Product Launch of the Year

For the past 16 years, the Retail Industry Awards have recognised and rewarded the fantastic achievements of the UK’s top grocery retailers. But our world-beating retailers – particularly those in the convenience store sector – would not be where they are today without the unstinting efforts of their supplier partners, who are constantly investing in research and development to come up with new products, brand extensions, new variants and innovative new packaging.

New products are the lifeblood of the sector and it’s in recognition of this magnificent support afforded by the industry’s suppliers that we added Product Launch of the Year at last year’s Retail Industry Awards.

These accolades recognise products available to the independent/convenience segment and are divided into nine separate sub-categories vital to the impulse channel: alcohol, chilled and frozen, confectionery, crisps and snacks, non-food, packaged grocery, soft drinks, tobacco, and newspapers and magazines.

They offer suppliers the opportunity to use the prestigious Retail Industry Awards logo, which is now widely recognised by consumers, as a mark of excellence on-pack.

Suppliers are encouraged to nominate their top launches in each category and the winners will be voted for by the real experts in their field – the retailers themselves. See below for more details.

This award is divided into nine sub-categories:

Alcohol
Including beers and ciders, ready-to-drinks, wines and spirits

Chilled and frozen
Including dairy, milk and milk drinks, yogurts and desserts, pasties and pies, meat, cheese, pizzas, frozen fish and ready meals

Confectionery
Including sugar and chocolate confectionery, mints and gums, singles and sharing bags

Crisps and snacks
Including crisps, corn snacks, rice snacks, nuts and cereal bars

Newspapers and magazines
Including one-shots, special editions and partworks

Non-food
Including household and laundry, health and beauty, batteries, petcare and paper products

Packaged grocery
Including tinned products, biscuits, bread, cereals, soups, sauces, tea and coffee, preserves and other ambient foods

Soft drinks
Including juices, juice-based drinks, water, carbonates, squashes and energy drinks

Tobacco
Cigarettes, cigars, hand-rolling tobacco and accessories

Entry criteria

To be eligible for the award, products must have been launched between 1 April 2011 and 30 March 2012 and have been widely available to the convenience trade during that period.

Eligible launches may include any new SKU – be it a completely new product, brand extension or significant packaging innovation.

Judging process

STAGE ONE: Brand owners are asked to submit entries detailing their top product launches to the convenience channel in each of the nine sub-categories between 1 April 2011-30 March 2012.

STAGE TWO: Nominated products will be published in Independent Retail News magazine and on www.talkingretail.com and independent convenience store owners will be asked to vote for their favourite new product in each sub-category.

Winners will be announced during the 2012 Retail Industry Awards ceremony on 25 September at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London.

How to enter

Brand owners can select a maximum of three new products against each of the sub-categories outlined above, except for non-food where they can submit up to six products. Information should include the date the product was launched, as well as marketing spend on the launch and sales generated by the new product, if available.

Submissions must be accompanied by a short summary (maximum 100 words) detailing the new product launched and why you think it should win. Please complete the entry form on page 51 and attach your summary, along with a colour photo of the product being entered. You should fill out a separate entry form for each product.

Details and supporting materials may also be submitted via email to rebecca.robertson@metropolis.co.uk. For further information, call Rizwan Chaudhrey on 020 8253 8708.

Closing date for entries for this category is 30 April 2012.

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