The pandemic rocked our economic foundation with many companies going bankrupt or severely having to scale back operations. As the world continues to seek normalcy, some companies have bounced back quicker than others.
According to Katar BrandZ, it’s the company’s brand that determines its strength. To determine a brand’s value Katar used the company’s financial value, which is how much a brand financially contributes to its parent company, multiplied by the brand’s contribution or the brand’s proportional impact on the parent company’s sales.
This is how the world’s most valuable brands measured up in 2021. The top companies showing major growth in 2021 included:
Amazon: For the third year in a row, Amazon ranked number one growing by sixty-four percent, yielding $684 billion in 2021. The company is the world’s first half-a-trillion dollar brand followed by Apple who saw $612 billion in 2021.
Apple: The tech giant saw a seventy-four percent increase this year. Still susceptible to the pandemic, Apple stocks dipped by nineteen percent in early 2020 before bouncing back with record-breaking revenue, generating over sixty-four billion in the fourth quarter.
Google: The media and entertainment giant reported over $450 billion in revenue in 2021, making it the largest multi-media company in the world followed by China-based media company Tencent (5) with $241 billion and Facebook (6) with $227 billion, giving it a fifty-four percent jump in growth over 2020. Facebook changed its name to “Meta” in 2021 with plans to create the next incarnation of social media.
Microsoft: Microsoft’s brand value increased by twenty-six percent from 2020. The software company proves it has more to offer with a revenue of over $410 billion.
Alibaba: China’s eCommerce powerhouse brought in $197 billion in 2021 thanks to its sellers and consumers who use the site to shop, sell and engage with content. Alibaba CMO Chris Tung says “Brands need to invest in China as a long-term opportunity, they must innovate with Chinese consumer’s tastes and preferences in mind.”
Visa: The financial services company grew by two percent in 2021 with revenue of over $191 billion.
McDonald’s: Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the restaurant had to pivot to its online offerings. McDonald’s heavily invested in its apps and delivery services. This helped the company reach over $154 billion in sales and grew the company by twenty percent in 2021.
Mastercard: Mastercard grew by four percent in 2021 with revenue reaching upwards of $110 billion.
As for companies that saw the fastest growth in 2021, Chipotle saw an eighty-two percent jump in sales. As the company continues to place value in quick, fresh food, Chipotle opened its first “digital kitchen” in Ohio this month where burrito lovers can forego the assembly line and order online or through the Chipotle app, then simply pick up their food in the drive-thru or at a pickup window.
Luluemon saw their sales jump eighty-five percent as more employees traded in their office wear for athletic and leisurewear.
Instagram engagement increased as the social media platform crossed over two billion users in 2021, growing the brand by one hundred percent. The platform introduced reels but still faced fierce competition from China’s TikTok platform, whose micro-videos just couldn’t be ignored, especially by foodies. With all the extra time on folks’ hands and businesses integrating TikTok into their social media plans, the platform grew by 158 percent in 2021.
Last, but certainly not least, Tesla. The better question is, what did the company and its CEO not do in 2021? Tesla and Hertz partnered for 100,000 Teslas to be added to their rental car fleet. A new Tesla Gigafactory opened in Austin and Elon, well he’s sending people to the moon, hosting Saturday Night Live, and was named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year for 2021. Not to mention Tesla grew by 275 percent in 2021.
The total value of Katar BrandZ’s top one hundred brands grew by over forty percent in 2021 bringing in revenue of seven trillion dollars worldwide. As we face year three of our world being turned upside down, the world is bouncing back.