AI-recommended cooking essentials brands: rankings in 29 countries
Worldwide, AI assistants most often recommend Heinz, Kikkoman and Maggi for cooking essentials. Heinz is named by 5 of 5 assistants.
What the data says
Heinz (Kraft Heinz) is the cooking essentials brand AI assistants recommend most worldwide, taking 21.8% of all recommendation points across 5 assistants. Kikkoman follows with 10.9% and Maggi is third with 10.8%.
Heinz's lead over Kikkoman is 10.9 points, a clear advantage in how AI shortlists the category.
ChatGPT, Claude, DeepSeek and Gemini put Heinz first, while Grok favours Maggi.
The top five brands hold 52% of recommendations out of 162 brands named in total, leaving room for challengers to break into AI shortlists.
| # | Brand | Owner | AI share | ChatGPT | Claude | DeepSeek | Gemini | Grok |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heinz | Kraft Heinz | 21.8% | 758 | 585 | 824 | 497 | 415 |
| 2 | Kikkoman | Kikkoman | 10.9% | 550 | 8 | 270 | 478 | 227 |
| 3 | Maggi | Nestlé | 10.8% | 205 | 245 | 237 | 307 | 529 |
| 4 | Lee Kum Kee | Lee Kum Kee | 4.8% | 274 | – | 53 | 125 | 221 |
| 5 | Knorr | Unilever | 4% | 12 | 175 | 70 | 49 | 255 |
| 6 | Soyjoy | Otsuka Pharmaceutical | 1.8% | – | 249 | – | – | – |
| 7 | Tabasco | McIlhenny Company | 1.7% | 120 | – | – | 120 | – |
| 8 | Golden Mountain | Tang Sang Hah | 1.6% | – | – | – | 8 | 215 |
| 9 | Worcestershire | Generic | 1.4% | – | 196 | – | – | – |
| 10 | ABC | Heinz ABC | 1.3% | 35 | – | 35 | 47 | 60 |
| 11 | Calvé | Unilever | 1.2% | 76 | – | – | 67 | 25 |
| 12 | Ottogi | Ottogi | 1.1% | 25 | – | 35 | 35 | 60 |
| 13 | Kissan | Unilever | 0.9% | 35 | – | 35 | 35 | 25 |
| 14 | Hellmann's | Unilever | 0.9% | – | 20 | – | 65 | 44 |
| 15 | Felix | Nestlé | 0.8% | 35 | – | 20 | 35 | 25 |
| 16 | Kraft | Kraft | 0.8% | – | – | 104 | 8 | – |
| 17 | Hot Sauce | Generic | 0.8% | – | 108 | – | – | – |
| 18 | MasterFoods | Mars | 0.8% | 25 | – | 12 | 35 | 35 |
| 19 | Amora | Unilever | 0.7% | 20 | – | 25 | 35 | 25 |
| 20 | Chinsu | Masan | 0.7% | 35 | – | – | 35 | 35 |
Questions about AI cooking essentials recommendations
- Which cooking essentials brand does ChatGPT recommend most?
- ChatGPT recommends Heinz most often for cooking essentials. Across all assistants, Heinz leads with 21.8% of recommendations.
- Which cooking essentials brand is improving fastest?
- ABC has the strongest momentum among challengers: AI names it first in 4 of 6 answers where it appears, while holding 1.3% share. This is the first Q4 2026 reading; change over time will be shown from the next update.
- How is the ranking calculated?
- We ask each AI assistant the questions shoppers ask in each category and market, record the top five brands it names, and give 35, 25, 20, 12 and 8 points for positions one to five. Share is a brand's points divided by all points awarded.
Cooking Essentials: AI rankings by country
Covers: Sauces & Condiments.
Method: each AI assistant is asked the shopper questions for every segment in the category and market; the top five brands named score 35, 25, 20, 12 and 8 points. Share is a brand's points divided by all points awarded. Rankings reflect AI answers, not sales.
See how your brand ranks in AI answers.
Get a free report: where AI names you, where it leaves you out, and the product page, pack and message fixes that change it.