Another year of innovation excellence - Supermarket.co.za

PRODUCT OF THE YEAR
By Mi c h e l Ma c k
The 48 winners of the 2013
Product of the Year awards were
celebrated at the prestigious
gala event at the Maslow Hotel
in Sandton, Johannesburg on 7
February.
Glitz and glamour
Representatives of over 70 companies,
media and local celebrities were guided
through the awards ceremony by
comedian, John Vlismas. 5FM presenter,
Mabale Moloi joined him as co-host.
This year’s programme has been
streamlined to remain on schedule and
Vlismas and Moloi cut straight to the
chase without stand-up comedy or guest
speaker. Instead, attendees were brought
into celebratory mood by original Jamaican
beats. After the awards ceremony, guests
enjoyed drinks and snacks. They also had
the opportunity to rub shoulders with
famous local musician, Toya Delazy who
provided the evening’s entertainment.
Public endorsement
The winners in the 48 categories walked away with the South African public’s endorsement of their products.
Product of the Year has been rewarding
innovation excellence for the past 25 years
Another year
of innovation
excellence
2013
The Product of the Year
2013 awards aim to
reward products that
have been designed with
the consumer in mind
and came to South Africa in 2008. Over
200 products made the finalist roll this
year and winners were determined through
a Nielsen survey of 5 000 South African
households across all facets of life. The
research is done in face-to-face interviews
and officially constitutes the largest
consumer research project on the African
continent.
“South African consumers are becoming
more discerning and will no longer fall for
the hype of advertising claims of products
being ‘new’ or ‘the best’. Consumers will
research products, try them out and voice
their opinions if they are not happy. The
brands are well aware of this and are
therefore becoming more inventive and
strategic in order to attract and maintain
customers in the crowded consumer goods
market,” says Product of the Year MD,
Preetesh Sewraj.
Staying relevant
The categories are amended each year
to best reflect product entries and shifts
in consumer preferences. Last year’s 44
categories have been extended to 48. The
cell phone category, which was split up into
four different categories in 2012, has now
been amalgamated into a single ‘consumer
electronics’ category. The Samsung Galaxy
SIII Smartphone scooped this award.
Amongst others, lens care, petroleum
jelly, premium and budget paint and
contraception have been first time
additions to the 2013 category list. The
contraception category’s award went to
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SUPERMARKET & RETAILER, MARCH 2013
▲

PRODUCT OF THE YEAR
Contempo Rough Rider and all eyes were
on stage to see who would be bravely
coming up to fetch this award.
Winning comments
From left to right: Unilever’s Unathi Mgobozi, Shaadia Vawda, Sphelele Mjadu, Jacqueline Pillay, Kerry Cuppusamy,
Anisa Govender, Caroline Clayton and Ana-Maria Panait proudly present the company’s 12 awards.
▲
Unilever swept the stage for the fifth
consecutive year by receiving 12 of the
prestigious awards. The winnings were
taken by 12 of its homecare, personal care
and foods products.
“Unilever is very proud to once again
have won in so many categories. It is great
that consumers appreciate the success
of our product marketing and innovation,
while we strive to be the best in a highly
competitive market. We strive to exceed
customer expectations whilst reducing our
environmental impacts across the lifecycle
of our products,” says Marijn van Tiggelen,
chairman of Unilever South Africa.
Clover scooped two awards on the
night. Firstly, for its new UHT Prisma Pack
long-life packaging. “At Clover, we consider
our products from our customers’ point of
view. This is why we decided to address the
spillage that sometimes occurred with the
previous long-life milk packs,” says Sherian
King, senior brand manager at Clover.
The second award was for Clover’s 800g
Cheddar and Gouda cheese packs. “What
makes these awards so significant is that
they’re judged by consumers who buy and
use our products,” she continues.
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SUPERMARKET & RETAILER, MARCH 2013
Royco’s Instant Soup Range emerged as
the overall winner of the soup category.
“The success of our new Royco Instant
Soups lies in consistently delivering
on great taste and quality without
compromise. All our instant soups have no
added MSG or artificial colourants and with
our fantastic new product innovations such
as our Kids range, we are listening to the
needs of our consumers,” says Jann Lurie,
brand manager for Mars Africa.
The accolade in the beverage category
went to Coca-Cola SA for its PowerPlay
Fruit Kick energy drink. PowerPlay senior
brand manager, Kgomotso Tabane
commented: “We signed up for voluntary
tests because we sincerely believe that our
product is not only innovative but relevant.
It is enjoyed by a significant amount of
South African consumers.”
Amka’s Satiskin Blissful Berry Foam
Bath won in the bath foam category.
“The consumer response to the new berry
fantasy variant has been overwhelming.
We’ve had wonderful feedback from our
consumers and to be honoured with this
prestigious accolade is just further proof
that we’ve developed a winning product.
We’re all very proud!” says Karen Kohler,
brand manager for Satiskin.
Bridging the gap
Sewraj emphasises that Product of the Year
will continue bridging the communication
gap between manufacturers and consumers
through researching new products. Testing
them with consumers and providing
constructive feedback to companies
ensures that customers get value for their
money.
The winning companies, whose
innovation proved that they let their
customers’ opinion and needs shape their
development, may use the Product of the
Year logo for all of 2013. Using it on the
product itself, as well as across various
media channels reassures prospective
customers that the South African public has
endorsed the product. Companies can enter
their products free of charge and pay a
prescribed fee for the use of the logo.
Everybody wins
Retailers can benefit directly from the
awards by converting increased product
reputation and publicity into sales. A
special promotional display with all
awarded products or special Product of the
Year shelf labels will attract the attention
of your customers. It also instils confidence
to try unfamiliar products or items they
don’t usually purchase.
An initial price cut promotion will serve
as a motivator and has the potential to
generate repeat purchases for years to
come. Don’t miss this opportunity to
capitalise on local innovation excellence,
as well as supporting and showcasing the
endorsement of the South African public.

Product of the Year MD, Preetesh Sewraj
emphasises that consumers have become
much more discerning and informed.
Trevor Omerod, GM advertising revenue &
strategic communications at Times Media
Group presented Jeanne du Plessis, external
relations manager at Procter & Gamble with
the prestigious accolade.
One of Clover’s brand managers, Tarin
Anthony was presented with the award.
PRODUCT OF THE YEAR 2013 WINNERS
Category Product Company
Carbonated Beverages PowerPlay Fruit Kick Energy Drink Coca-Cola SA
Dairy Beverages Clover Danao Smooth Clover
Condiments Nola Creamy Salad Dressing Foodcorp
Ready to Eat Nola Chicken Mayo Foodcorp
Quick Meals Maggi 2-Minute Noodles Flavours of Mzansi Nestlé
Female Skincare Pond’s Flawless Radiance Unilever
Male Skincare Vaseline Men Eventone Expert Unilever
Face Care Range
Female Deodorant Dove Invisible Dry Unilever
Lotion Vaseline Total Moisture Range Unilever
Petroleum Jelly Vaseline Men Petroleum Jelly Unilever
Facial Wipes TLC Deep Cleanse Facial Wipes TLC Cosmetics
Baby Wipes Pampers Sensitive Wipes Procter & Gamble
Hygiene Soap GynaGuard Ultimate Wash Adcock Ingram
Baby Food Nestlé Jogolino Nestlé
Power Cleaners Handy Andy Power Cream Spray Unilever
Bleach Jik Multi Action Reckitt Benckiser
Consumer Technology Samsung Galaxy SIII Smartphone Samsung
Premium Paint Plascon Nuroof Cool Kansai Plascon
Budget Paint Safari Enamel Medal Paints
Soup Royco Instant Soup Mars Africa
Toothpaste Colgate Total 12 Pro-Gum Health Colgate-Palmolive
Lollipop Pin Pop Mega Aldor
Lens Care OptiFog Essilor
Diapers Pampers Premium Care Procter & Gamble
Sanitary Pads Always Platinum Procter & Gamble
Panty Liners Lil-Lets Ultra Long Pantyliners Lil-Lets Group
Contraception Contempo Rough Rider Contempo
Female Grooming Nair Brazillian Spa Clay Cream Church & Dwight
Toothbrushes Colgate Optic White Toothbrush Colgate-Palmolive
Fabric Conditioner Comfort Concentrated Fabric Conditioner Unilever
Hair Colour Excellence Mousse Chocolate Brown L’Oréal Paris
Hair Colour
Hair Wash Elvive Volume Collagen Shampoo L’Oréal Paris
and Conditioner
Hair Treatment Schwarzkopf Gliss Repair + Gloss Treatment Schwarzkopf
Automatic Laundry OMO Auto Washing Powder Unilever
Milk Clover Long Life Milk Clover
Dairy Food Clover Cheese Clover
Surface Care Mr. Min Express Mist Reckitt Benckiser
Male Deodorant Shield Men Xtra Cool Unilever
Flavourants Robertsons Herbs & Spices Bottles Unilever
Handwash Laundry OMO Handwash Unilever
Laundry Bars Sunlight Germiguard Unilever
Tissue Twinsaver Essentials Nampak
Oil HO Sunflower Oil Vergezocht
Alcoholic Beverages KWV 3 & Cola KWV SA
Frozen Seafood I&J Light & Crispy African Spice Irvin & Johnson
Bath Foam Satiskin Blissful Berry Fantasy Foam Bath Amka Products
Baby Beverages HiPP Organic Growing Up Milk HiPP Organic
Mouthwash Colgate Complete Care Mouthwash Colgate-Palmolive
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PRODUCT OF THE YEAR
▲
From left to right: Harshvardhan Sarda, executive director for consumer research at Nielsen; Trevor Omerod, GM advertising revenue & strategic
comms at the Times Media Group; Selvan Naidoo, marketing exec at Vodacom; Preetesh Sewraj, MD of Product of the Year SA; Ran Neu Ner and Gil
Oved, joint CEOs of The Creative Counsel Group and Zunaid Dinath, managing executive of sales at Vodacom represented the key sponsors
of Product of the Year.
Carey Fournier, I&R manager at Nestlé and Michelle Bezuidenhout,
brand manager at Nestlé received the award from Harshvardhan Sarda,
executive director for consumer research at Nielsen.
Representatives from over 70 companies enjoyed entertainment,
snacks, music and meet-and-greet at the Maslow Hotel in Sandton,
Johannesburg.
Toya Delazy and her crew got everyone in the party mood
with their the evening entertainment.
Jamaican beats
kicked off the
awards ceremony.

new:
the first gliss repair care with
liquid Keratin complex.
Gliss ultimate repair.
precisely rebuilds damaged hair substance
For a new hair quality
is proven to repair hair damage
Voted Product of the Year 2013
Schwarzkopf Ultimate Repair: Repair + Gloss Treatment
Voted Product of the Year in the Hair Treatment Category
Tel +27 11 608 4010 info@acdoco.co.za www.acdoco.co.za
Winner Hair Treatment Category
Survey of 5000 people by Nielson