YouGov reveals top brands in Saudi Arabia, UAE and Egypt

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Dairy products produced by Almarai at a grocery store in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, June 2, 2016. (Reuters)
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Updated 22 September 2020
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YouGov reveals top brands in Saudi Arabia, UAE and Egypt

  • The report finds that Emirates, Almarai and Carrefour are the brands with the most loyal customers in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, respectively
  • In Saudi Arabia, Emirates has emerged as the biggest mover within the top 10 brands, at seventh place, up from 15th last year

DUBAI: YouGov BrandIndex, which measures the public’s perception of brands on a daily basis across a range of metrics, has released its 2020 Customer Loyalty rankings.

The report finds that Emirates, Almarai and Carrefour are the brands with the most loyal customers in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, respectively. 

In the UAE’s top 10, the biggest movers were Lurpak — at 10th, up from 15th last year — and Dettol, which rose from 10th to sixth this year.

Despite the flight restrictions in place, loyalty toward leading carrier brands has remained strong in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. After Emirates at first position, Etihad appeared in the UAE rankings at fifth.

In Saudi Arabia, Emirates has emerged as the biggest mover within the top 10 brands, at seventh place, up from 15th last year. Saudia’s strong loyalty among Saudi customers landed it second place in the 2020 rankings.

Popular handset brand iPhone makes an appearance in the rankings of all three countries. In the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, customer loyalty toward the brand remains strong, not showing change in reconsideration rates despite its status as a luxury item amid a tough economic climate.

YouGov BrandIndex has also released the 10 “most improved” brands of the past year — those that have registered the largest rise in their loyalty score.

Majid Al-Futtaim is the “most improved” brand of the past year in the UAE, with a rise of 9.6 points.

It also makes an appearance in the improvers’ lists of Egypt and Saudi Arabia, as the third and sixth most improved brand, respectively. 

In Saudi Arabia, Al-Raya is the “most improved” brand of the past year, with a rise of 7.7 points. In Egypt, Jumia.com reigns as the most improved brand, up 12.5 points.

Consumer brands dominate the list of improvers this year, highlighting the role of familiar fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) power brands in maintaining comfort through periods of prolonged lockdown and social distancing.

Mirinda, Fanta and Cheetos make an appearance in the UAE list. Egypt sees the presence of Tiger (up 6.6 points), KFC (up 5.7), Mountain Dew (up 5.7), Maggi (up 5.6), Heinz (up 5.5) and Juhayna (up 5.2) within the top 10 improvers.


Foreign press group welcomes Israel court deadline on Gaza access

Updated 22 December 2025
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Foreign press group welcomes Israel court deadline on Gaza access

  • Supreme Court set deadline for responding to petition filed by the Foreign Press Association to Jan. 4
  • Since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, Israeli authorities have prevented foreign journalists from independently entering the Strip

JERUSALEM: The Foreign Press Association in Jerusalem on Sunday welcomed the Israeli Supreme Court’s decision to set January 4 as the deadline for Israel to respond to its petition seeking media access to Gaza.
Since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, sparked by Palestinian militant group Hamas’s attack on Israel, Israeli authorities have prevented foreign journalists from independently entering the devastated territory.
Israel has instead allowed, on a case-by-case basis, a handful of reporters to accompany its troops into the blockaded Palestinian territory.
The Foreign Press Association (FPA), which represents hundreds of foreign journalists in Israel and the Palestinian territories, filed a petition to the supreme court last year, seeking immediate access for international journalists to the Gaza Strip.
On October 23, the court held a first hearing on the case, and decided to give Israeli authorities one month to develop a plan for granting access.
Since then the court has given several extensions to the Israeli authorities to come up with their plan, but on Saturday it set January 4 as a final deadline.
“If the respondents (Israeli authorities) do not inform us of their position by that date, a decision on the request for a conditional order will be made on the basis of the material in the case file,” the court said.
The FPA welcomed the court’s latest directive.
“After two years of the state’s delay tactics, we are pleased that the court’s patience has finally run out,” the association said in a statement.
“We renew our call for the state of Israel to immediately grant journalists free and unfettered access to the Gaza Strip.
“And should the government continue to obstruct press freedoms, we hope that the supreme court will recognize and uphold those freedoms,” it added.
An AFP journalist sits on the board of the FPA.