---
title: "A window into our lives: what 20 years of the Checkout Top 100 tell us"
seo_title: What 20 years of the Checkout Top 100 say about Irish life | Matt Peat
description: Matt Peat on how two decades of Ireland's top grocery brands track changing family structures, working lives, eating occasions and attitudes to health.
slug: /news/checkout-top-100-twenty-years
template: article
date: 2026-08-25
category: Point of view
author: Matt Peat, Chief Category and Growth Officer
schema: Article
tags: [category]
---

# A window into our lives: what 20 years of the Checkout Top 100 tell us

*Ireland's leading grocery brands are an unexpected record of changing family structures, working lives, eating occasions and attitudes to health and indulgence.*

The Checkout Top 100 measures Ireland's most valuable grocery brands. Year on year there usually isn't much change that gives a real insight into our daily lives. But zoom out across fifteen to twenty years and it becomes something more revealing: a record of how Irish life itself has changed.

The brands rising through the ranking are increasingly about indulgence, energy, refreshment and immediate consumption. Many of those falling or disappearing are connected with traditional meals, household routines and particular stages of family life.

| What changed between 2011 and 2026 | Result |
|---|---|
| Indulgent brands in the Top 100 | 29 to 40 |
| Indulgent brands in the Top 20 | 10 to 16 |
| Scratch-cooking brands | 19 to 9 |
| 2011 brands still present | 65 of 100 |
| Breakfast brands | 7 to 3 |
| Baby brands | 4 to 2 |

## More moments, not more meals

In 2011, indulgent products accounted for 29 of the Top 100 brands. By 2025 and 2026 that figure had reached 40. At the top of the ranking it's even more pronounced: indulgent brands hold 16 of the first 20 places in 2026, against 10 in 2011 and nine in 2007.

This isn't simply Ireland developing a sweeter tooth, although we are among the highest chocolate consumers in the world per head. It reflects busy lives that can feel like they're on fast-forward: all-day grazing and snacking, and quick ways to get energy, protein and carbs.

Most people won't add another breakfast or dinner because a product is on promotion. They may well add a protein bar after the morning workout, a coffee on the commute, a pastry mid-morning, an energy drink in the afternoon and a treat after dinner. These purchases don't replace an established meal. They are additional moments.

These categories also suit constant innovation. New flavours, formats and pack sizes keep brands relevant across more occasions, and wide availability across supermarket, convenience and forecourt suits hectic lives. Confectionery is the clearest example: confectionery brands in the Top 100 rose from 12 in 2011 to 20 in 2026. Energy drinks have reached the very top, with Red Bull rising from 22nd to sixth and Monster reaching fifth.

## Fixed demand, more competition

Main-meal and non-food brands face the opposite dynamic. Demand for washing products, nappies, cooking ingredients and dinner components is relatively fixed. Nobody cooks another dinner or runs another wash because a product is promoted, so these brands compete for occasions that already exist.

Main-meal brands now also compete with app-based restaurant, takeaway and quick-service delivery, which has become far more accessible since 2011. The competition is no longer only brand against brand, or brand against own label. It's the supermarket basket against a meal delivered to the door.

They are also more exposed to private label. Shoppers can be perfectly happy with a retailer's own cooking sauce, cereal, frozen vegetables or household product. In many indulgent categories, the familiar brand, taste, packaging and emotional promise are part of the enjoyment. As discounters and own label have grown, the Top 100 has increasingly become a measure of where brands can still defend their value.

## Having our cake and eating it too

Protein products, functional drinks and healthier ranges are becoming more visible, with brands such as Fulfil, Vit Hit, Fit Foods and Purepower reflecting interest in protein, performance and wellbeing. At the same time, snacking, soft drinks, confectionery and convenience have grown strongly.

Both trends can coexist because shoppers don't behave the same way at every moment of the day. Someone may choose a protein product after exercise, watch calories at lunchtime and buy confectionery that evening. Health is increasingly pursued through specific products and occasions, rather than one consistently healthy lifestyle.

## The breakfast table has fragmented

In 2011 the Top 100 had four cereal brands and three breakfast-meat brands. By 2026 there were two cereal brands and one breakfast-meat brand. Special K, Kellogg's Corn Flakes, Denny bacon and Denny sausages all left the list, and Weetabix fell from 53rd to 79th.

There are notable Irish exceptions. Flahavan's has stayed resilient, and Clonakilty, which wasn't ranked in 2011, is now 46th. A distinctive proposition, backed by heritage and a strong connection with Irish shoppers, can still protect a brand.

The overall pattern, though, is a breakfast occasion that has fragmented. Family members leave home at different times, work partly from home, travel further, or eat at school, at work, in a coffee shop or at a service station. Some breakfast has moved outside supermarket data altogether, and some has shifted to coffee, food-to-go, breakfast bars and portable protein. The breakfast table hasn't disappeared, but it no longer gathers the household the way it did.

## Fewer babies, fewer baby brands

Baby brands tell an equally strong demographic story. Four were in the Top 100 in 2011, against two in 2026. Pampers fell from 14th to 64th, and Cow & Gate and Huggies left the ranking. Over roughly the same period, annual births in Ireland fell from more than 74,000 to about 54,000, around 27%, while the population grew by almost one million. Pricing, distribution, own label and changes in how baby products are sold all play a part, but when births contract that much, it would be surprising if category and brand scale weren't affected.

## What the list is really telling us

The Checkout Top 100 isn't a national diet survey. It's a branded value ranking, shaped by inflation, distribution, marketing, innovation, promotion and retailer positioning. Yet the long-term direction is striking: branded value has moved away from products used to cook meals and run households, towards products offering convenience, stimulation, function or pleasure.

That shift reflects smaller households, fewer births, changing work patterns, fragmented family routines and growing competition for time. It also shows how well brands and retailers have adapted to the way people now shop, eat and move through their day.

*Sources: [Checkout Top 100 2026](https://www.flipsnack.com/Checkout/checkout-top-100-2026/full-view.html), 2011 and 2007. Brand rankings captured in full for every year from 2011 to 2026. Indulgent categories, as classified here: soft drinks, crisps and snacks, biscuits, ice cream, confectionery and protein bars.*

[Same data, different decisions: Advise in Checkout's Top 100 Brands 2026](/news/checkout-top-100-brands-2026) · [Our services](/services)