2024 awards reveal ‘home is where the heart is’ with skincare, ready meals & sleep leading the trends
Product of the Year has announced the UK’s most innovative new products, with the winners chosen by 8,000 UK consumers (the largest survey of product innovation in the UK).
DIY, skincare, sleep tech, confectionery and petcare, were just a handful of the 43 categories announced by Product of the Year at last night’s awards ceremony hosted at iconic London venue, Quaglino’s, by acclaimed TV personality Tom Allen (Bake Off: An Extra Slice co-host, The Apprentice: You’re Fired). Every year, the survey reveals the key trends that inspire a nation of shoppers with winners ranging from major brands to independents including P&G, Arla and Strongbow.
Marking its 20th year, Product of the Year continues to provide a unique platform to celebrate the products we use regularly but often take for granted for their quiet innovation.
Over two decades, the company has gained a reputation for putting brands and products on the map, by giving them the recognition they deserve. The infamous Product of the Year logo has 81% shopper recognition and can be spotted in all major supermarkets and convenience stores across the country. Commonly regarded as a seal of approval amid a sea of products on shop shelves, it’s a vote of confidence by consumers for consumers.
And the winner is…
Home comforts and ‘feel-good’ culture spread the ‘Joy’ among food & drink brands
Sweets and chocolate took their share of wins with juicy Fruit-tella Curiosities, Cadbury Crunchie Celebration Cake and McVitie’s White Chocolate Digestive Biscuits, all taking the title within their categories.
Nostalgia brands hold a special place in our hearts, but it’s the innovations that keep us coming back for more as we’ve seen with legacy brands Fruit-tella, McVitie’s and Cadbury Crunchie.
Among the convenience brands, Ben’s Original One Pan Creations wowed consumers with a speedy range of rice dishes from around the world (just add meat/vegetables) and bean-based competitor, Heinz Beanz Bowlz won a trophy for these ingenious plant-based frozen ready meals. Convenience is at the heart of dishes like these, making mealtimes quicker and less hassle after a long day. And if you’re looking for a drink to go with it, a glass of Joy wine might do nicely. This vibrant range, a bold new brand from Concha Y Toro, is geared at a younger audience – and is Instagrammable to boot. Perennial favourite, Strongbow, has come in strong, winning with its Tropical Cider drink, that brings colour to even the dullest January day.
DIY, sleep and security products bring home the trophies
Within the exciting new ‘home security’ category, Ring Battery Video Doorbell Plus secured a trophy with a clever innovation that includes a head-to-toe live view outside your door that can be viewed from your mobile. DIY winners also received recognition including 3M CLAW™ Plasterboard Picture Hangers, a clever no-drill solution to picture hanging that can hang up to 30KG in weight. Securing a restful night’s sleep was a big theme at this year’s awards with four products springing to the top spot: Simba Hybrid Pillow, Emma NextGen Premium Mattress, Emma Ottoman Bed and Slumberland Flip 2 in 1 Mattress, all are part of a movement of brands/products that are helping improve the nation’s sleeping habits. A prominent theme at this year’s awards.
Our homes have become multipurpose places of work, sleep and entertainment, which has fed into this year’s awards.
Best in show pet products
Among the pet winners, both dog and cat food products bagged awards. Butcher’s Nourishing Food for Dogs Healthy Heart Tins range puts health first, with these vet and nutritionist developed meals for dogs, that are a welcome new breed of petcare innovation. And Whiskas Pouch Reset impressed the 8,000 voters with its new recipes that are like catnip to feline friends.
“It’s fitting that in our 20th year, we’ve had some of our most exciting innovations yet.”
Says Helga Slater, MD, Product of the Year “This year, there’s been an incredible mix of new product development, creativity and ingenuity, that’s been truly impressive. We’re very excited to reveal the ‘best in show’, which has been selected by over 8,000 consumers! Product of the Year is a celebration of what we consider to be the heroes of our everyday – the products that make a difference to our lives.”
Research has been independently conducted in association with the world’s leading data and insights company, Kantar. Brands that are fortunate to ‘walk away’ with a coveted trophy also win the right to feature the iconic red Product of the Year logo – an instantly recognisable symbol of product excellence.
Full list of 2024 Product of the Year winners across 43 categories:
Alcohol, Strongbow Tropical Cider, Heineken
Bed, Emma Ottoman Bed, Emma Sleep GmbH
Bedding, Simba Hybrid Pillow, Simba Sleep
Biscuits, McVitie’s White Chocolate Digestives, pladis
Carpet Cleaner, Vanish Oxi Action Carpet Stain Remover Serum, Reckitt
Cat Food, Whiskas Pouch Reset, Mars Petcare Europe
Cereal, Coco Pops Chocos, Kellanova
Chewing Gum, Mentos Pure Fresh Gum Paperboard Bottle, Perfetti Van Melle
Convenience Food, Ben’s Original One Pan Creations range, Mars Food UK Limited
Cough & Immune Support, Zarbee’s Natural Cough and Immune Support Range, Kenvue
DIY & Home, 3M CLAW™ Plasterboard Picture Hangers, 3M
Dog Food, Butcher’s Nourishing Food for Dogs Healthy Heart Tins, Butcher’s Pet Care
Eco, Andrex® Summer Fresh Washlets, Kimberly-Clark
Filled Pasta, La Famiglia Rana Prawn, Burrata & Lemon Zest Mezzelune, Giovanni Rana UK
Formula Milk, Cow & Gate Follow-on Milk Value Pack, Danone UK & Ireland
General Household, Plenty Flexisheets Tubeless, Essity
Haircare, Clairol Nice’n Easy with new Revitashine Treatment, Wella Company UK
Health & Beauty, Hyaluron Moisture Plus Lip Balm, Beiersdorf UK Ltd
Heated Tobacco, Ploom X Advanced, Japan Tobacco International
Home Security, Ring Battery Video Doorbell Plus, Ring
Household Fragrance, Air Wick x Stacey Solomon – Morning Meadow Range, Reckitt
Iced Coffee, Starbucks® Chilled Classics Skinny Multiserve, Arla Foods
Incontinence, Always Discreet Boutique Pants, Procter & Gamble
Laundry Additives, Comfort Concentrated Fabric Conditioner Range, Unilever
Laundry Detergent, Surf Peony & Rose Concentrated Liquid Laundry Detergent, Unilever
2 in 1 Mattress, Slumberland Flip 2 in 1 Mattress, Bensons for Beds
Mattress, Emma NextGen Premium Mattress, Emma Sleep GmbH
Men’s Grooming, Gillette Labs Neon Night Razor, Procter & Gamble
Men’s Intimacy, Gillette Intimate Trimmer i3, Procter & Gamble
Multi Surface Cleaning, Dettol Protect 24 Spray and Wipes, Reckitt
Pasta Sauce, Dolmio Intensify Pasta Sauce Range, Mars Food & Nutrition UK
Period Care, Bodyform Cour-V Ultra Towels, Essity
Plant Based Milk, Oddlygood Barista Vanilla Flavour Oat Drink 1L, Oddlygood Global Ltd
Plant Based Food, Heinz Beanz Bowlz, Kraft Heinz
Sauce & Seasoning, Bisto Roast Seasoning, Premier Foods
Skincare, Boots Vitamin C Pro Brightening Booster Serum, Boots
Suncare, Soltan Once Age Defence Facial suncare with Hyaluronic Acid SPF 50, Boots
Sweet Treats, Cadbury Crunchie Celebration Cake, Premier Foods
Sweets, Fruit-tella Curiosities, Perfetti Van Melle
Toilet Care, Domestos Power Foam, Unilever
Toilet Tissue, Little Duck Supreme 3 Ply Quilted Toilet Tissue, Task Consumer Products Ltd
Wine, Joy Wine Range, Concha Y Toro UK Ltd
Yoghurt, Actimel Plus, Danone UK & Ireland
About Product of the Year: Product of the Year is the UK’s largest independent survey into product innovation with 10,000 consumers voting in a survey conducted by Kantar. Winning manufacturers can take heart that 71% of consumers say the endorsement of the Product of the Year logo makes them more likely to buy the product, and as many as 81% of consumers recognise the logo.
The initiative has been running in the UK for 20 years with the success of the scheme being launched globally in over 40 countries, including Australia & New Zealand, USA, Canada, India, South Africa, South America and European countries. Winning manufacturers span global brand names including Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola, Reckitt, Unilever, Asda, Tesco, PepsiCo, Nestlé, Kimberley-Clark and Mars.
Product of the Year at a glance:
- Established 37 years ago in France
- Currently in over 45 countries around the world and growing
- Is an award for product innovation including function, design and packaging
- Average winners sales increase 10 – 15% year-on-year
- Average new product sales equal £1m; average winners’ sales equal £7m
- 90% of winners enter again the following year
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