Knowing your best products
DIVIDING LINE: ‘PRODUCT OF THE YEAR’ HELPS THE CONSUMERS DECIDE
Products in a variety of categories were awarded for excellence and service.
Product of the Year – the world’s largest consumer-voted awards programme – announced the recipients of the accolades for 2017, at a gala event hosted at The Galleria in Sandton, Johannesburg.
Product of the Year is the nation’s largest independent consumer survey, conducted by leading global information and measurement company Nielsen.
It seeks to reward product innovation based on the endorsements of more than 5 000 consumer households.
Established 30 years ago in France, Product of the Year currently operates in 38 countries with the aim of guiding consumers and helping them find the best new products and services in the market, while also rewarding manufacturers for quality and innovation.
“In this highly competitive and cluttered market, making informed purchase decisions can be extremely confusing for consumers,” says Preetesh Sewraj, CEO and chief innovation analyst at Product of the Year South Africa.
“With limited expendable income, consumers are often unable to test and trial every offering, which is why we aim to take the guesswork out of this process, effectively giving them a shortcut to the checkout counter, while also saving them time and money.”
According to Sewraj, the Product of the Year third-party endorsement programme helps to clear the clutter, as only the best quality products and services can stand up to this level of independent scrutiny.
“It therefore offers the ideal platform for companies to prove to customers why they should purchase their product above all others,” he states.
To enter, brands submit products for inclusion through an opt-in process in a variety of categories.
Winners are chosen through a robust research process that employs best-in-class research techniques, to understand consumer perception of market innovation.
In its infancy, Product of the Year award categories extensively covered the FMCG sector, specifically food, beverages, personal care and household care.
However, these have since expanded to include other important consumer market segments such as automotive, technology, petrochemicals, medical and health products, and clothing.
In addition, a heritage category was included this year–for iconic long-standing brands.
For more information and a complete list of the winners, visit productoftheyear.co.za/winners.