Co-op Food brand named ‘biggest supermarket improver’

The Co-operative Food has come top in the 2015 BrandIndex list of supermarket improvers.

In a poll by internet-based market research firm YouGov, the Co-operative, which received a ranking of -3.7 in 2014, received 2.7 in 2015, and achieved an overall improvement score of 6.4.

This improvement score also made the Co-operative supermarket the 4th-biggest improver across all sectors. The biggest improver overall was The Co-operative Bank, followed by Wonga and British Gas.

Brands across different sectors were rated using YouGov BrandIndex’s ‘buzz’ score, which asked respondents: “If you’ve heard anything about the brand in the last two weeks, through advertising, news or word of mouth, was it positive or negative?”

The buzz rankings chart the brands with the highest average buzz scores between January and December 2015, while the improvers rankings show the brands with the highest increase in buzz comparing calendar years 2014 and 2015.

“We are delighted to see this improvement. It shows the good progress we are making along our rebuild journey and is certainly encouraging news for us,” a Group spokesman told the News.

“Throughout 2015 we were able to demonstrate the value of the Co-op to our members and the communities in which they live. This was most evident in the way our Food and Insurance businesses responded to assist people in the communities affected by recent floods.”

Co-operative Insurance was the 6th-biggest improver overall, and the the top buzz improver in the insurance and investments sector. Investment mutual Liverpool Victoria was ranked top for the insurance and investments sector overall, with NFU Mutual coming joint-4th.

The top-ranking supermarket was Aldi (19.7), followed by Lidl, Marks & Spencer, Waitrose and Sainsbury’s.