M&M’s was ranked among Morning Consult’s top 25 most trusted brands in the United States list (expanding from last year’s top 10 list).
Despite ranking at No. 17 on the list overall, the chocolate brand from Mars, Inc. was still the highest-ranking food brand on the list, outranking the likes of Cheerios, Campbell Soup, Heinz Ketchup and Reese’s.
Morning Consult ranks brands based on their average net trust rating, which the business intelligence company quantifies as the number of consumers who trust a certain brand minus the number of consumers who distrust that same brand. For the US list, M&M’s accumulated a 51.1 net trust score. As for the other food brands on this list, Cheerios received a 50.6 score, Campbell Soup received a 50.3 score, Heinz Ketchup received a 50.1 score, and Reese’s received a 49.7 score.
“Items you’ll find on the grocery store shelf, including food, household, and personal products, make up 13 of the 25 Most Trusted Brands ranking,” Morning Consult said. “These are the tried-and true staples of American households, from Cheerios to Clorox.”
The report also consists of top 15 brand lists based on their net trust among several key demographics, including Gen Z adults, millennials, Gen X, baby boomers, men and women. While no food brands appeared on the Gen Z adults list, both Doritos and M&M’s tied at No. 14 on the millennials lists, scoring a net trust score of 46.9. Campbell Soup placed No. 3 on the Gen X list with a net trust score of 59.7. The baby boomers list, on the other hand, features five food brands in its most trusted brands list: Campbell Soup at No. 5 with a 68.4 net trust score, Betty Crocker at No. 11 with a 63.4 net trust score, Philadelphia Cream Cheese at No. 12 with a 63.1 net trust score (tying with disinfectant brand Lysol), and Heinz Ketchup at No. 14 with a 62.9 net trust score (tying with medication brand Tylenol). For the gendered lists, M&M’s placed No. 15 with a 49.4 net trust score (tying with pharmacy chain Walgreens) among men while Campbell Soup, Cheerios and M&M’s all tied at No. 14 with a 53 net trust score (alongside the payment card brand Visa) among women.