Top 20 candy brands on Facebook

SocialBakers​ claims its information has value to fast-moving consumer goods companies looking to grow their social media presence.

“Gaining access to the distribution of fans by market of any page on Facebook means that we are able to provide marketers with valuable insights and benchmarks to help them with their social marketing strategies,”​ said the site.

Facebook users tasting the rainbow​

Mars candy brand Skittles​ leads the social media race on Facebook with the largest number of fans, according to SocialBakers.

Almost 50% of Skittles’ Facebook fan base is located in the US, followed by other developed markets such as the UK, Canada and Australia.

The site is currently running a “Greatest Fan in the World”​ campaign, which pits users against one another to post the best picture of themselves demonstrating their love for Skittles.

Kit Kat strong in the Philippines​

Kit Kat​ is the among top chocolate brands and claims third position overall on the strength of its Filipino fan base with more fans coming from the Philippines than even the US and UK. The brand also scores highly in Brazil and Malaysia.

It’s worth noting that stats for China, an emerging market for many large confectioners, are not present since the country has a national ban on Facebook.

Top five dominate​

No surprises that Hershey’s Reese’s brand, which ranks fifth place, claims 87.7% of its Facebook fan base in its home US market.

Wrigley’s 5 Gum​ is the Facebook leader in the chewing gum segment and also enjoys a large US fan base.

The top five confectioners, Mars, Mondelez, Nestlé, Hershey and Ferrero have brands making up the top 20 and leave no room for smaller players.

Facebook rise in Brazil​

A number of Brazilian brands feature in the top 20, all from Mondelez brands Lacta, Bis, Trident and Halls.

Brazil currently has the fastest growing number of Facebook users in the world and has the second highest number behind the US.

The country also has a chocolate market worth US$6.6bn that has grown 127% in the past five years, according to Euromonitor International.The marke has been earmarked by Mondelez and Nestlé as a core confectionery market for the future.

Interaction and correlation to sales​

SocialBakers also records how consumers interact with brand pages by noting the percentage of users engaging on fan pages – however these stats are only available to premium users.

The amount of social buzz brands attract on Facebook appears to have little correlation with market share as established brands still command top positions.

Wrigley, Snickers and M&Ms, all from Mars, had the highest brand share of all confectionery products in 2012, according to Euromonitor International data.

Top 20​

Source: SocialBakers.com​