Chicago-based market research firm Information Resources Inc. (IRI), formerly SymphonyIRI Group, released its list of 2012 New Product Pacesetters. These 200 top-selling consumer packaged goods (CPG) launches, which represent 11 percent of the 1,900 CPG brands that hit the market in 2011 and 2012, each captured more than $13 million in their first year of sales in traditional grocery, drug and mass market retailers, dollar and club channels, and military commissaries, with an individual average of $39.5 million in first-year revenues.
“IRI’s 2012 Pacesetters are best-in-class products that have truly beaten the daunting new product odds,” said Larry Levin, executive vice president and general manager of insights and thought leadership for IRI, in a statement. “In fact, the manufacturers of these Pacesetter brands showed a quiet resolve and determination to stimulate growth despite a challenging economic environment in 2012.”
Among the top food and beverage brands, average year-one dollar sales were $43.4 million, IRI reports. New food and beverage brands addressed long-standing trends such as wellness, indulgence and convenience, it says. The most powerful launches of the year also delivered more to today’s selective, frugal and busy consumers, providing new options that serve cross-occasion eating behaviors, support proactive wellness efforts, and satisfy desires for intelligent indulgence, it adds.
The Dannon Company Inc.’s Oikos Greek Yogurt earned the No. 1 spot on IRI’s list of the Top 10 best-selling new food and beverage brands for 2012 with $283.8 million in sales.
New beverage launches on the Top 10 list include the following CPG brands: Seattle-based Starbucks Coffee Co.’s K-Cups with $198.9 million in sales; St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch’s Bud Light Platinum with $162.2 million; Dallas-based Dean Foods’ TruMoo with $158.3 million; Northfield, Ill.-based Kraft Foods Group Inc.’s Mio with $127.6 million; Preston, Wash.-based Talking Rain Beverage Co.’s Sparkling Ice with $122.7 million; and Verona, Pa.-based American Beverage Corp.’s Daily’s Frozen Pouches with $89.2 million.
Bud Light Platinum, TruMoo and Mio also made IRI’s list of the Top 10 Convenience Store Brands, along with Corona, Calif.-based Monster Energy Co.’s Monster Rehab with $161.4 million; London-based Unilever Group’s Lipton 100% Natural with $60.1 million; Plano, Texas-based Dr Pepper Snapple Group’s Dr Pepper Ten with $28.9 million; and Las Vegas-based Rockstar Inc.’s Rockstar 2X with $20.9 million.
IRI also released a list of the Top 10 non-food brands, which is available on the company’s website.
“The class of 2012 IRI New Product Pacesetters is remarkable for many reasons,” said Susan Viamari, editor of IRI’s Times and Trends, in a statement. “These products are bringing consumers increased value at a time when value is more critical than it has been in recent history. They are doing this by harnessing many and varied ingredients and technologies to deliver products that do things better with less effort; taste better, with enhanced nutritional value; and bring excitement, without breaking the bank. These products are leading the CPG industry into tomorrow. And, they are delivering growth for the manufacturers that bring them to market.”
