Consumers Weigh In on Most Trustworthy Grocers, Brands
Trust is one of those attributes of food retailing that is a top, if sometimes elusive, goal. A new survey from Newsweek reveals retailers and CPGs who have nailed trust among shoppers.
The news site is out with its annual list of the “Most Trustworthy Companies in America” that includes several grocers, food and beverage manufacturers and consumer goods businesses. Newsweek compiled the list with research partner Statista, assessing 700 U.S. companies across nearly two dozen industries.
[Read more: "How to Win – and Win Back – Shoppers With Loyalty"]
The grocers and c-store operators earning the top marks for trustworthiness include the following, ranked in descending order:
- Publix Super Markets
- WinCo Foods
- The Kroger Co.
- Harris Teeter Supermarkets
- QuickTrip
- H-E-B
- Wawa
- Sheetz
- Brookshire’s Floral and Pharmacy
- The Fresh Market
- Hy-Vee
- Sprouts Farmers Market
- Wakefern Food Corp.
- Albertsons Cos.
- Southeastern Grocers
In the more broadly-defined retail category, companies that have grocery offerings also scored big points for trust, such as Amazon (No. 1), United Natural Foods, Inc. (No. 4), Costco (No. 5), Target (No. 14) and Walmart (No. 25).
As for manufacturers, consumer goods companies landing in the top 10 for trustworthiness include the Clorox Co., Colgate-Palmolive and Procter & Gamble. In the food and beverage space, the top 10 most-trusted CPG companies were, in order: Quaker Oats Co., The Hershey Co., Kellogg Co., Campbell Soup Co., Gordon Food Service, Inc., Whole Foods Market/Amazon, Keurig Dr. Pepper Inc., Land O'Lakes, Inc., the KraftHeinz Co. and Braum's Inc.
According to Newsweek’s Global Editor Nancy Cooper, trust can be tough to attain, especially over the last few challenging years. She cited a PwC survey showing that 87% of company leaders believe that people place a high level of trust in their companies, while polling of the actual consumer base found that figure is only 30%. “In any good relationship, the one essential ingredient is trust. It's hard to build, easy to lose and sometimes you think you have more of it than you really do,” she pointed out.
