According to brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance, Nestlé is still the world’s most valuable food brand.

Brand Finance’s 2025 Food & Drink report says that while Nestlé’s brand value dropped 4% year-over-year to $20 billion USD, the maker of KitKat, Gerber’s and Stouffer’s still ranks considerably higher than PepsiCo food brand Lay’s, which is valued at $12.7 billion USD in second place.

Rounding out the top five are China’s Yili ($11.2 billion USD), Tyson ($9.9 billion USD) and Danone ($8.3 billion USD). Kellogg ($ 6 billion USD), recently taken private through an acquisition by Nutella-maker Ferrero in a deal valued at north of $3 billion, ranked sixth.

Brand Finance calculates brand values using the Royalty Relief Method, which estimates likely future revenues that are attributable to a brand by calculating a royalty rate that would be charged for its use. The “brand value” is understood as a net economic benefit that a brand owner would achieve by licensing the brand in the open market.

PepsiCo Foods brand Doritos climbed three positions in the ranking to reach seventh place, its brand value rising 16% from 2024 to $5.4 billion USD. According to Brand Finance, strategic marketing campaigns and product and brand updates have played a key role in boosting the tortilla chip’s value.

Doritos has long engaged with the video-game community through product developments and partnerships. Most notably Doritos launched “Doritos Silent,” a free voice-chat filter designed to mute the iconic Doritos crunch. It also released a limited edition product line in partnership with A Minecraft Movie that capitalized on the best-selling video game.

Italy’s pasta-centred brand Barilla ($5 billion USD) and Switzerland confectionery brand Lindt ($4.9 billion USD) entered the top 10 in ninth and 10th place respectively. Barilla’s brand-value increase of 21% was attributed to strong financial performance and an improved Brand Strength Index (BSI) score of 85.7 out of 100.

Heinz, the subject of recent spin-off rumours, moved from 29th place in 2024 to the 21 spot this year. Ferrero’s Kinder shot up six spots from 28th in 2024 to 22nd.

Canadian brand McCain fell two spots year over year to 18th place among food brands and Canadian agri-business company Viterra ranked in at 61st.

On the drinks side, Coca-Cola was the most valuable non-alcoholic beverage for the 11th year in a row, with its brand-value increasing 32% to $46.3 billion USD in 2025. Coke’s brand value is now more than that double runner up Pepsi, which increased 12% in 2025 to $22.6 billion USD.

Chinese packaged water supplier Nongfu Spring’s brand value of $11.1 billion USD ranked third, one spot above Red Bull ($9.7 billion).

Among the notable non-alcoholic decliners were Nestlé coffee brand Nespresso (down to 13th spot from last year’s 10th-place ranking) and Lipton, slipping from 11th place in 2024 to 17th.