2. Yili
Overall position: 15
Category: Food and dairy
Brand value: US$5.07bn
Privately-owned Yili is top among a number of dairy companies on the list. Probably best known for its role in the 2008 melamine scandal, during which eight out of its 30 tested products tested positive for the substance.
Today, however, it represents the joint-fastest growing brand on the BrandZ list, with 86% growth over the last year.
The authors say the value of brands like Yili have increased because of international alliances and other initiatives to develop world-class food processing expertise and guarantee food supply safety.
The Inner Mongolia-based company is in the process of expanding its operations, both at home in mainland China and overseas in America and Australasia. At the end of last year, Yili took over New Zealand-based Oceania Dairy Group, investing heavily in an infant formula plant in South Canterbury, which is scheduled for completion in 2014. The plant is expected to generate around 47,000 tonnes of dairy products per year.