Which Global Brands Are Most Associated With Ramadan?

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting, prayer, reflection, and community.

And despite it being first and foremost a spiritual period, business activity in certain sectors - food, retail, and entertainment - tends to rise in Muslim-majority countries.

As a result, some global brands have begun to see this period as an opportunity to market their identity, leaning in on the theme of connection and community.

TGM Research conducted a survey in 2023, asking 9,672 respondents in 15 countries a variety of questions. One of them included:

Which brands come to mind first when thinking of Ramadan?

Visual Capitalist's Marcus Lu visualizes their responses in the graphic above and delve into a little bit of detail below.

Ranked: Global Brands Associated With Ramadan

Coca-Cola leads the lists with 8.1% of those surveyed picking the beverage giant as the brand they most associate with Ramadan.

In case this comes as a surprise, Coca-Cola has launched numerous ad campaigns for Ramadan in previous years, focusing on spreading happiness and kindness, drawing upon the power of human connection to create a positive image of the brand.

In second place is the Marjan Group, a producer of water tanks and filtration systems, with about half (4.3%) of Coke’s presence.

At third, is another beverage company, Vimto, founded in 1908 in the United Kingdom. In 1927 Vimto introduced its cordial to the Middle East, which has become a key part of breaking fasts during the holy month.

Saudi Arabian multinational dairy company, Almarai was picked fourth by 3.5% of the respondents, and after it, comes three global brands—Nestle, Pepsi, Nike—all sitting at 3.2%.

Aside from several ad campaigns, Nike launched a special-edition sneaker named “dusk to dawn” in 2018, a nod to how Ramadan observers went about their day while fasting.

The shoe was created in collaboration with Lebanese artist, Ali Chaaban, who aimed to “create a new essence to running in the Arab world.”

Nike has also created several campaigns featuring Muslim athletes, including Zahra Lari, an Emirati figure skater who was the first woman to compete internationally while wearing a hijab.