NoLo innovation, plant-based ingenuity, restaurant-to-home-cooking creativity, and a continued focus on health & wellness ruled the Product of the Years awards.
Conducted in association with Kantar and 10,000 consumers, the winners include range from big household names (Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Premier Foods) to rising star independent players (THIS, Emma, Starpowa).
As the end of ‘Dry January’ draws nearer, it’s clear that the rise of NoLo shows no signs of slowing down, SMASHED Berry Cider who, for the second year running, have picked up a Product of the Year Award.
No and low alcohol sales reached the $10 billion mark in 2021 according to a recent IWSR report. Low ABV beers, wine & ‘no-seccos’ have proven a good alternative to those who still want to share in the ambience of social meetups but without drinking. And within this category, beer and wine represent the largest chunk with 75 per cent of the sales.
THIS Isn’t Pork, a plant based cocktail sausages, bagged a Product of the Year 2022 award. Other vegan and plant-based products that triumphed this year include Paxo Veggie Fillers and Alpro Double Chocolate Mousse & Alpro Pistachio Mousse.
Herbalife Nutrition Immune Booster and Starpowa Vegan Collagen Support are also named among most innovative products of 2021.
Wagamama’s Katsu Curry Meal Kit and Nando’s Sweet Chilli Jam also seemed to have won hearts as flexi-work and Covid restrictions shaped buying behavior.
Product of the Year 2022 winners also include Costa Intensely Dark Amazonian Blend and Costa Hot Chocolate.
Product of the Year 2022 winners in this area include Harpic Power Plus Active Citrus Tablets for toilets and Calgon Hygiene+ Tabs for the washing machine (both from Reckitt) and Surf Liquid Deep Sea Minerals and Comfort Ultimate Care Fabric Conditioner, from Unilever.
Other winners include:
- Cat Food & Treats, Dreamies Catnip, Mars Petcare
- Cereals, Weetabix Melts, Weetabix Food Company Ltd
- Confectionery, Cadbury Caramilk, Mondélez International
- Dog Food & Treats, Pedigree Ranchos, Mars Petcare
- Formula Milk, Aptamil Follow on Milk Tabs, Danone
- Frozen Food, Chicago Town Tiger Crust, Dr Oetker (UK) Ltd.
- General Household, Astonish Clean & Revive, Astonish
- Hair Removal, Venus Pubic Hair & Skin Razor, Procter & Gamble
- Vaping & Heated Tobacco Products, Vuse ePod2, British American Tobacco Ltd.
- Women’s Health & Wellbeing, Herbalife Nutrition Immune Booster, Herbalife Nutrition
