Squishmallows and Crocs climb the top 100 UK Coolest Brands for kids

By Helenor Gilmour, Director of Strategy – Beano Brain. 

Coolest Brands is back with its 2024 list of top 100 brands for kids and teens across the UK.  

In 2024, YouTube has leapfrogged Netflix to regain the top spot, which sets the bar for storytelling and brands who want to be authentic. This high expectation from Gen A and their brand literacy mean that it is hard for new brands to break into the top 100. Constant innovation, super-fast delivery, reliability, safety built-in and depth and breadth are all simple hygiene factors to this most brand-literate generation.  Only two of the top performing brands – Amazon and Roblox were born in the 21st century. 

Crocs was this year’s biggest riser, climbing 35 spaces up the list – once dubbed as ugly or old-fashioned, it seems the brand is making a huge comeback thanks to Gen Alpha. Our second highest riser is Squishmallows, climbing 29 places up the list to spot 18.  

Food and drink brands feature heavily in the top 25, unsurprisingly given the size of marketing budgets historically, but they are also closely associated with treats and fun family time.  They are valued by kids for the products themselves, but how they differ from other products AND how they make them feel.  Kids understand the added brand values and personalities of the best-ranked brands. 

Finally, brands that upped the funny this year have acquired cool points with kids.  Friendly brands and brands that know how to make kids laugh do well in our rankings. Humour is playground currency for kids and welcomes them into the brand’s world.  

Create the LOLs and you capture coolness! 

To see the full list and receive the latest insights, download the Beano Brain Coolest Brands 2024 mini report below, or contact the team directly.