Gen Z’s Favourite Brands of 2025 Revealed

Cost of living is hitting Gen Z hard and it’s showing up in the brands they’re backing.

YouthInsight, our research arm, has released the 2025 Top 100 Youth Brands Report, and the results are clear: value for money is driving brand love more than ever before.

YouTube takes the crown

With a huge 90% of young Aussies saying they like or love it, YouTube has officially been crowned Gen Z’s favourite brand. Its mix of entertainment, learning, and creator-driven content cements its place at the centre of youth culture.

Close behind in the top 10 are Spotify (84%), Kmart (83%), Google (82%), Netflix (81%), Officeworks (80%), Instagram (80%), JB Hi-Fi (80%) and Aldi (79%).

Aussie brands making moves

While global names dominate, local legends are holding their own. Kmart has risen to become Gen Z’s favourite Australian retail brand, praised for being both affordable and on-trend. Officeworks, JB Hi-Fi, Chemist Warehouse, Woolworths, Coles, Big W, Bunnings, Canva, and Boost Juice also feature in the top homegrown names.

Canva has also overtaken Adobe thanks to its easy-to-use creative tools, showing that Aussie innovation can beat out the biggest global players.

The affordability effect

Tight wallets mean young people are shopping smarter:

Aldi has overtaken Woolworths and Coles as Gen Z’s favourite supermarket.
KFC has pulled ahead of McDonald’s, with deal-seeking students rating it higher for value.
Uniqlo has edged out Cotton On in fashion, thanks to its affordable basics.
Nivea has replaced Dove as Gen Z’s top beauty brand, highlighting the growing importance of price in the category.

The tech shake-up

Despite concerns about AI, ChatGPT has become one of Gen Z’s most popular tech brands, sitting above TikTok, Snapchat, and Facebook in overall favourability. Duolingo has also cracked the top 10 app brands as gamified learning takes off.

Meanwhile, Instagram is holding strong as Gen Z’s most popular social media app, even as other platforms like Messenger, Twitter/X, and Snapchat slide down the rankings.

What it all means

Student Edge Co-Founder Damien Langley summed it up:
“YouTube remains Gen Z’s most loved brand, especially for its deep roots in youth culture and offering high-quality content. But the real story here is affordability, he said.

Brands like Kmart, Aldi, and KFC are winning because they help young people through tough cost-of-living times. At the same time, Aussie innovators like Canva are proving they can go head-to-head with the biggest names in the world.”

Brand Category	Category Winner	Youth Value Badge
Retail	Kmart	Best value for money
Health and Beauty	Nivea	High quality products
Food, Restaurants, and Takeaway	KFC	Best value for money
Sport and Fitness	Nike	High quality products
Telecommunication	Telstra	High quality products
Banking, Finance, and Insurance	Commonwealth Bank	Best value for money
Entertainment	YouTube	Understanding my Generation & Youth Culture
Apps and Social Media	Instagram	Understanding my Generation & Youth Culture
Fashion	Uniqlo	Best value for money
Technology	Google	High quality products