--- title: "Appleton Estate vs Captain Morgan: Which is searched more in New Zealand?" description: "Is Appleton Estate or Captain Morgan more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Rum brands set in New Zealand. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time." canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/appleton-estate-vs-captain-morgan" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Appleton Estate vs Captain Morgan: Which is searched more in New Zealand? Is Appleton Estate or Captain Morgan more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Rum brands set in New Zealand. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time. ## Key facts - **Compared**: Appleton Estate and Captain Morgan - **Competitive set**: Rum brands - **Market**: New Zealand - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **Appleton Estate Share of Search**: 15% - **Captain Morgan Share of Search**: 9% ## Is Appleton Estate or Captain Morgan more popular in search? - In September 2026, Appleton Estate had more branded searches than Captain Morgan among rum brands in New Zealand. Appleton Estate had about 1,900 branded searches, while Captain Morgan had 1,140. Appleton Estate made up 15% of all rum brand searches we track, and Captain Morgan accounted for 9%. - Appleton Estate was ahead of Captain Morgan in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Appleton Estate’s share of searches among rum brands in New Zealand moved from 16% to 15%, and its estimated monthly branded searches held steady at 1.9K. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Captain Morgan’s share of searches among rum brands in New Zealand moved from 8.9% to 9%, and its estimated monthly branded searches held steady at 1.1K. ## Top rum brands in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Appleton Estate appeared in all five answers. Captain Morgan did not appear in any of the five answers. Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options. | Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Appleton Estate | 1st | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Diplomático Reserva Exclusiva | 2nd | 2 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Havana Club | 3rd | 2 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Bacardi | 4th | 0 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Coruba | 5th | 0 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Kraken | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Malibu | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Captain Morgan | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Sailor Jerry | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about rum brands - Asked ChatGPT "Which rum brand should I buy in New Zealand?": 1. Appleton Estate, 2. Havana Club, 3. Diplomático Reserva Exclusiva - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best rum brands in New Zealand?": 1. Appleton Estate, 2. Diplomático Reserva Exclusiva - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best rum brand in New Zealand for cocktails?": 1. Appleton Estate, 2. Havana Club - Searched Google, AI Overview "rum brands": 1. Bacardi, 2. Havana Club, 3. Appleton Estate, 4. Coruba, 5. Diplomático Reserva Exclusiva - Searched Google, AI Overview "best rum": 1. Diplomático Reserva Exclusiva, 2. Appleton Estate Not named in any answer: Kraken, Malibu, Captain Morgan and Sailor Jerry. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in New Zealand on October 21, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for New Zealand rum brands in September 2026? - In September 2026, Kraken overtook Appleton Estate to rank 2nd among rum brands in New Zealand, with 16.5% of the searches. - In September 2026, Malibu overtook Appleton Estate to rank 3rd among rum brands in New Zealand, with 15.8% of the searches. - In September 2026, Appleton Estate lost share of searches among rum brands in New Zealand, from 16.9% to 15%. - Captain Morgan’s share of searches among rum brands in New Zealand has gained ground for 3 months in a row, from 8% to 9% in September 2026. ## Month by month | Month | Appleton Estate estimated searches | Appleton Estate Share of Search | Appleton Estate rank | Captain Morgan estimated searches | Captain Morgan Share of Search | Captain Morgan rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 1.9K | 16% | 3 | 1.1K | 8.9% | 6 | | Nov 2025 | 1.9K | 15.6% | 3 | 980 | 7.9% | 6 | | Dec 2025 | 3.5K | 15.5% | 3 | 1.5K | 6.6% | 6 | | Jan 2026 | 1.6K | 13.4% | 3 | 1.1K | 9.1% | 6 | | Feb 2026 | 1.2K | 13.1% | 3 | 890 | 9.7% | 6 | | Mar 2026 | 1.6K | 16.5% | 2 | 930 | 9.5% | 6 | | Apr 2026 | 1.6K | 14.4% | 4 | 930 | 8.4% | 6 | | May 2026 | 1.6K | 13.4% | 5 | 1.1K | 9% | 6 | | Jun 2026 | 1.6K | 14% | 4 | 930 | 8% | 6 | | Jul 2026 | 2.8K | 20.2% | 2 | 1.1K | 8.4% | 6 | | Aug 2026 | 2.2K | 16.9% | 2 | 1.1K | 8.6% | 6 | | Sep 2026 | 1.9K | 15% | 4 | 1.1K | 9% | 6 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Appleton Estate’s and Captain Morgan’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading. - **Appleton Estate**: Measured on the search terms “appleton estate”, “appleton estate rum”, “appleton estate signature”, “appleton estate signature rum”, “appleton rum”, “appleton signature”, “appleton signature rum” and “jamaican appleton rum”, summed into one figure. - **Captain Morgan**: Measured on the search terms “captain morgan”, “captain morgan rum”, “captainmorgan” and “captainmorgan rum”, summed into one figure. - [Appleton Estate profile](/demand/nz/brands/appleton-estate) - [Captain Morgan profile](/demand/nz/brands/captain-morgan) - [All rum brands in New Zealand](/demand/nz/categories/nz-rum-brands): The set both shares are measured inside, 9 brands. ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Appleton Estate or Captain Morgan more popular in search? In September 2026, Appleton Estate had more branded searches than Captain Morgan among rum brands in New Zealand. Appleton Estate had about 1,900 branded searches, while Captain Morgan had 1,140. Appleton Estate made up 15% of all rum brand searches we track, and Captain Morgan accounted for 9%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Appleton Estate vs Captain Morgan: Which is searched more in New Zealand?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/appleton-estate-vs-captain-morgan This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/appleton-estate-vs-captain-morgan. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.