Asad Qizilbash, Senior Director of Brand Marketing at Sony Computer Entertainment America, introduces the video game "Street Fighter V" at the Sony Playstation E3 conference in Los Angeles, California June 15, 2015.
IN PHOTO: Asad Qizilbash, Senior Director of Brand Marketing at Sony Computer Entertainment America, introduces the video game "Street Fighter V" at the Sony Playstation E3 conference in Los Angeles, California June 15, 2015. Reuters/Kevork Djansezian

Whittaker's-- popular chocolate manufacturing company has been chosen as New Zealand’s most trusted brand in the annual Reader’s Digest ‘Most Trusted Brands’ survey. According to Sue Carney, AU region’s Editor-in-chief, Whittaker's has emerged as the number one brand across all categories and is seen as the heavily trusted chocolate that tantalises taste buds.

The chocolate brand is getting chosen for the fourth year in a row, zooming to the top slot of New Zealand's most trusted brands survey. Over all the survey ranked New Zealand's top 10 trusted brands, 40 category winners and top five trusted charities. The Top 10 Trusted Brands in New Zealand for 2015 are:

  • Whittaker's
  • Dettol
  • Toyota
  • Sony
  • Panadol
  • Tip Top ice cream
  • Yates
  • Resene
  • Sleepyhead
  • Janola

While Whittaker's became the winner in the confectionary category, St John Ambulance has been named as the most trusted charity. Whittaker's marketing manager Holly Whittaker said it was a nice surprise to be at the top again. She said it is the result of Kiwis' appreciation plus the company's commitment to quality that played a big role in the final rank.

Quality Rewarded

"It's a core company value that we will never compromise on - for example, we are the only major chocolate manufacturer in New Zealand that controls the whole manufacturing process, from bean to bar," she said. Whittaker's has been increasing its market share every year and it prefers to engage directly with customers through social media, encouraging meaningful interactions between customers and the brand, she said.

Dettol and Toyota are in the second and third place on the most trusted list. All of them long-held the mantle just like trusted New Zealand enterprises Sanitarium, Vogel’s and Kiwibank, who are repeated winners in different categories. The survey also revealed that New Zealanders start their day with Sanitarium and Vogel’s and take Sara Lee frozen dessert mostly with a Heineken or Montana wine.

Trustworthiness

The survey results came from an independent survey that was running for 14 years. For the survey, Reader’s Digest hired Catalyst Marketing & Research to talk to more than 1,211 New Zealanders for identifying the products that dominate their lifestyles. In the survey, the main question was, "what makes a brand trustworthy." The results showed brands were backed for premium quality and also preferred for their affordable prices in making life easier.

(For feedback/comments, contact the writer at feedback@ibtimes.com.au)

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