Guinness, one of Ireland's proudest products, has joined a handful of billion- dollar earners, a survey released today has shown.
Guinness was one of only 43 consumer brands worldwide which have yearly sales of more than $1 billion.
The brewing giant, now based in London, was also just one of eight European brands among the top earners, the study by consumer analysts ACNielsen (corr) found.
Coming in at number 31, Guinness followed other multi-national brands including first place Coca-Cola, tobacco giant Marlboro and drinks firm Total Pepsi.
Established in 1759 by Arthur Guinness, the Guinness Brewery made its first overseas exports in 1769 when 50 barrels of the black stout were shipped to England.
By 1803 the company was exporting to the West Indies and three years later Arthur Guinness's brewery, at St James's Gate, Dublin, was officially the largest in Ireland.
Today's study -
Reaching the Billion Dollar Mark: A Review of Today's Global Brands- was based on data from 30 countries worldwide, including 20 major markets in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. It showed food, drink and tobacco firms totally dominated the highest-earning companies. The top ten companies within a billion dollar plus sales range were:
1Coca Cola
2Marlboro
3Total Pepsi
4Budweiser
5Campbell's
6Kellogg's
7Pampers
8Benson and Hedges
9Camel
10Danone
PA