The Grocer's prestigious 'New Product & Packaging Awards' were held at Wembley Stadium in London on 8 November. These awards recognise product and packaging innovation in different FMCG categories. Aspects such as taste, innovation and the value that each product brings to the consumer are measured.
It was the editionwith the highest number of entries to date, with more than 400 products entered for the awards, culminating in 44 champions in the different categories (adding golds, silvers and bronzes).
If we look at al lthe award-winning products together, there are a number of dimensions that are repeated in many of the entries submitted to the awards this year:
- Innovation in taste
- Convenience and ease of use
- Healthy and alternative options
- Sustainability and more ethical proposals
- New textures and formats
- Multigenerational attraction
- Focus on premium products
From Lantern, we wanted to review the winners that have caught our attention the most. This is our top 10 of curiosities:
Unbeleafable - https://unbeleafable.co.uk/
Salad bags with different varieties of vertically grown leaves with important credentials in terms of sustainability. Grow Up's production methods ensure that the leaves are much more tender and last much longer than most other conventional packaged salads, helping to minimise household waste. Its vertical, pesticide-free cultivation requires 97% less water than traditionally grown salads.
Sunfly - https://shopsunfly.com/products/sunflower-seed-butter-chocolate
A cocoa spread made from sunflower seeds that is positioned as the ideal product for the allergic population. Free of the 14 major allergens, its spread offers a nutty (nut-free) taste, high protein and fibre content, and is rich in vitamin E. It has 60 g less sugar than the average chocolate spread on the market.
This - https://this.co/
Plant-based chicken thighs. Made from soy protein and beans, the product is designed to offer a hyper-realistic chicken imitation with a fibrous, meaty texture made possible by the brand's innovative extrusion technology.
Moth Pigeon - https://mothdrinks.com/
The RTD cocktail leader in the tequila-based mixed drinks market, and its Margarita has conquered the category in the UK in recent years. Building on its expertise, it has evolved the range with a cocktail on the rise: the Paloma. A cocktail made with tequila, grapefruit soda and lime with a very interesting packaging design.
Club Zero by Abel & Cole - https://www.abelandcole.co.uk/club-zero-refills/pantry
Abel & Cole has developed a pioneering reusable plastic milk bottle. A major innovation in terms of packaging, using 100% polypropylene to create a milk container that allows up to 15 refills before signs of degradation are observed. Its solution has saved 236,155 single-use plastic bottles in less than a year.
Baileys Chocolate Nut Mix.
Baileys adds a new and exclusive blend of flavours to the dried fruit category from indulgence. It thus breaks into a new category, for a moment of consumption in which it was already present through liqueur-filled chocolates.
A Baileys chocolate and nut mix combined with roasted Baileys chocolate coated almonds with a combination of caramelised hazelnuts, cashews, almonds and peanuts, with a hint of Baileys and salted caramel popcorn crunch.
All Things Butter - https://allthingsbutter.co.uk/
A craft butter made in small batches on a farm in Somerset, combining garlic, parsley, mint and lemon to enhance everyday cooking through a flavoured butter. With design codes that don't update the current UK butter shelf.
Vadasz - https://www.vadaszsupersauces.co.uk/products/hot-jalapeno-sauce/
The brand that until now specialised in kimchis, fresh and fermented pickles has developed an ambient sauce to take advantage of the growing premiumisation of the sauce category. This sauce is made entirely cold and unpasteurised, with natural ingredients, taking advantage of the healthy properties of pickling and fermentation, providing a low sugar content.
Jimmy's Iced Coffee - https://www.jimmysicedcoffee.com/?srsltid=AfmBOor57vsI5pXulypK2aNa5V2MfD9i1G3QIDwcf5KP_6FTt057wvmv
This ready-to-drink cold brew coffee contains 5.6g of protein per 100ml, an interesting cobranding by Jimmy's and sports nutrition brand My Protein.
Oato Fresh Barista - https://www.oato.co.uk/product-page
Most oat milks are pasteurised in cartons, but Oato's hallmark is freshness. Made from 100% British oats, the brand taps into that consumer desire for chilled milk, even when it doesn't come from a cow. It also has one of the lowest carbon footprints of the entire oat milk category.
