baby categories (eg. Baby Lotion, Baby Bottle, Infant Learning Toys).
• Consumers trust brands more when they can be transparent about what goes into their products. Maple Leaf's move to simpler ingredients and more front-of-pack information helped them capture the top spot for Hot Dogs.

The list of Winners is below.  To learn more visit www.BrandSparkMostTrusted.com

* = new category
Household & Pet
Air Freshener	Febreze
Bathroom Tissue	Kirkland / Royale (TIE)
Dishwasher Cleaner	Finish
Dishwasher Detergent	Cascade
Dog Treats	Milk-Bone
Fabric Softener	Downy
Flea & Tick Prevention	Advantage II/K9 Advantix II
Food Storage Bags	Ziploc
Food Storage Containers	Ziploc
Garbage Bags	Glad
Hand Soap	Dove / Softsoap (TIE)
Laundry Detergent	Tide
Laundry Stain Remover	OxiClean / Resolve (TIE)
Multi-purpose Disinfecting Cleaner *	Lysol
Paper Towels	Bounty

Baby & Kids
Baby Bottle	Avent by Philips
Baby Food	Gerber
Baby Formula	Enfamil
Baby Laundry Detergent	Ivory Snow
Baby Lotion	Johnson's Baby
Baby Monitor	VTech
Baby Probiotics *	BioGaia
Baby Wash / Shampoo	Johnson's Baby
Baby Wipes	Huggies / Pampers (TIE)
Breast Pump	Medela
Children's Colouring *	Crayola
Children's Thermometer	Braun
Children's Toothbrush *	Colgate
Children's Toothpaste	Colgate
Children's Vitamins	Jamieson
Colic Relief *	Dr. Chase Kolik
Diaper Pail *	Diaper Genie by Playtex
Diapers	Pampers
Infant / Toddler Car Seat	Graco
Infant Learning Toys	Fisher Price
Natural Baby Products	Honest Company / Live Clean (TIE)
Nursing Pads *	Lansinoh
Organic Baby Snacks *	Gerber
Pregnancy Test	First Response
Stroller	Graco
Toddler Learning Toys	Fisher Price
Training Pants	Huggies Pull-Ups

Health & Beauty
Allergy Relief	Reactine
Anti-aging Skin Care Products	Olay
Bladder Leakage Protection *	Poise
Body Lotion	Aveeno
Body Wash	Dove
Cold Sore Remedy	Abreva
Contact Lens Solution	Bausch & Lomb
Cough Drops / Lozenges	Halls
Denture Adhesive	Poligrip
Denture Cleanser	Polident
Electric Toothbrush	Oral-B
Foundation	Covergirl
Hair Regrowth Products	Rogaine
Hair Removal	Nair
Hair Root Touch-up *	Clairol
Immune System Supplement *	Cold-FX
Laxative	Senokot
Liners / Pads	Always
Lip Colour	Revlon
Luxury Sun Protection over $25 *	La Roche-Posay
Mascara	Maybelline / L'Oréal (TIE)
Men's Shaving	Gillette
Micellar Water	Garnier
Mouthwash	Listerine
Nail Polish	Sally Hansen
Nasal Spray	hydraSense
Natural Cosmetics *	Burt's Bees
Natural Skin Care Products *	Aveeno
Probiotic Supplements *	Jamieson
Sensitive Skin Care Products	Aveeno
Sensitive Toothpaste	Sensodyne
Shampoo & Conditioner	Head & Shoulders
Shampoo & Conditioner for Coloured Hair *	Dove / Head & Shoulders (TIE)
Sunscreen	Coppertone
Tampons	Tampax
Teeth Whitening	Crest
Women's Deodorant / Antiperspirant	Dove
Women's Hair Colour	L'Oréal
Women's Shaving	Gillette Venus

Home Goods
Air Fryer *	T-fal
Barbecue	Weber
Clothes Iron *	Black & Decker
Cookware	Lagostina
Dishwasher	Bosch
Drink Carbonation System	SodaStream
Electric Facial Cleansing Device *	Clarisonic
Electric Fan	Dyson / Honeywell (TIE)
Electric Hair Straightener *	Conair
Espresso Maker	Nespresso
Faucet	Moen
Hair Curling Iron *	Conair
Hair Dryer	Conair
Humidifier	Honeywell
Luggage *	Samsonite
Mattress-in-a-box	Casper / Endy (TIE)
Portable Speaker *	Bose
Single Serve Coffee Maker	Keurig
Slow Cooker *	Crock-Pot
Space Heater	Honeywell
Spring Mattress	Sealy
Vacuum	Dyson

Food & Beverage
Artisan Flatbread *	President's Choice
Baking Products	Robin Hood
Better-For-You Frozen Meals *	Lean Cuisine
Butter	Lactantia
Cake Mix *	Betty Crocker
Canned Tuna *	Clover Leaf
Chocolate	Lindt
Coffee	Folgers / Maxwell House / Nescafé / Tim Hortons  (TIE)
Cooking Oil Spray *	Pam
Cottage Cheese (Western Canada)	Dairyland
Cottage Cheese (Ontario)	Sealtest
Cream Cheese *	Philadelphia
Eggs *	Burnbrae Farms
Fresh Baguette *	ACE Bakery
Frozen Pizza	Dr. Oetker
Frozen Potato Products	McCain
Gluten Free Bread *	Glutino / Udi's (TIE)
Gluten Free Snacks *	Glutino
Herbs & Spices *	Club House
Hot Dogs	Maple Leaf
Instant Rice *	Uncle Ben's
Jam	Smucker's
Jerky	Jack Link's
Milk (Ontario)	Neilson
Milk (Western Canada)	Dairyland
Milk (Quebec)	Québon
Mozzarella *	Kraft
Natural Peanut Butter *	Kraft
Non-dairy Milk Alternative	Silk
Nut Free Children's Snacks *	Bear Paws
Oatmeal *	Quaker
Organic Mac and Cheese *	Annie's
Pasta	Catelli
Popcorn *	Orville Redenbacher's
Premium Coffee *	Starbucks
Salt *	Windsor
Sausages	Johnsonville
Sour Cream (Ontario)	Gay Lea
Sour Cream (Western Canada)	Dairyland
Sparkling Water	Perrier
Tea	Tetley
Vegan Food	Yves Veggie Cuisine
Whipped Cream *	Cool Whip
White Bread *	Wonder
Whole Wheat / Multigrain Bread *	Dempster's

How winners are determined

More than 18,000 Canadian shoppers voted for the BrandSpark Most Trusted Awards winners for 2020 through their "top of mind" unaided responses for categories in which they purchase. The results are ranked based on the greatest volume of mentions. Ties are declared if the margin of victory is within 3%. The study is weighted to be nationally representative of English and French Canada. The questions were included in the annual BrandSpark Canadian Trust Study. BrandSpark also conducts the BrandSpark Most Trusted Awards annually in the United States.  Full Study results are available.  Contact Phillip Scrutton [email protected]

About BrandSpark International

Founded in 2001, BrandSpark International is a boutique research and consulting firm that provides leading organizations with the clear direction they need to optimize brand positioning, ignite brand strategy, understand the evolving omni-channel shopper and prioritize growth initiatives.  BrandSpark Marketing Services runs major awards programs Best New Product Awards and BrandSpark Most Trusted Awards, and a new consumer site, Shopper Army.ca which is a community of shoppers who test products and provide quality ratings and reviews, and also shopper actions and feedback.  Shopper Army also offers cash back at 100+ online stores.

SOURCE BrandSpark International

Press Contact: Kaitlyn Farrow, ROI Relations, [email protected]; BrandSpark International: Robert Levy, President, [email protected]; Adam Bellisario, Director, Consumer Awards, [email protected]