Ferrero Group was the highest ranked food company in Global RepTrak's annual 100 Most Reputable Companies list. Barilla, Kellogg, Danone, Hershey, Nestle, Campbell, Kraft Heinz and Unilever also made the list.
The report "serves as the definitive ranking and analysis of corporate reputation for the world’s leading companies, measuring how the public thinks, feels, and acts towards the world's largest brands across 15 major economies," as the organization puts it. RepTrak measures such attributes as products and services, innovation, workplace, conduct, citizenship, leadership and performance.
Generally speaking, global reputation was down across industries and across organizations. Individual companies show the same trend: Company scores in the Global RepTrak Top 100 have lower scores than they had in 2021. Countries with stricter COVID protocols were more likely to see a corporate Reputation Score decrease. Three of the top four food companies are Europe-based.
"Generations are showing shifts as they turn to new life stages," the authors state. "GenZ has progressed more fully into adulthood and Millennials are gaining seniority. Reputation Scores are lower this year for GenZ and Millennials’ perceptions are beginning to align with older generations."
Rolex, Ferrari and Lego Group were 1-2-3, all with above 78 points. The food company rankings and scores:
19 Ferrero 75.7
30 Barilla 75.0
43 Kellogg 74.2
54 Danone 73.7
55 Hershey 73.6
59 Nestle 73.5
76 Campbell 72.8
76 Kraft Heinz 72.8
89 Unilever 72.4
As a whole, the "food, beverage, and tobacco industry" score dropped to 71.9 from last year’s 73.3. Ferrero's No. 19 ranking did not change from last year, but Barilla and Danone, which were 11 and 18 respectively in 2021, both declined. Mars fell off the list this year, while Campbell made it for the first time.