Product of the Year announces its winners for 2023
SHOPPERS have made their call on their favourite products for 2023, bringing retailers plenty of opportunities to stock up on some popular choices for stores.
Product of the Year has revealed the most popular NPD of the past 12 months, with the full list coming in at a total 37 winners for 2023.
Product of the Year (PoY) worked with market research firm Kantar World Panel to survey over 8,000 consumers across the UK to find the top new products that launched between January 2021 and November 2022.
Winners this year included a wide variety of categories from CBD gummies and oils, bedding, general household and nicotine products to the likes of cupboard staples with cereal, sweets and chocolate.
Helga Slater, managing director at PoY, said: “We’re thrilled for all the winners as it’s a huge achievement.
“Over 8000 consumers are surveyed every year, making Product of the Year the largest survey of product innovation in the UK. It’s a huge vote of confidence from shoppers and that’s reflected in the sales uplift winners see from using our logo on their packaging.
“Brands have reported average uplifts of between 10% and 15%, with some boasting dizzying heights of 135%.” 
To be eligible for the red label, every product had to meet PoY’s criteria and demonstrate innovation across one or more key areas such as functionality, design, packaging and recipe.
Following this, successful entrants were presented to a panel of judges before they were voted on by the public.
The final full list of 37 entries spanned new products across every industry beyond convenience and grocery but Slater made note of some convenience store must-stocks that could prove popular.
“This year, we’ve had an impressive number of winners that are convenience store staples, including: Yeo Valley Organic Milk 1L Cartons, Nordic Spirit Spearmint X-Strong Nicotine Pouch, White Claw Hard Seltzer Mango, Mentos Fanta and Ben’s Original Plant Powered Pouches, to name a few.
“Local convenience stores became the lifeblood of the community during the pandemic and many stepped up to the plate, stocking all manner of products that people needed but couldn’t get elsewhere.
“It’s incredible to see these shops come into their own and, ultimately, it’s great for their bottom line,” she said.
The full list of winners is available to read via the Product of the Year website.
Following the win for Mentos Fanta, Mark Roberts, marketing and trade marketing director at Perfetti Van Melle, said: “We are delighted that Mentos Fanta has won Product of the Year.
“The brand mash up has performed even better than we had hoped for, proving the power of two cult favourite brands coming together in a delicious category-bridging product.”
Nestlé also noted its award win for Shreddies The Honey One as Sarah Fordy, head of marketing at Nestlé UK and Ireland Cereals, said: “At Nestlé Cereals, we’re constantly innovating our product offerings to meet the changing needs of our customers, and so we’re pleased that this has been reflected in the high number of votes we received at arguably the most prestigious consumers product awards in the country.”
With the firm’s red label now eligible to be included across all 37 of the products’ packages, the PoY managing director reckons that this will make these items the ones that consumers throughout Scotland will be looking to snap up.
Slater said: “Being a UK-wide organisation, we see products from all over, but it’s always interesting to see what triumphs in local regions.
“Through consumer research, we’re also able to ensure that Scottish grocers stock the products customers really want and, ultimately, that makes business sense.”
