New research from Brand Finance reveals modest 1% growth, as Nordic brands hold their ground and evolve
LONDON, 2 September 2025 – Brand Finance’s latest Nordic 150 2025 ranking reveals a region where tradition and innovation go hand in hand, allowing Nordic brands to hold their ground and forge new paths despite shifting economic conditions and currency pressures. According to Brand Finance, the world’s leading brand valuation consultancy, the total brand value of the top 150 Nordic brands edged up by 1% this year, reflecting a story of steady progress and long-term trust built with consumers across global markets.
Sweden once again dominates the ranking, contributing 44% of the total brand value (EUR100.9 billion). Iconic household brands anchor the country’s global reputation for design, innovation, and cultural influence. Denmark follows with EUR54.4 billion, powered by the diverse successes of LEGO, Novo Nordisk, Maersk, and Tulip, while Norway’s brands collectively contribute EUR37.9 billion, led by energy giant Equinor. Finland delivers the fastest growth momentum, adding five new brands and reaching a combined brand value of EUR34.7 billion.
Equinor is the Nordic region’s most valuable brand at EUR14.1 billion. Despite a 10% drop in brand value, the energy company continues to lead in carbon capture projects such as Northern Lights and the CO₂ Highway Europe.
IKEA ranks second with a brand value of EUR12.0 billion, down 18%. The Swedish retail giant maintains its global presence, most recently opening a flagship store on London’s Oxford Street. Volvo takes third place at EUR10.3 billion, down 6%. The brand combines its heritage in safety with a growing reputation for sustainability and Scandinavian luxury.
Tulip climbs 51 places to become the fastest-growing Nordic brand, with its value up 98% to EUR931 million. Denmark’s oldest food brand has reinvented itself through plant-based innovation and creative consumer engagement.
Valio, valued at EUR1.8 billion, is once again the strongest Nordic brand with a Brand Strength Index (BSI) of 96.3/100 and an AAA+ brand strength rating. Its long-standing reputation for quality is matched by a strong innovation pipeline and carbon-neutral goals. ICA follows as the second strongest Nordic brand with a BSI of 93.2/100 (AAA+ rating), reflecting deep consumer trust and successful diversification into services beyond grocery. Prisma is the third strongest brand in the ranking, with a BSI of 91.7/100 and an improved AAA+ rating, showing how strong retail engagement drives trust and loyalty.
SAAB (brand value up 53% to EUR1.2 billion) emerges as the brand to watch in 2025. By expanding beyond defense into education partnerships and innovation incubators, SAAB demonstrates how trust and technology can be combined to strengthen brand value.
Sector Performance
In the sustainability arena, Nordic brands remain global leaders but face heightened consumer scepticism. Respondents in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden were the most likely in Europe to disagree that brands are committed to sustainability, reflecting consumer awareness and cultural principles like Janteloven, which favour humility and make grand statements less persuasive.
Equinor holds the highest Sustainability Perceptions Value (SPV) at EUR1.3 billion, though Scope 3 emissions remain a challenge. Volvo shows the largest opportunity value at EUR202.4 million, with room to build brand value by better communicating its EV and carbon reduction progress.
LEGO reported 33% of its bricks were made from renewable materials in 2024, nearly triple from the year before, while Ørsted now generates 90% of its energy from renewables and targets 99% by 2025.
Cristobal Pohle Vazquez, Associate Director, Brand Finance, commented:
"Nordic brands have mastered the art of balancing heritage with innovation. While overall growth is modest, the region’s ability to reinvent trusted icons, diversify into new categories and lead in sustainability keeps its brands globally competitive. This dual strength of staying rooted while pushing forward defines the resilience of Nordic brands in 2025."
Nordic CEOs continue to show how values-based leadership sustains brand equity.
Other leaders such as Jesper Brodin of IKEA, Martin Lundstedt of Volvo, and Vincent Clerc of Maersk highlight the region’s balance of innovation and responsibility.
Brand Finance is the world’s leading brand valuation consultancy. Bridging the gap between marketing and finance, Brand Finance evaluates the strength of brands and quantifies their financial value to help organisations make strategic decisions.
Headquartered in London, Brand Finance operates in over 25 countries. Every year, Brand Finance conducts more than 6,000 brand valuations, supported by original market research, and publishes over 100 reports which rank brands across all sectors and countries.
Brand Finance also operates the Global Brand Equity Monitor, conducting original market research annually on 6,000 brands, surveying more than 175,000 respondents across 41 countries and 31 industry sectors. By combining perceptual data from the Global Brand Equity Monitor with data from its valuation database — the largest brand value database in the world — Brand Finance equips ambitious brand leaders with the data, analytics, and the strategic guidance they need to enhance brand and business value.
In addition to calculating brand value, Brand Finance also determines the relative strength of brands through a balanced scorecard of metrics evaluating marketing investment, stakeholder equity, and business performance, compliant with ISO 20671.
Brand Finance is a regulated accountancy firm and a committed leader in the standardisation of the brand valuation industry. Brand Finance was the first to be certified by independent auditors as compliant with both ISO 10668 and ISO 20671 and has received the official endorsement of the Marketing Accountability Standards Board (MASB) in the United States.
Brand is defined as a marketing-related intangible asset including, but not limited to, names, terms, signs, symbols, logos, and designs, intended to identify goods, services, or entities, creating distinctive images and associations in the minds of stakeholders, thereby generating economic benefits.
Brand strength is the efficacy of a brand’s performance on intangible measures relative to its competitors. Brand Finance evaluates brand strength in a process compliant with ISO 20671, looking at Marketing Investment, Stakeholder Equity, and the impact of those on Business Performance. The data used is derived from Brand Finance’s proprietary market research programme and from publicly available sources.
Each brand is assigned a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score out of 100, which feeds into the brand value calculation. Based on the score, each brand is assigned a corresponding Brand Rating up to AAA+ in a format similar to a credit rating.
Brand Finance calculates the values of brands in its rankings using the Royalty Relief approach – a brand valuation method compliant with the industry standards set in ISO 10668. It involves estimating the likely future revenues that are attributable to a brand by calculating a royalty rate that would be charged for its use, to arrive at a ‘brand value’ understood as a net economic benefit that a brand owner would achieve by licensing the brand in the open market.
The steps in this process are as follows:
1 Calculate brand strength using a balanced scorecard of metrics assessing Marketing Investment, Stakeholder Equity, and Business Performance. Brand strength is expressed as a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score on a scale of 0 to 100.
2 Determine royalty range for each industry, reflecting the importance of brand to purchasing decisions. In luxury, the maximum percentage is high, while in extractive industry, where goods are often commoditised, it is lower. This is done by reviewing comparable licensing agreements sourced from Brand Finance’s extensive database.
3 Calculate royalty rate. The BSI score is applied to the royalty range to arrive at a royalty rate. For example, if the royalty range in a sector is 0-5% and a brand has a BSI score of 80 out of 100, then an appropriate royalty rate for the use of this brand in the given sector will be 4%.
4 Determine brand-specific revenues by estimating a proportion of parent company revenues attributable to a brand.
5 Determine forecast revenues using a function of historic revenues, equity analyst forecasts, and economic growth rates.
6 Apply the royalty rate to the forecast revenues to derive brand revenues.
7 Discount post-tax brand revenues to a net present value which equals the brand value.
Brand Finance has produced this study with an independent and unbiased analysis. The values derived and opinions presented in this study are based on publicly available information and certain assumptions that Brand Finance used where such data was deficient or unclear. Brand Finance accepts no responsibility and will not be liable in the event that the publicly available information relied upon is subsequently found to be inaccurate. The opinions and financial analysis expressed in the study are not to be construed as providing investment or business advice. Brand Finance does not intend the study to be relied upon for any reason and excludes all liability to any body, government, or organisation.
The data presented in this study form part of Brand Finance's proprietary database, are provided for the benefit of the media, and are not to be used in part or in full for any commercial or technical purpose without written permission from Brand Finance.
