China's growing middle class on their biggest brands

So this is the new frontier in the fight for global brand’s dominance. Shanghai and other cities across China teaming with millions of new consumers.

And research carried out exclusively for the BBC shows that of the top 20 foreign brands recognized by Chinese consumers, 13 of them are American. Apple, Nike, McDonalds, Coca-Cola, Colgate, and Johnson Baby are all in the top 20.

One American company, Proctor & Gamble owns six of the top 20. Two of the brands are German, Adidas, and the only car company on the list, Volkswagon. While Korea’s Samsung is the only Asian brand.

Britain and Holland are represented by Unilever and their soap brand, Omo. But the number one best recognized foreign brand in China is the American fast food Chicken Chain KFC.

A girl: Western brands are more popular and they have better quality products, people love them.

A man: I don’t feel ashamed of it, it’s necessary and it might even help stimulate the development of our local brands.

A man: Western culture is slowly coming in and it’s becoming more acceptable in China. I hope we can learn more about the West.

The twenty foreign companies on our list are gaining market share rapidly. McDonalds is opening almost one new store every day in China. KFC, almost two new stores a day.

But of course, when it comes to big brand recognition here, it is still the domestic companies that dominate, particularly the big telecommunication, banking and insurance giants. For foreign companies, taking these guys on is an all together different proposition.