From fruity-flavoured spirits to tongue-twisting candies, sugar-free soft-drinks and restaurant-inspired snacks (think flame-grilled and wood-smoked) the steady flow of innovative new products launched in 2021 has offered local retailers bags of ways to rev up their ranges with flashes of in-store theatre, excitement and fun.
And, thanks to the power and pull of social media, new product launches have also offered retailers an array of opportunities to connect with their local customers online and highlight the freshness and relevance of their in-store offers. A quick peek at the Facebook 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. A recent post about the launch of new Smirnoff Mango and Passionfruit Twist by Broadway Convenience Store (Premier) Edinburgh for example, was viewed by more than 2,000 people, generated more than 100 likes, 127 shares and over 50 positive comments. With figures such as those the power of new products is clear to see: innovative launches helping to keep local retailers on trend and on track.
That’s why as 2021 draws to a close, SLR is once again launching its New Products of The Year Awards. Now in their second 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 New Product of The Year 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 2022 issue of SLR and will also be featured in a special edition of our weekly digital magazine The Week In Retail in January. All winning products will also be entitled to carry the SLR Products of the Year Awards 2021 winner or shortlisted 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.
How did we establish the shortlist? The list of outstanding new product development has been carefully curated using a complex scoring formula with only the top-performing products making the cut. Every new product that was carried in SLR in print or digital format in 2021 was analysed and scored against a range of the most important engagement criteria including digital views, reads and clicks as well as offline retailer feedback and voting taking place amongst the Best retailers in the country at the SLR Award winners lunch.
