Family-owned bakery brand, McGhee’s, has overtaken Irn-Bru as Scotland’s number one local brand, according to Worldpanel by Numerator’s (WbN’s) 2026 Brand Footprint.
Graham’s earned second place, while Irn-Bru slipped to third. Tunnocks and Simon Howie ranked in fourth and fifth place respectively. The report ranks the most chosen FMCG brands in Scotland by Consumer Reach Points (CRPs), a measure combining household penetration and purchase frequency.
However, WbN claimed that “the more distinctive story is not which names sit at the top, but how Scottish shoppers move between national brands and local ones without making a ceremony of it”.
In the total FMCG rankings for Scotland, Warburtons leads, followed by Cadbury’s, Walkers, Coca-Cola and McVitie’s.
“What the 2025 data shows is that local brands can’t rely on provenance alone, those that win most decisively own a specific everyday routine,” claimed the research group.
McGhee’s ranks ninth in total FMCG and first among Scottish brands, with 16.63m CRPs and 49.5% penetration. Graham’s follows at tenth overall with 16.06m CRPs, 55.5% penetration and £24.27 spend per buyer. “Brands with many small routes into the home accumulate more chances to be chosen, which is precisely what McGhee’s rise to the top of the Scottish ranking reflects,” explained WbN.
“Irn-Bru shows what deep local loyalty looks like in purchase data. Third among Scottish brands and 11th overall, it has 42.4% penetration and the highest spend per buyer of any Scottish brand at £49.64, with frequency at 13.3. It reaches fewer homes than McGhee’s or Graham’s, but the homes that buy it come back often.”
Coca-Cola sits fourth overall in Scotland with 66.1% penetration and £147.7m in spend.
Fifth among Scottish brands and 29th in total FMCG, Simon Howie reaches 54.2% of Scottish households. The brand is leaning into the 2026 football World Cup with a haggis-led Tartan Army campaign built around the line ‘No haggis, no party’.
Scotland’s local brands span the entire shop, noted WbN. “Alongside McGhee’s, Graham’s, Irn-Bru, Tunnock’s and Simon Howie, names like Baxters, Nairn’s, Mackie’s, Barr’s and Highland Spring cover bakery, dairy, meat, soup, snacks, drinks and household staples,” observes the group. “That breadth matters commercially. The national-versus-local dynamic is not a question for one aisle – it runs through almost every category decision a brand or retailer makes in Scotland.”
Lesley Ann Gray, Strategic Insight Director, Scotland, WbN, said: “Scotland’s Brand Footprint shows national scale and local habit sitting side by side in the same basket. McGhee’s taking the top Scottish spot, Irn-Bru’s loyal base, Simon Howie reaching more than half of Scottish homes – each tells the same story from a different angle. Local brands win when they own an everyday routine and keep finding new reasons to be part of it, but the product must continue to earn the next buy.”
