With 2009 drawing to a close, SalesOut has looked at the data from 5,000 independent stores, including 3,000 symbols, to discover the most successful product launches of the past year.

The company reports that new products and new pack variations of existing products accounted for almost 4% of total sales in independent stores during the period under review (52 weeks up to October 31, 2009).

Cadbury’s Wispa Gold, Rowntree’s Randoms and Magners Pear Cider all figure in the list, which is presented below in alphabetical order. Impulse items feature highly, with nine of the most successful launches being confectionery /sweet snack lines, along with six soft drinks and four licensed products.

SalesOut chief executive Marcus Vallance comments: “New product launches are vital to sales in the independent sector, with many new products targeted at the impulse market which the independent sector excels at. While consumers are expanding their range of independent purchases to include staple goods and even fresh produce to save money and reduce fresh food wastage in the recession, independent retailers ignore impulse purchases and new products at their peril.

“To capitalise on the additional sales available from new product development, retailers must be aware of imminent launches to the consumer market by reading trade publications, looking at direct mail and speaking to their suppliers. It is vital that they stock these products as early as possible and merchandise them prominently in-store, to take advantage of increased consumer awareness, curiosity and demand as a result of media and marketing campaigns. 

“Consumers will often shop for new products specifically. Therefore, retailers run the risk of being bypassed, not to mention missing out on additional sales within the same transaction, if they are not as quick off the starting blocks as another local retailer.

“Finally, by monitoring the performance of new products in their store, and benchmarking this against a peer group for example independent retailers in the local area or stores within their symbol group, retailers can identify the most successful types of launch products in their area and evaluate the merchandising strategies that work best,” he adds.

Best New Product Launches of 2009

BLOSSOM HILL SIGNATURE RANGE 75CL
CADBURY CLUSTERS
CADBURY GIANT BUTTONS
CADBURY PEANUTS/RAISINS
CADBURY WISPA GOLD
DRENCH JUICY
FIRST CAPE WINE MAKERS RANGE
GALAXY COOKIE CRUMBLE
KELLOGGS RICE KRISPIES SQUARES TOTALLY CHOC
KRAFT MIKADO
LUCOZADE ENERGY CHERRY
MAGNERS PEAR CIDER 568ML
NESTLÉ ROWNTREE RANDOMS
RED BULL ENERGY LARGE CAN
RELENTLESS ENERGY JUICED BERRY
RELENTLESS ENERGY SHOT 50ML
RIBENA STRAWBERRY
TOFFEE CRISP CLUSTERS
WKD CORE APPLE CIDER

Note: Products are listed alphabetically, not ranked by sales value

Topics