OSAKA, Japan–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The 20th World Branding Awards celebrated the success and achievements of leading brands across National, Regional, and Global categories. In the 2025–2026 edition, over 1,092 brands from 66 countries were nominated as “Brand of the Year”. From this distinguished selection, fewer than 100 brands emerged as winners, representing the highest standards of excellence across the three tiers of recognition.
The World Branding Awards Ceremony stepped outside London for the first time, bringing its global presence to the Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts. Over 80 international guests joined the celebration, hosted by Allie Sakakibara and enriched by a keynote from Miho Noguchi on immersive brand experiences.
Honoured as Global winners in branding across diverse industries were IKEA (Sweden), Lego (Denmark), Lurpak (Denmark), Nike (USA), and Yakult (Japan).
Winners from Japan include Coco Ichibanya, Eneos, Natural Aqua Gel Cure, Nippon Rent-A-Car, Shiseido, and Yakult. Other National tier winners include Boots (United Kingdom), Boursa Kuwait (Kuwait), Edeka (Germany), Emperador Brandy (Philippines), Flimty (Indonesia), FERN-D (Philippines), Kopi Kenangan (Indonesia), PTT Station (Thailand), Safaricom (Kenya), Tenaga Nasional Berhad (Malaysia), VISTRA (Thailand), and ZUS Coffee (Malaysia), among others.
Only 20 brands earned the Regional Tier award, recognised for their influence in four or more countries across three or more regional markets: Amarula (South Africa), M-150 (Thailand), MR DIY (Malaysia), Nippon Rent-A-Car (Japan), Tsui Wah (Hong Kong), Vitaday (Thailand), and Watsons (Malaysia).
“The World Branding Awards goes beyond celebrating success; we spotlight the unwavering effort, vision, and emotional resonance behind it. Every brand is honoured on a global pedestal, recognised not just for what it sells, but for what it stands for,” said Mr Richard Rowles, Chairman of the World Branding Forum.
More than 91,000 consumers participated in the nomination process globally this year. On average, there are only five winning brands in each country, proving that winning a World Branding Award is a remarkable accomplishment.
For more information and the full list of winners, visit awards.brandingforum.org.
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The World Branding Awards is the premier awards of the World Branding Forum, a registered non-profit organisation. The awards recognise the achievements of some of the world’s best brands.
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