Coles Group’s Vintage Cellars has been hailed as Australia’s top premium brands while supermarket Harris Farms Markets (HFM) took the fifth spot, according to a Roy Morgan survey.

The research agency said the position of the NSW grocery came as a surprise since the other winners are either national or international brands. Retailer David Jones, which recently expanded into convenience stores, came in at number six.

“In the media we hear one day that consumers are radically cutting back, and the next they are buying more local produce, personal services or cool technology. So, what’s going on? The truth is we’re doing both – we’re in a two-speed economy.

“The word ‘premiumisation’ is on the lips of business leaders eyeing off the economic fast lane while, at the same time, the slow lane is becoming even more commoditised. In today’s slowing economy the premium market is thriving,” Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine explained.

Levine said that 10 million Australians are “dawdling in the economy’s slow lane” while 4.7 million premium consumers are racing in the fast lane. They are big spenders, with 91 per cent in the top third of elective spenders in the economy.

“Business leaders are now recession-proofing their brands by recognising (a) there is a two-speed economy, and (b) they can now reach, motivate, and acquire these truly premium consumers as their most valuable customers,” said Levine.

Australia’s top 10 premium brands attract most premium consumers (NEOs) as a part of their customer base. Vintage Cellars, Audi and American Express all have customer bases of which over half are premium.