Food Processing - May 2008 - (Page 30)

top new products 2007 NEW PRODUCT PACESETTERS: THE TOP 10 Brand Campbell’s Reduced Sodium Soup Birds Eye Steamfresh Frozen Vegetables Vault/Vault Zero Regular/Diet Soft Drinks Gatorade a.M. Sports Drinks General Mills Fiber One Chewy Bars Heineken Premium Light Lager Beer Dannon Danactive Probiotic Dairy Drinks Sara Lee Hearty and Delicious Breads Dannon activia Light yogurt Jazz Diet Pepsi Sales (millions) $101 87 70 70 64 63 63 63 62 56 Source: IRI New Product Profiler (Total year one dollar sales across food, drug and mass channels, excluding Wal-Mart) 2006 PACESETTERS Brand (Launched between February 2005 and January 2006) Sales (millions) $231 229 135 128 121 120 83 81 78 77 Kraft South Beach multi-category line Dreyer’s/Edy’s Slow Churned ice cream Breyer’s Double Churned ice cream Dannon activia yogurt with probiotics Coke Zero carbonated soft drink Gatorade Rain sports drink Black Cherry Vanilla Coke Sara Lee Soft & Smooth whole grain bread Stouffer’s Lean Cuisine Paninis frozen entrees Stouffer’s Corner Bistro frozen entrees Source: IRI InfoScan Reviews (Total year one sales across food, drug and mass channels, excluding Wal-Mart) less than 5 percent of new brands reach $50 million in yearone sales,” says Anne Berlack, executive vice president, IRI Business and Consumer Insights. “The New Product Pacesetters highlight not only the brands that won over consumers, but also what distinguishes them from the thousands of other products available on store shelves today.” Reward factor Indulgence without calories was very appealing to consumers, as evidenced by the strong performance of Heineken Premium Light beer and Diet Pepsi Jazz, which comes in unique flavors such as Caramel Cream. In fact, reduced calorie benefits in general were far more prevalent this year. Portion control is in high demand, as evidenced by Frito-Lay Mini Bites, Hershey’s 100 calorie candy and Quaker Chewy 90-calorie granola bars. Snack bars and cereal remain the most productive food and beverage categories in Pacesetter intros, but categories including salty snacks, beer, ready-to-drink coffee and tea 30 • FOOD PROCESSING May 2008 and bottled water stepped 2007-2008 NEW up offerings. PRODUCT PACESETTERS Consumers expect conve– THE RISING STARS nience in new products, but (Projected top 10 brands in it is notable that this benalphabetical order) efit must be paired with other high-demand benefits, such as Coke Zero Cherry health and wellness. The proof DiGiorno Ultimate in the pudding is that the perDiet Pepsi Max centage of food and beverage products offering extra Dreyer’s/Edy’s Loaded convenience, added portabilHealthy Choice Café Steamers ity and ready-to-use attributes Hormel Completes dropped slightly to 23 percent Hostess 100-Calorie Packs compared to 24 percent in the 1997-2007 timeframe. Miller Chill Already, IRI is tracking Nabisco Oreo Cakesters next year’s Pacesetters. The Progresso Light likely candidates are a mix of Source: IRI New Product Profiler, healthier and more indulgent new products launched Februaryproducts, sharing a common December 2007 theme of offering multiple benefits. Healthy Choice Café Steamers deliver the convenience of microwave steaming with tasty, low-calorie, restaurant-inspired recipes. Progresso Light soup offers weight management benefits at only 60 calories per serving but also high fiber and a full serving of vegetables. On the beverage front, multiple benefits is key. Miller Chill is a light beer with the unique flavors of lime and salt. Diet Pepsi Max offers ginseng in addition to extra caffeine, and Coke Zero Cherry offers a sweet, indulgent taste. And while health and wellness attributes continue to be vitally important, we are also seeing more indulgent products with added benefits. Hormel Complete meals are shelf-stable and ready to eat in 90 seconds. DiGiorno Ultimate frozen pizza contains premium ingredients. Oreo Cakesters and Hostess 100-Calorie Packs offer portion control. Dreyer’s/ Edy’s Loaded ice cream is loaded with indulgent mix-ins, such as cookie dough and brownies, creating an ice cream shop experience. It is, indeed, important to note that while consumers are trying to eat healthier, change has been slow. IRI’s 2008 Snacking Study found consumers still allocate two-thirds of their snack spending to indulgent products – evidence there is still room for innovation in indulgent products as well as in healthier ones. But health and wellness is the industry’s mantra. “During the next year, demand will explode for functional food and beverages that deliver health benefits beyond basic nutrition,” says Berlack. “Retailers and manufacturers that marry functional benefits with effective consumer education, as Dannon did this year with DanActive immunity-boosting beverages, will win big.” MORE ON THE WEB We’ve been following IRI’s Pacesetters for several years now. To find previous installments, go to www.FoodProcessing.com and type “IRI Pacesetters” into the search bar. WWW.FOODPROCESSING.COM http://www.foodprocessing.com http://www.foodprocessing.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Food Processing - May 2008

Food Processing - May 2008 Editor’s Plate NewsBites The Trends Rollout Food Biz Kids Product Developer turned Bean Counter The top-selling new products of 2007 The open road Back to the Big Easy Managing the global plant A new column with answers to your plant-fl oor questions New Supplier Products Toops Scoops

Food Processing - May 2008

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