Two Philippine Brands Stand Strong

Southeast Asia’s leading brands are growing more valuable, more resilient and increasingly capable of crossing borders. Yet for the Philippines, Kantar’s latest BrandZ ranking delivers both milestones and warnings.

A Regional Wake-Up Call. With only BDO and Red Horse Beer in Southeast Asia’s Top 30, the challenge for Philippine companies is clear – turn domestic strength into distinctive, enduring regional brand power. [Illustrator: ASK]

The 2026 Kantar BrandZ Top 30 Most Valuable Southeast Asian Brands have a combined value of US$165.3 billion, up 26 percent from 2024 and 38 percent from 2023. Eighteen brands increased in value, 16 posted double-digit growth and four more than doubled their valuations.

In simple terms, Kantar is measuring more than company size or annual sales.

What is Brand Equity?

Brand equity is the commercial advantage created by a name that consumers recognize, trust and prefer. It is why customers repeatedly choose one company over another and, in some cases, willingly pay more for its products or services.

Kantar assesses this advantage through three qualities using an MDS (Meaningful-Different-Salient) Formula.

A brand must be Meaningful by improving people’s lives, Different enough to stand apart and Salient enough to come readily to mind when a customer has a need.

Source: Kantar BrandZ 2026

Southeast Asia’s Top 30 outperform even Kantar’s most valuable global brands across all three measures.

Singapore’s DBS leads the regional ranking after its brand value surged 121 percent to US$24.5 billion. It displaced Indonesia’s BCA, valued at US$22.7 billion, while Thailand’s AIS, Shopee and UOB completed the Top Five.

Financial services account for more than half of the ranking’s total value, while telecommunications and digital retail also feature prominently.

The Philippines, however, contributed only two brands. BDO debuted at No. 29 with a value of US$1.36 billion, while Red Horse Beer placed No. 30 at US$1.24 billion after declining 15 percent and slipping four places.

Together, they represent only about 1.6 percent of the Top 30’s total value.

By comparison, Singapore placed nine brands on the list, Malaysia seven, Indonesia six and Thailand four. Vietnam, like the Philippines, had two, but their combined value was more than twice that of the Philippine pair.

Breaking Into the Regional Elite. BDO debuts at No. 29 in Kantar BrandZ’s 2026 ranking, marking an important step forward for Philippine brand power in Southeast Asia. [Image: BDO]

Regional Competitiveness Test

This does not mean the Philippines lacks large or successful companies.

Rather, it suggests that too few have converted domestic scale into concentrated brand value, distinctive consumer meaning and sustained regional reach. Kantar notes that six of the ten biggest risers have significant operations outside their home markets.

That finding becomes more striking when viewed from inside the Philippines.

Regional brands such as Shopee, Lazada, Grab, Maybank, CIMB, UOB, VinFast and Singapore Airlines already compete for Filipino customers.

In effect, Southeast Asia’s most valuable brands are capturing growth in the Philippine market faster than Philippine brands are building equivalent reach across the region.

BDO’s entry shows that Philippine brands can break into the regional elite. Red Horse, meanwhile, demonstrates how a distinctly Filipino identity can travel internationally. For other local companies, the path is increasingly clear.

Still Standing Strong. Despite slipping four places to No. 30, Red Horse Beer remains among Southeast Asia’s most valuable brands, proving that a distinctly Filipino identity can still travel beyond its home market. [Image: Red Horse]

They must invest consistently in trust and customer experience, sharpen what makes them different and build propositions capable of crossing cultures and borders.

The ranking is therefore more than a corporate leaderboard. It is a regional competitiveness test, and one that Philippine business cannot afford to ignore.