In With The New
A look at this year's NCA Most Innovative New Product Awards winners
Once a year, there's something sweet in the air for several days during the National Confectioners Association's (NCA) Sweets & Snacks Expo. Approximately 15,000 industry professionals attended the 2012 expo, held May 8-10 at Chicago's McCormick Place, and there was plenty to see, including 570 exhibiting companies â 140 of which were new to the event â that filled up 142,000 square feet of floor space and made the show the largest it's ever been.
As always, attendees were on the lookout for the latest and greatest new products. This year's expo launched the Most Innovative New Product Awards, given to companies showcasing the most innovative ideas, concepts and products in the confectionery and snacks industry.
A panel of experts made up of retail customers, food industry icons and trend experts helped NCA narrow the field of more than 200 product entries to just 40 nominees. The panel, which included representatives from BP/Arco ampm, Marine Corps Exchange HQ, Eby-Brown Co. and McLane Co., analyzed the packaging, concept and salability of each entry and had the opportunity to taste each product in their effort to select the top 40 across eight categories. Retail and wholesale trade customers then selected one winner in each of the categories.
This year's winners were:
- Novelty/Licensed: Jelly Belly Uno Gift Box; Jelly Belly Candy Co.
- Seasonal: M&M's Candy Corn; Mars Chocolate North America
- Salty Snacks: M&M's Snack Mix & Peanuts; Mars Chocolate North America
- Sweet Snacks: Nutella & Go; Ferrero U.S.A. Inc.
- Savory Snacks: Sweet & Spicy Nopalitos Dried Snacks; Nopal Bros.
- Non-Chocolate: Skittles Riddles; Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co.
- Gourmet/Premium: Dark Roca; Brown & Haley
- Chocolate: Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich Milk Chocolate Bar; Hammond's Candies
"[The awards were] a magnificent success and generated a lot of excitement," said Tim Quinn, vice president, trade development, Mars Chocolate North America, who served as chairman of the 2012 expo and will reprise that role for next year's show. "Manufacturers who were finalists proudly displayed their awards inside their exhibit booths at the show, and several of the winners are mentioning the awards in their trade ads."
The awards were a win-win occasion for both manufacturer and retailer representatives who attended the show, acknowledged Jenn Ellek, director of trade marketing and communications for the NCA. The nominees and winners provided a starting point for expo attendees wondering where they should start and what they should look at, she said.
"It really did drive people," agreed Margie Walter of Haribo of America, whose Haribo Ginger Lemon was a nominee in the Non-Chocolate category. "A lot of people were coming up saying, 'I want to try that new product' which really helped. We actually [launched] the product [recently], so this gave us a feel for what the reaction will be, even from people who when they initially heard 'ginger' were not that excited.
Providing that kind of direction also boosted the profile of several nominated companies that were brand-new to the market. "We wanted to provide an opportunity to give these companies more face time," Ellek explained. And that face time can pay off â one of the smaller companies featured in last year's Innovation Alley was later picked up by Target Corp.
The Most Innovative New Product Awards also helped highlight some category trends in the making. Ellek said the NCA is seeing more "cool" new flavor combinations, such as mixing sweet and salty together, as well as flavor profiles from around the world. "The American palate is maturing," she said. "They want and expect more, and this drives innovation."
And yet "it's about more than just flavors," noted Jennifer Jackson Luth, senior manager of Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co.'s marketing communications. "Consumers want choices for everything â flavor, size and price, packaging and functional benefits."
Wrigley's winning Skittles Riddles product was designed to appeal to candy consumers based upon its novelty factor. "Mysteriously mismatched" combinations of flavors and candy colors keep consumers guessing as they snack.
The company also debuted new Orbit Gum and 5 Gum Micro Packs at the show, along with new Orbit Gum and 5 Gum Car Cup and Mini Bottle packages whose small size and pellet format are designed to make chewing gum more convenient for active consumers.
"While in the past we've focused on taking competitive share, it's clear we're in a different state today and that the goal should be getting more people to chew gum more often," said Jackson Luth.
Other trends were also evident when examining the award nominees and exhibitors on the show floor. Manufacturers have always developed new products based on consumer taste, but "ongoing economic challenges have gotten consumers across the board thinking about every purchase they make," Ellek explained. "Consumers want products that are new and innovative, but also represent a great value."
Candy and snacks that are made with natural ingredients and include functional properties are also growing in popularity. "Fortified, healthful ingredients are very important to [consumers]," she said.
The NCA already has tweaks in mind for next year's Sweets & Snacks Expo â and the awards program. The next installment of the Most Innovative New Product Awards will likely incorporate technology to a greater degree, said Ellek.
At this year's show, visitors to the Most Innovative New Product Awards showcase located within the New Product Showcase voted for their favorite nominees and requested their booth information by using a small handheld scanner on individual bar codes. Ellek said this method was very helpful, but next year's show will likely allow people to also vote via iPad.
"Technology will play a big role in the voting process in 2013 to enhance retailing voting results on the first day," she said.
The 2013 Sweets & Snacks Expo is scheduled to take place May 21-23 in Chicago.
For comments, please contact Angela Hanson, Assistant Editor, at [email protected].