My Top 10 Brands of 2020
by Sheldon Rocha Leal

Since 2017 I have been documenting my favorite brands of the year and this year is no different. This will, therefore, be my 4th article in the series. As I have said in previous years, I am very brand loyal and my favorite types are heritage products, which come with a long history and story. For me a great brand, with a long historical legacy is a winning recipe. I like the story that comes with a brand and the way in which they adapt to prevailing market forces to keep up with the demands of a modern society. It’s a testament to great workmanship, attention to detail and use of good quality materials, which result in a brand’s longevity. These brands would never last as long as they do if they were doing something wrong, therefore, these legacy products have perfected some sort of recipe, from which aspiring entrepreneurs can learn.

For the first time this year I highlight a South African heritage brand and I hope to shed a spotlight on other local legacy products in years to come. In my opinion it is not only important to promote, but also support indigenous legacy products, that have proven their metal in successive decades and centuries. The brands I have selected to highlight this year include everything from motor vehicle manufactures to beauty product producers. I have covered a broad spectrum of brands which resonate with me, some are expensive and others less so, a little bit of everything for everyone. What they all have in common is a reputation for quality and a legacy of excellence.

The look, feel, branding and marketing of a product are all essential elements that ensure its future success and I believe that all the brands selected have achieved the latter. So much so that three of the brands listed below hold multiple Royal Warrants from the British Royal family. I hope that you enjoy the brands I selected this year…

So without further ado here are my Top 10 brands of 2020:

1. Parker (est. 1888, Janesville, Wisconsin, USA)

The company was established by George Stafford Parker, who had previously worked for the John Holland Gold Pen Company as a salesman. In 1889 he received a patent for a fountain pen, and in 1894 another patent was issued for his “Lucky Curve” fountain pen feed, which helped draw excess ink back into a pen. Between the 1920s-60s Parker was either the number 1 or 2 selling pen in the world. The brand received a royal warrant from Queen Elizabeth II in 1962 and again in 1990 from Prince Charles. In 1986 a management buyout moved the company’s headquarters to Newhaven, East Sussex, England from the USA. In 1993 the company was bought by Gillette who also owned Paper Mate and in 2000 Parker was sold to Newell Rubbermaid, who also owned Rotring, Waterman, Sharpie and Reynolds. With competition from cheaper Chinese manufacturers Newell decided to close the Parker production facility in England and move operations to France, from which all Parker pens now emanate. I have had many Parkers over the years, but my favorite is a Mark II matt black Jotter Pencil I bought this year. This line has been manufactured continuously since 1954 and over 750million Jotters have been sold worldwide.

2. Ferrero Rocher (est. 1946, Alba, Piedmont, Italy)

The Ferrero company was established in 1946 in Italy by Pierre Ferrero, a confectioner and pâtissier, when the master chocolate-maker invented a cream of cocoa and hazelnuts and called it Pasta Gianduja. He added the hazelnuts (30% of the contents) to the recipe to save on chocolate and it was originally sold in loaves and needed to be sliced. It was only later renamed Nutella in 1964 when his son, Michele, took control of the company. The company is still run by a Ferrero to this day and own a plethora of confectionary brands. I want to focus, however, on the Ferrero Rocher sub-brand, which was introduced in 1982 and invented by Michele. This offshoot of Ferrero was named after a grotto in the Roman Catholic shrine of Lourdes in France. The confection consists of the famous Ferrero Hazelnut cream, two wafer sheet layers, a layer of chocolate, sprinkled with more hazelnuts. A total of roughly 3.6billion Ferrero Rocher balls are made annually and sold in 40 countries.

3. Land Rover: Defender (est. 1948, Newborough, Anglesey, England)

The original Land Rover design was created by Maurice Wilks and brother Spencer, at his farm in Newborough, who was the chief designer at the Rover company and his brother the managing director. The design of the off-roading icon was probably inspired by the design of the Jeep in the USA. BMW bought the company in 1994, which was then sold to Ford in 2000 and in 2008 it was finally sold to Tata Motors. One of the company’s biggest successes of 2020, for me, was the introduction of the new Defender. The reimagining and design of this motoring icon is exceptional and the build quality is phenomenal, not to mention the inclusion of all the technology. In 2016 after 67 continuous years of production the old Defender was discontinued and a new vehicle was teased. Loyal fans of this rugged off-road vehicle waited in anticipation. The new vehicle looks like it could hold its own off-road, but would someone want to subject such a beautiful vehicle to ruggedness? I love the lines and design of this vehicle and the careful consideration and inclusion of many of the original design elements. Incidentally Land Rover holds three royal warrants, from Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Phillip and Prince Charles.

4. La Mer (est. 1965, California, USA)

The beauty brand was started in the 1950s by German aerospace physicist Max Huber after he was badly burnt in a lab explosion. After the explosion he spent 12 years experimenting with Macrocystis pyrifera, a type of kelp found in the ocean near his home in California. He eventually perfected a formula, in which he fermented the kelp, utilized protective antioxidant extracts and precious stones, which helped heal his burns and in 1965 he commenced marketing and selling his miracle product. After his death in 1991 the brand was bought from his daughter by the international cosmetics corporation Estée Lauder. The company diversified Max Huber’s original product line and today one can obtain a plethora of beauty products containing Huber’s miracle broth: lip balms, cleansers, moisturizers, toners and masks. I have been using the brand for about 10 years now and I would never use anything else. After applying the different products my skin always feels rejuvenated and I love the smell, which has a sweet oceanic scent.

5. Hellmann’s Mayonnaise (est. 1913, New York City, USA)

Richard Hellmann moved to New York City from Vetschau, Prussia in 1903 and married Margaret Vossberg, whose parents owned a delicatessen in the city. In mid-1905 he followed his parents-in-law’s footsteps, starting his own delicatessen and proceeded to create a mayonnaise, which he used to dish-out in small quantities to patrons. In 1913 the demand for the mayonnaise increased and he set up a factory to manufacture the condiment under the name Hellmann’s Blue Ribbon Mayonnaise. In 1914 he changed the name to Blue Ribbon Mayonnaise and in 1915 sold the delicatessen to open up a small mayonnaise factory in Manhattan. By the end of that year a larger factory was built in Long Island City to keep up with the demand. Expansion continued throughout the USA and Canada and in 1927 the company was sold to Postum Foods/Best Foods. In 1958 the company was bought by Corn Products Refining Company, who brought the mayonnaise to the UK in 1961 and by late 1980s they controlled 50% of the market. In 2000 the company was bought by the Anglo-Dutch company Unilever. During lockdown I got addicted to this mayonnaise (the creamy one) and I will not use anything else.

6. Twinings (est. 1706, Painswick, Gloucestershire, England)

The company was started in 1706 by Thomas Twining, in Painswick, Gloucestershire, England. Thomas previously worked as a merchant for the East India Company in 1701, but when he returned to London he bought Thomas D’Aeth’s (his former boss at the India Company) coffee house, which became the Twining’s store. Although the shop was originally a coffee house it became famous for Twining’s tea blends and by 1717 he had bought the three adjacent houses and expanded his business. The shop is still operational to this day and is London’s longest-standing ratepayer. The tea house’s logo, created in 1787 is the world’s oldest continuously used brand. Twinings holds a royal warrant and is closely associated with Earl Grey Tea, made from Bergamot (oil distilled from the rind of the Bergamot orange fruit). The company was finally bought by Associated British Foods in 1964, and have diversified their product range to include other hot beverages. The head office is now based in Andover, Hampshire. My favorite blends of Twinings are Chai, Vanilla and Rooibos.

7. San Pellegrino (est. 1899, San Pellegrino Terme, Bergamo, Lombardy, Italy)

Although the bottle says that the company was established in 1899, spring water has been bottled in San Pellegrino Terme since 1395. Leonardo da Vinci is said to have come to the region just to sample the miraculous waters in the 1500s and Queen Margherita visited in 1905 at which point the water was already being internationally distributed. In the 1200s people were drawn to the area as the water was reputed to have recuperative and therapeutic properties and in 1760 Pellegrino Foppoli built a bathhouse in the little town. In 1803 the descendants of Foppoli sold the bathhouse to Giovanni Pesenti, who wanted to build a bigger facility, which raised the ire of residents who felt that the water would be monetised at their expense. In the 20th century carbon dioxide was added to the water to prevent the development of bacteria. A new bottling plant was added to the spa in 1928, producing 120,000 bottles a day and in 1930 machinery was added to the spa for the first time increasing production. Sanpellegrino S.p.A started producing bottled water and other beverages at the new factory in 1961. In 1997 Sanpellegrino S.p.A was bought by Perrier Vital SA, a division of Nestlé. The iconic green “Vichy” bottle has been in use since 1899.

8. Peel’s (est. 1924, Hawick, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa)

Peel’s was started by Jack Peel in 1924 in the Midlands in South Africa, when he started a small apiary for recreational purposes, and started handing out small quantities of honey to family and friends. The demand for this honey started to increase and so did the number of beehives. Things really kicked off when he met John Smith, a local beekeeper who shared many of the same interests as Peel, in 1956. In 1959 Jack passed away and John continued to build Peel’s legacy. John and his wife would often park their car on the side of the national main road and sell honey out of the boot of their car, to passers-by, and the boot was eventually replaced by a wooden kiosk. Over the years the brand has exchanged hands various times and their main operations are now situated in Hilton, KwaZulu-Natal, but their main shop is still in Howick, near the highway. I like that the new shop is now housed in a container, like a modern reinterpretation of the car boot, where one can purchase honey on tap, clever attention to detail. There are, apparently, plans for further expansion across South Africa, which will be awesome for fans of the brand. Peel’s holds the distinction of being South Africa’s oldest surviving honey brand and a local heritage product.

9. Tempur-Pedic (est. 1964, Sweden/USA)

Although the concept for the Tempur-Pedic memory foam bedding products (such as pillows and mattresses) originated from NASA, the idea was perfected by a Swedish father and son team, Alf and Dag Landvik. The two started a company in 1964 called Fagerdala and their focus was initially the use of polyurethane in the manufacture of mattresses and pillows, in which they became world leaders. In 1989 Fagerdala acquired Tempur-Pedic technology from NASA who had been using visco elastic materials in the manufacture of pressure reliving system mattresses. In the 1990s they started using polypropylene as a material of manufacture, in 1992 the product was finally brought back to the USA and a company known as Tempur-Pedic was founded. Fagerdala along with 9 distributors of their products and Tempur-Pedic merged in 1999 to form Tempur World, the holding company for these various brands and products. In 2013 the company went public and was bought by the Sealy Corporation in 2012, becoming the world’s largest bedding company. It was decided, on the merger, that the two companies would still function as separate entities even though they were one company. I experienced Tempur-Pedic products for the first time about 4 years ago and I won’t go back. Best night’s sleep.

10. Silhouette Eyewear (est. 1964, Linz, Austria)

The company was established in 1964 by husband and wife team Anneliese and Arnold Schmied, when they formed Sillouette International Schmied AG. As of 2018 the company is headed up by Arnold Schmied, Dr. Andreas Meier and Dr. Windischbauer. It is a relatively small company, which only employs approximately 1,600 people and consists of 13 international distribution companies, who distribute to over 100 countries. In 2017 the company sold over 5.5million pairs of sunglasses within their different brands including Adidas Sport Eyewear. The company cooperated with NASA in the production of eyewear, insisting on using the lightest material in the manufacture of their products, including Titanium. The artisanal eyewear maker’s philosophy is simple design, the use of high quality materials, while aiming to achieve the lightest eyewear on the market. All their products are manufactured in Austria. I’ve used Silhouette sunglasses for many year and I love how they feel on my face, often forgetting that I’m even wearing any eyewear.

So this year I included an eyewear brand, stationery, bedding, condiment, beverage, confectionary, motor vehicle, tea and beauty products. I think I have covered all my bases. All the brands have a few things in common:

Long legacy

Attention to detail

Use of high quality materials or ingredients

And three brands even hold Royal Warrants

What I like about the brands I selected is that they have evolved in their long history and diversified their product ranges, extending their original philosophy to multiple and supporting products. I guess that is the secret to the longevity of these brands, to constantly innovate and diversify, which is what has attracted me, as a consumer, to all these products. Yes, some of the products are expensive, but one can taste or feel the difference when compared to other brands. That being said, it is not always necessary to spend a lot of money to get a good product. Anyway…those were my top 10 brands of 2020, let’s see what 2021 bring 😉
['Sheldon Rocha Leal']
['Consumerism', 'Product', 'Legacy', 'Heritage', 'Culture']