From fruity-flavoured spirits to flavoured chocolate, sugar-free soft drinks and restaurant-inspired snacks, the steady flow of innovative new products launched in 2022 has offered local retailers loads of ways to revamp their ranges with flashes of in-store theatre, excitement and fun.

This year there has also been a steady stream of new products to help retailers with new HFSS regulations and sustainability demands and to help consumers deal with the cost-of-living crisis.

Thanks to the power and pull of social media, new product launches have also offered retailers an array of opportunities to engage with their local customers online and highlight the freshness and relevance of their in-store offers.

A quick peek at social media feeds of some of the industry’s leading retailers reveals hundreds of likes and comments from engaged customers who are only too keen to try and buy. The power of new products is clear to see; innovative launches help to keep local retailers on trend and on track.

That’s why as 2022 draws to a close, SLR is once again launching its Products of the Year Awards.

Now in their third year, the Awards are designed to celebrate the hero new products that have had such a positive impact on stores and sales and, crucially, to reward the suppliers who invested in bringing them to market.

Winners of the SLR Products of the Year New Awards will be selected by the local retailing community, with all retailers able to vote for their favourites from our shortlist and explain how their chosen products have helped to shape their success this year.

Once the votes have been cast, the winners will be announced in a special supplement as part of the February 2023 issue of SLR.

All winning products will also be entitled to carry the SLR Products of the Year Awards 2022 winner logo on-pack and in their marketing materials – thereby completing a virtuous circle by helping drive further sales in the future in local retailing outlets across the country, because we all know that shoppers love an award-winning product.