The usual suspects are dominating BrandSpark’s latest Most Trusted Consumer Product Brands, which span 151 recently shopped consumer products.

According to BrandSpark’s 9th annual survey, based on responses from 17,575 Canadians, global CPGs like Johnson & Johnson, which recently announced it would spin off its consumer brands, Procter & Gamble, L’Oreal and Kraft Heinz.

P&G brands topped or tied for the top in 20 categories, including Gillette, Olay, Pampers and Oral-B. Ten J&J brands were on the list, including Johnson’s Baby, Tylenol, Neutrogrena, Visine and Reactine. L’Oreal’s Maybelline and Garnier brands were strong performer in cosmetic categories.

According to the insights, the brand with the largest trust share and margin of trust is Church & Dwight heritage brand Arm & Hammer for the fridge deodorizer category, while Honeywell moved into the sole first trusted position for home air purification systems, a category that exploded during lockdowns.

Meanwhile, legacy brands like Ben’s Original (formerly Uncle Ben’s) and Pearl Milling Company (formerly Aunt Jemima) successfully navigated brand refreshes, even though many shoppers in the study still refer to the heritage branding.

The BrandSpark’s survey also reveals that despite growth in private label from the likes of Costco’s Kirkland, Maple Leaf remains strong in meat and a trust leader for poultry, pork and pepperoni stick products. Despite facing similar private label competition, Kraft Heinz brands also took the top spots in cheese, coffee, peanut butter and pasta sauce categories.

The BrandSpark Canadian Trust Study revealed that the main drivers of trust in consumer products are pricing, quality and transparency, with 60% of respondents reporting that their trust increases greatly when a brand improves pricing. The pandemic has put a strain on supply chains globally and stocking issues along with increased prices may prompt consumers to seek out new brands to fulfill their value expectations, such as private label or value brands.

According to Adam Bellisario, AVP at BrandSpark, leaders have to re-evaluate their value propositions to consumers and maintain trust. “Depending on the category and consumer expectations, this can include various marketing strategies that use the drivers of trust behind their brand to reinforce and validate any price premium,” he says.

The full list of Most Trusted Brands can be found on BrandSpark’s website.