ACC, Allen Solly, Band Aid, Bata, Saridon, Tata Tea, Titan and VLCC (Vandana Luthra Curls and Curves) are some of India's superbrands.

A list of Indian superbrands was released by Superbrands India, an independent body composed of legendary advertising, marketing, research and media professionals that aims to recognise excellence in branding, on Thursday.

The brands have been identified to be the strongest in their respective categories and have been chosen from amongst over 700 shortlisted consumer brands, a media release said.

The criteria for selection of the winning consumer brands include perceived brand image plus the brands' mind share, goodwill, consumer loyalty, trust and emotional bonding.

The Superbrands India 2003 list includes ACC, Airtel, Allen Solly, Amex, Apollo, Aqua Guard, Archies, Ashok Leyland, Band Aid, Bata, Blue Dart, Boost, Boroline, Cinthol, ColorPlus, Dhara, DHL, ESPN, Femina, Fuji Films, Gili, Godrej Refrigerators, Good Knight, Hero Honda, Horlicks, Hutch, ICI Dulux, ICICI Prudential, ITC Welcomgroup, Jaquar, Jet Airways, Johnson's Babycare Range, Kerala Tourism, Kitply, Levis, Louis Phillippe, Moov, NIIT, Parryware, Phillips, Pizza Hut, Raymond's, Reid & Taylor, Revlon, Sahara, Saridon, Sify (Satyam), Star TV, State Bank of India, Strepsils, Tanishq, Tata Motors, Tata Salt, Tata Tea, The Economic Times, The Times of India, Thomas Cook, Timex, Titan and VLCC.

Anmol Dar, managing director, Superbrands India, said: "Being a competitive market, there is a lot for business and industry to learn from the success of these brands in India. The Indian superbrands are the best of the breed and consumers are instinctively aware of their distinction."

These 'winners' will be felicitated in an event later this year, said Dar. He said the first edition of Superbrands, a chronicle of India's strongest brands for the year 2003, will also be released on the occasion.

"I'm certain that this inaugural edition and the subsequent books will become a collector's item, providing a historical perspective of brand development in India," he said.

Dar said that the Superbrands India Council evaluated over 700 consumer brands in the country under 98 different categories to identify the Indian superbrands of the year.

The council, chaired by Anmol Dar, also has ITC chairman Yogi Deveshwar; Hindustan Lever executive director Dalip Sehgal; AC Neilsen-ORG-MARG chairman KMS Ahluwalia; J Walter Thompson CEO Mike Khanna; Raymond Ltd president Nabankur Gupta; O&M national creative director Piyush Pandey; Bennett Coleman & Company president Pradeep Guha; former Britannia CEO Sunil Alagh; and Indian Institute of Mass Communications chairperson Tara Sinha as members.

Launched in 1993, Superbrands is a concept developed by UK Marketing Guru, Marcel Knobil, the founder of the Superbrands Organisation and the chairman of the Superbrands Council, UK.

Superbrands maintains its councils in Australia, China, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Morocco, the Netherlands, Norway, Philippines, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.