Comfort foods and beer top customer satisfaction rankings

As the recession bites further into consumers' wallets, people are seeking solace in comfort foods, particularly in beer and candy, according to the American Consumer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) released November 17. The report is a quarterly indicator of customer evaluations of products in over 10 categories.

Heinz, maker of the ultimate comfort product, ketchup, was rated consumers' preferred company for the tenth year in a row, but candy and beer also appeared to offer satisfaction.

Beer companies reached their highest level to date with an overall score of 84 out of 100. Annheuser-Busch InBev (ranked 85) and SAB Miller (83) emerged as the top companies, while Molson Coors Brewing dipped some (81) and others remained steady at 83.

Confectionary also fared well, with overall satisfaction with snack food companies rated at 83. Of the top 10 candymakers, Mars and Hershey ranked 87, and Nestle reached an all-time high of 86.

Other top-ranked food brands included: Quaker (87), Kellogg's (85) and Sara Lee (85), but ConAgra, maker of frozen dinners, didn't do so well, dropping 7 percent to 78.
 
Satisfaction with soft drinks companies also grew 2.4 percent for an overall score of 85. The greatest gains were registered by PepsiCo, with 2.4 percent increase while "all others" posted a 6.3 percent gain. However, satisfaction with Coca-Cola and Dr. Pepper Snapple dipped 1.2 percent and 1.1 percent respectively.

Of the rankings, Professor Claes Fornell, creator of the ACSI said in a statement:
 
"The same thing happened in 2001 in the midst of the previous recession and also in 2004 when concern over the Iraq war and rising fuel prices appeared to be reflected in higher satisfaction with comfort foods."

http://www.theacsi.org/