Change of Pace

Food manufacturers introduce hundreds of new food and beverage products every year. From pre-packaged meals to flavored waters to bubble gum, retailers line store shelves with new items. Only the most innovative goods that fill a void in the market survive. Of those, only the best of the best earn the SymphonyIRI Group New Product Pacesetters award showcasing the year's most successful new CPG brands.

Now in its 13th consecutive year, the annual report highlights the most successful consumer packaged goods products launched in the past year. The 2010 product winners are as follows:

POWERADE® ION4® is an advanced electrolyte system in POWERADE® that helps replenish four electrolytes lost in sweat. The sports drink earned $190.5 million in its first year.

Chobani, an all-natural Greek yogurt with no preservatives and no artificial flavors. The yogurt is made with real fruit and has twice the protein of regular yogurts. The dairy treat made $149.4 million in 2010.

Wonderful Pistachios are tasty shelled nuts backed by a creative advertising campaign. Last year, shoppers bought $114.1 million worth of the snack.

glaceau vitaminwater zero is a calorie-free version of the original line of vitaminwater drinks. The bottled beverage comes in seven flavors and is sweetened with Truvia. In 2010, the drink brought in $110.3 million.

Nature's Pride, with its 100 percent natural ingredients, comes in an assortment of forms, including soft breads, hearty breads, ovenclassics, and premium harvest buns and rolls. The bread line earned $80.8 million last year.

Trop50 juices contain 50 percent less sugar and calories. Sweetened with Stevia, Trop50 comes in eight varieties, including orange juice, apple juice, and lemonade. Total 2010 sales topped $74.4 million.

Thomas' Better Start English Muffins have less calories and more fiber with the same great Thomas' English Muffin taste. Last year, consumers purchased $74.2 million of the breakfast food.

Green Mountain Coffee K-Cups made $62.1 million in 2010 – its first year on the market. Made for Keurig single brew coffee makers, the gourmet coffee comes in a range of flavors.

Adults 21 and older enjoyed Budweiser Select 55 to the tune of $59.9 million in sales last year. The premium light beer boasts just 55 calories per bottle.

Trident Layers sugar free gum sandwiches a chewy fruit flavored center in between two soft pieces of Trident gum. Buyers chewed $53.9 million of the gum in 2010.

SymphonyIRI Group claims the "New Product Pacesetters are best practice case studies in how to beat the new product launch odds." To find the entire list of winners, including the non-food awardees, visit CSP Information Group, Inc., news for convenience and petroleum retailing.

Which of these items are your favorites? Keep your eyes open in the coming year, because you never know which of this year's items will be the next set of Product Pacesetters!

New Today, Trendy Tomorrow

Earlier this week, Symphony IRI Group, a company which tracks retail information and analyzes consumer and shopper trends, presented a Webinar detailing the 2009 New Product Pacesetters, the most successful new food and beverage brands based on the product's first year of sales. While 2010 is still far from finished, I'm already thinking about what the 2010 Product Pacesetters list will bring. Here are some new creations that I've seen lining supermarket shelves.

Chocolate Cheerios: Cheerios in chocolate form! A Facebook fan page (not sponsored by the cereal's maker General Mills) welcomes almost 2,200 supporters, as enthusiasts declare they cannot live without this tasty new breakfast food.

Coconut M&Ms: These colorful chocolate candies with a hint of coconut are now available at drug stores across the country and have me dreaming of tropical beaches. If you're interested in trying them, you need to hurry, as the Mars candy company is offering them for a limited time only.

Hershey's Pieces: I imagine everyone is familiar with peanut butter Reese's Pieces, but Hershey's took the Pieces idea one step further and introduced crunchy shelled Almond Joy Pieces, Hershey's Special Dark Pieces, and York Pieces.

McCormick Recipe Inspirations: These packets include the six spices you need to create a delicious meal – no measuring spoons necessary! Choose from apple and sage pork chops, garlic lime fajitas, quesadilla casserole, rosemary roasted chicken with potatoes, shrimp and pasta primavera, or Spanish chicken skillet. Each package contains just the right amount of herbs and spices, a recipe card, and lists all the ingredients you need to make a fresh, flavorful dish.

Mountain DEWmocracy: Again this year, Mountain Dew is offering three unique flavor choices and giving consumers an opportunity to vote for their favorite taste sensation. The options for 2010 include Mountain Dew Typhoon, a tropical strawberry-pineapple concoction, Mountain Dew Distortion, which boasts a bold lime zest, and Mountain Dew White Out with a smooth citrus tang. Try all three and cast your ballot online before voting ends June 14.

Pop-Tarts Popsters: These pouches of baked, crispy bites are only 100-calories and come in chocolate blitz and strawberry blast flavors. Another limited edition snack, though, you'll have to act fast; these snacks have only a matter of days left on the market.

Special K Fruit Crisps: Available in both strawberry and blueberry, each 100-calorie pack contains two bars drizzled in vanilla icing. With only two grams of fat, these crisps seem like a nutritious snack or quick breakfast treat.

Of course, these are just a few of the many food concepts that have hit the market so far in 2010. What new products have you seen? Leave me a message and tell me about your favorite new food or beverage item.

A Look Back at 2009...and into 2010

What do you remember about 2009? President Obama's inauguration? Michael Jackson's funeral? Swine flu? For those involved in food and beverage consumer packaged goods, last year was one to remember. As the recession took hold of Americans, consumers chose to purchase more food and beverage products to make and eat at home. The industry remained stable in an adverse economy. (See "Consumer packaged goods companies show resilience in recession" for additional perspective.)

Snack products also continued to thrive in 2009, according to Sally Lyons Wyatt, senior vice president at SymphonyIRI Group, who presented the "Snack Food State of the Industry" report at the Snack Food Association's annual convention earlier this month. In particular, healthy snacks increased by 3 percent in from 2008 to 2009, and rose 8 percent since 2005, as a majority of consumers choose snacks for nutritional benefits and attempt to save on medical bills by staying healthy.

Last week, SymphonyIRI Group announced its fifteenth annual "New Product Pacesetters" results for 2009. This report provides an analysis of new food and beverage brands and determines the top 10 performers based on the product's first year of sales. The top 10 include:

1. Campbell's Select Harvest – $202 million in sales
   
2. Bud Light Lime – $133 million in sales
   
3. Arnold Select Sandwich Thins – $87 million in sales
   
4. Similac Advance Early Shield – $87 million in sales
   
5. Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers – $85 million in sales
   
6. Dreyer's Edy's Fun Flavors – $72 million in sales
   
7. Gatorade Tiger/Focus – $65 million in sales
   
8. Miller Genuine Draft Light – $53 million in sales
   
9. Mountain Dew Dewmocracy – $52 million in sales
   
10. Bush's Best Grillin' Beans – $45 million in sales

Numerous companies within the food consumer products, food production, and beverage categories also registered on the 2009 Fortune 500 list:

Archer Daniels Midland – #27
PepsiCo – #52
Kraft Foods – #53
Coca-Cola – #73
Tyson Foods – #89
Coca-Cola Enterprises – #116
Smithfield Foods – #183
ConAgra Foods – #188
Pepsi Bottling – #189
General Mills – #193
Sara Lee – #199
Kellogg – #210
Dean Foods – #216
Land O'Lakes – #224
H.J. Heinz – #267
Pilgrim's Pride – #304
Campbell Soup – #309
Dole Food – #329
Hormel Foods – #373
Dr Pepper Snapple Group – #427
Hershey – #463
PepsiAmericas – #478
Molson Coors Brewing – #487

So far, 2010 is off to a great start for many companies. In its February 8 issue, Fortune magazine recognized J. M. Smucker as one of the "100 Best Companies to Work for in 2010," landing at number 47. General Mills also made the cut, coming in at number 90, up nine spots from 2009.

A few weeks later, Fortune announced its list of the "World's Most Admired Companies." Within the food and beverage CPG industry, Coca-Cola topped the list at number 10. PepsiCo landed at number 25, with Nestlé close behind at number 34. General Mills rounded out the list at number 47.

Let's keep the conversation going! What other hot topics dominated food and beverage CPG in '09? Where do you think the industry is headed in 2010? Leave me a message and tell me more.