Recent figures released by trade magazine Distrifood have revealed that, in 2022, people shopping in supermarkets in the Netherlands favoured products from a handful of brands, and spent the most money on cigarettes, beer and Coca-Cola. 

What do shoppers in Dutch supermarkets spend money on?

While a high inflation rate led to soaring prices in 2022, the rising costs don’t appear to have had much of a difference in what people in the Netherlands are spending their money on. Similarly to 2021, research conducted by market research company Circana on behalf of Distrifood has revealed that the most popular premium brand products in 2022 were pretty unhealthy.

The top two so-called A-merk brands in 2022 were cigarette companies - Marlboro and Camel - while Coca-Cola rounded out the top three. Other companies to reclaim their spots in the top 10 in 2022 include Campina, Lay’s and Douwe Egberts.

While the list of the top-performing brands in 2022 is fairly similar to that of 2021, there are a handful of changes. Most notable is that Dutch beer giant Heineken has fallen from fourth place into seventh, and has been taken over by Hertog Jan as the Netherlands’ favourite brewery.

Top brands in the Netherlands in 2022

According to Distrifood and Circana’s research, the top 10 highest-grossing premium brands in the Netherlands in 2022 were:

1. Marlboro
2. Camel 
3. Coca-Cola
4. Hertog Jan
5. Campina
6. Lay’s 
7. Heineken
8. Unox
9. Douwe Egberts 
10. Dr. Oetker

This marks the ninth year in a row that Marlboro has taken the top spot, but it is certainly set to be the last; from 2024, Dutch supermarkets will no longer be allowed to sell cigarettes or tobacco products.

Thumb: Hadrian via Shutterstock.com.