• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, April 4, 2017

DairyPure milk and Flonase OTC allergy medicine were last year’s top-selling consumable and non-food CPG launches, respectively generating $1.16 billion and $316.5 million in multi-outlet retail sales, according to IRI’s just-released 2016 New Product Pacesetters report.

The top 10 food and beverage launches, in order, also include Dunkin’ Donuts K-Cups ($204.1 million); Not Your Father’s Root Beer ($114.6 million); Oreo Thins ($110.2 million); Artesano fresh bread and rolls ($102.4 million); Screamin’ Sicilian frozen pizza ($73.2 million); Oscar Mayer Natural luncheon meat ($61.7 million); DairyPure Creamers ($54.9 million); Sargento Balanced Breaks snacks ($54.2 million), and Henry’s Hard Soda ($50.3 million).

The top 10 non-food launches, also include Gillette Fusion ProShield ($144.9 million); Garnier SkinActive ($117.5 million); Tide Pods Plus Febreze ($87.3 million); Crest Pro-Health Advanced ($80.1 million); The Pioneer Woman Collection ($79.1 million); Persil ProClean ($63.2 million); Cesar Home Delights ($45.2 million); Tampax Pocket Pearl ($41.9 million), and Old Spice Fresher Collection ($39 million).

Smaller Launches Keep Grabbing Share

IRI points out that while launches generating $100 million or more in their first year continue to hover between 4% and 5%, first-year sales levels have declined as “technology and know-how” enable smaller, more targeted CPGs to capture a growing share of launch sales. 

Overall, 80% of new brands earn less than $40 million in their first year. New products earning $20 million to $79 million in year one dropped from 58% in 2014 to just 28% in 2016. The percentage earning under $20 million in year one nearly doubled, to two-thirds, in those two years. Among the top 100 2016 food and beverage launches that earned Pacesetter status, median one-year sales were $11.4 million, down from $19.6 million in 2015. 

In 2016, fully 46% of Pacesetter launches came out of small companies, 34% out of mid-size companies, and just 20% out of large companies. Small and mid-size companies accounted for 64% of launch dollar sales. In 2015, 29% were launched by small companies, 44% by mid-size ones, and 26% from large ones — and small and mid-size firms generated 515 of the launch sales. 

Prevention, Personalization, ‘Pizzzazz’ Spell Success

Healthful and “preventative” benefits are a major driver of successful food and non-food launches alike. “Today, 40% of consumers recognize that lifestyle, including diet and exercise plays a key role in achieving health and wellness goals,” report IRI’s analysts. “Solutions that embrace healthier ingredients, such as superfoods and protein, and eliminate less desirable and/or not-easily-understood ingredients, are really hitting the mark with shoppers.”

IRI reports that “healthier-for-you” products — particularly those with an additional sought-after benefit, such as convenience or a new taste experience — dominated the successful consumables launches. Of the top 100 food and beverage launches, 47 claimed healthier-for-you attributes, and these accounted for 67% of dollars. 

Dean Foods’ DairyPure — the first national branded fresh white milk, offering a “Five-Point Purity Promise” that includes testing for antibiotics and no artificial growth hormones —  is now consumed by 42% of U.S. households, and alone accounted for 19% of the top 100 dollar sales. Antibiotic-free foods (ABF) are becoming increasingly popular, particularly in meat, poultry and dairy products, confirms IRI. 

Meanwhile, technology-enabled personalization “is making a powerful statement by helping consumers get better results and experience excitement and relaxation in the ways they prefer,” point out the analysts. Personalization is also increasingly critical because “consumers have become experts at ignoring that which does not resonate with them…this tendency applies to consumer goods as much as it does to information.” 

What IRI dubs “pizzazz” — “solutions that engage consumers’ attention and enrich their lives” — is another factor shared by a growing number of successful launches. Consumers “want a moment of relaxation and/or excitement in an all-too-often tumultuous world — flavors and textures that excite, lotions that soothe or stimulate the senses, hair care solutions that calm, curl and cure...each person has a personal definition of pizzazz,” notes the report, which is available free at IRI’s site.