Personalized products are finding their niche with consumers.
IRI has announced last year’s most successful consumer packaged goods launches in its “2016 New Product Pacesetters” report, an industry-recognized benchmark analysis of exceptional first-year CPG sales success for newly launched products.
Thousands of new brands hit retail shelves during 2016, with 80% of the top-ranking brands hailing from small and midsized manufacturers and accounting for 64% of Pacesetter dollars. Overall, the top-selling 200 new brands captured cumulative year-one sales of more than $5.8 billion across IRI’s multi-outlet geography.
THE THREE P’S
“The top product launches of 2016 highlight the three P’s of successful innovation — prevention, personalization and pizzazz,” said Susan Viamari, vice president of Thought Leadership for IRI. “Each plays an essential role in driving awareness and engagement in today’s marketplace. Personalization is perhaps the most talked about, and desired, phenomenon in marketing today. Keying in on consumer preferences is critical because of the sheer volume of information in front of people at any given time. Products that are delivering small and powerfully targeted solutions that grab consumers’ attention and make them feel and look great are resonating and are making a huge impact.”
For the top 100 food and beverage champions, median year-one dollar sales were $11.4 million, down from $19.6 million in 2015. Prevention played a key role in driving the success of these top-performing products as consumers turn to CPGs for help in meeting their nutritional goals.
2016 New Product Pacesetters: Top 10 Food and Beverage Brands
($ Millions)
- DairyPure $1,163.1
- Dunkin’ Donuts K-Cups $204.1
- Not Your Father’s Root Beer $114.6
- OREO Thins $110.2
- Artesano $102.4
- Screamin’ Sicilia $73.2
- Oscar Mayer Natural $61.7
- DairyPure Creamers $54.9
- Sargento Balanced Breaks $54.2
- Henry’s Hard Soda $50.3
Source: IRI Market Advantage (Total Year-One Dollar Sales, Multi-Outlet)
The study found that U.S. consumers want fresh, unprocessed, simple foods that are made with ingredients that they can understand. And since 40% of consumers recognize that being healthy starts with lifestyle, they are reading labels, looking for products with fewer ingredients, and turning to natural, organic and superfoods that can boost nutritional impact.
Antibiotic-free foods (ABF) are becoming increasingly more popular, particularly in meat, poultry and dairy products. DairyPure, the top-selling beverage launch of the year, is an example of an ABF solution that is hitting the mark.
While there were only four sweet snack Pacesetter brands this year, down from seven in 2015, some of these brands made a really big splash in the market by providing indulgence with a healthier-for-you twist. Nabisco, for instance, introduced OREO Thins. Even though it is indulgent, this launch is a light, new twist on a classic favorite, packing traditional OREO flavors into a delicate new cookie with a crispier texture, less crumbs and fewer calories.