2010 Products of the Year Announced 2010-02-08

JULIE GALLAGHER

NEW YORK — Aldi's Moser Roth chocolate, Sprite Green, Nescafé Dolce Gusto and Cesear Treats are among the 2010 Products of the Year, as voted by consumers.

“Product of the Year is a very simple idea,” said Mike Nolan, global chief executive officer of Product of the Year. “We ask tens of thousands of people in each country what the best new innovations are.”

The products earn the right to bear a red symbol stating “Voted Product of the Year, Consumer Survey of Product Innovation 2010.”

Winners were announced here at a dinner hosted by “Supermarket Guru” Phil Lampert last week. They include:

Products are initially nominated by their manufacturer before the field is narrowed by a panel of industry judges. Recognized brands are ultimately chosen by 60,000 Americans polled by research agency TNS.

Entry in the program is free but products selected by the jury as finalists pay $25,000. Winners pay $90,000.

“They can take the logo and make it into their own marketing campaign,” spokeswoman Jamie Kronfeld told SN.

Retailers have also gotten involved by merchandising Products of the Year on endcaps.

Drug chain Walgreens, Deerfield, Ill., plans to partner in other ways.

It will look to organizations like Product of the Year, and winning brands, to aid in rationalizing SKUs as part of its customer-centric retailing initiative, Colin Watts, chief innovation officer at Walgreens and chairman of the Product of the Year award jury, told attendees.

The chain has simplified shopping by paring nine SKUs of flashlights down to one.

“It's really going to put pressure across the board on the need to pick the best items, at the best price points and make sure we make them available at all of our shopping points across Walgreens,” he said.