Scotch and baijiu among ‘most valuable’ brands

Two spirits brands have appeared in the new Global 500 list that counts down the world’s most valuable brands, ranking higher than the likes of Twitter, Burger King and British Airways.

Johnnie Walker Scotch and Moutai baijiu are among the world’s most valuable brands

Brand Finance, a brand valuation and strategy consultancy firm based in London, has recently released its annual Global 500 report of the world’s most valuable brands.

Apple is the world’s most valuable brand, according to the list, while the top five brands is made up of fellow tech giants – Google, Samsung, Amazon and Microsoft.

Banking, fast food, cars and soft drink brands feature heavily throughout the list, however only two spirits brands are placed.

Baijiu brand Moutai comes in at 243, jumping a significant 87 places compared to the previous year.

The brand’s value success reflects the upward movement of the broader baijiu sector, which is starting to recover sales after years of rapid decline resulting from China’s long-running austerity measures.

Diageo’s blended Scotch whisky brand Johnnie Walker ranked 315 in the list, dropping 61 places from 254 in the previous year.

In its interim financial report, Diageo said Johnnie Walker had returned to growth despite inventory reductions for its Red Label expression in Asia Pacific and continued “softness” of Black Label in the Middle East.

Brand Finance uses the ‘Royalty Relief approach’ to calculate the value of brands, which “estimates the likely future sales that are attributable to a brand and calculating a royalty rate that would be charged for the use of the brand”.