German grocery giant Aldi has been named supermarket of the year for the third time in a row as consumer researchers Roy Morgan published its annual brand awards.

It unveiled 32 awards for prominent brands on Thursday evening, with the Commonwealth Bank, JB Hi-Fi, Myer and Bunnings taking home honours.

Roy Morgan chief executive Michele Levine said those brands that have made good on a “social contract” with customers won in 2022.

“The data that underpins the Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Awards comes from real people telling us how they feel about the brands and companies they interact with,” Levine said.

“This massive study provides an accurate, independent and objective measure of how people feel about the companies they give their business to.”

There were a few first-time winners in this year’s awards, including Mexican food chain Zambrero, which won quick service restaurant of the year.

“The Canberra-based Mexican restaurant chain has expanded rapidly in recent years, and now has over 245 restaurants globally after being founded less than two decades ago in 2005,” Levine said.

Some brands also managed to win consecutive years, making them undisputed annual champions in their categories – including Myer (department stores), JB Hi-Fi (electrical/furniture retail) and Bunnings.

Interestingly, Virgin Australia managed to take the title of the best local business travel airline in 2022, beating Qantas.

The national carrier did, however, win the best domestic airline of the year.

Singapore Airlines was again rated the best international airline.

“Despite a steady decline in domestic customer satisfaction since early 2022, Qantas managed to win enough months earlier in the year to take out the 2022 Domestic Airline Award. Faced with historic levels of distrust and class action lawsuits, Qantas is highly unlikely to win the award for 2023,” Levine said.

Coles and Woolworths once again failed to dethrone Aldi as Australia’s highest-rated supermarket; revelations that come just days after separate data showed the German giant is substantially cheaper than its rivals.

Aldi’s group buying director Simon Padovani-Ginies was enthusiastic about the award, saying the chain works hard to deliver low prices.

“Aldi’s business model is about saving people money. We aim to cut out unnecessary costs and pass these savings onto customers,” Padovani-Ginies said.

“Aldi has never been tested more than it was in the past year, and we’re proud that we’ve been able to maintain our low-price leadership, delivering real money back in the pockets of Australians.”

Looking across other categories, Rebel took out sport store of the year while The Reject Shop won the discount variety store category again.

Muffin Break won coffee shop of the year while Suzanne Grae took out the top spot among clothing stores.

Supercheap Auto was the best auto store in 2022, while Chemist Warehouse was rated the best pharmacy.