29 Jan And the winners are….
They came, they saw, they collected….! Yes, our awards bash for 2020 has already been and gone, but what a night it was.
THE UK’s biggest celebration of product innovation, the Product of the Year Awards 2020 has given its 44 winners a shortcut straight to the nation’s shopping list.
For with one of our shiny red logos plastered on their products, their sales are set to go skyward.
That’s the future for our winners, but what about the event itself?
Held in the Art Deco splendour of the Sheraton Grand in London’s Park Lane, we were in the safe hands of our host, comedian and presenter Patrick Kielty, with music legend Sophie Ellis-Bextor getting the after-party into full swing.
Despite the generous dollop of celebrity stardust, it was the smorgasbord of winning products that took centre stage, with UK brands including Mars, Procter & Gamble and Coca Cola filling their tables to fetch the coveted Product of the Year trophies for their innovations over the last 18 months.
The cherry on the top of the Product of the Year Cake is that our awards are voted for by more than 10,000 members of the Great British public. Carried out with our research partner, Kantar, the winning products are a pretty accurate reflection of the ever-changing habits of the UK shopper.
No wonder then that many of the winners mirrored the trend that has gone mainstream – alternative and vegan eating. Among those which triumphed were Kellogg’s W.K. Kellogg vegan-friendly Plant Protein cereal, Richmond’s first-ever meat-free sausage, NESCAFÉ Gold’s dairy alternative lattes and Optimum’s Rocky Road protein bar.
Sustainable products also hit the jackpot, with Unilever’s groundbreaking Cif ecorefill and bamboo-sourced The Cheeky Panda wipes among those winning the privilege of using the influential Product of the Year winners’ red logo, which has been shown cause sales to shoot up by between 10 and 15%.
Incidentally The Cheeky Panda team should also have picked up a gong for most fetching (Panda) headgear. Hats off to them – maybe it’s the start of a Product of the Year trend?
Now it’s time for the winners to make their victory count. To set them on the road to product stardom, the winning brands will also be featured by our media partners in the coming weeks. Look out for huge pieces in consumer publications – The Sun, Woman’s Own, Woman’s Weekly, Woman and on Netmums; and trade-wise – Haymarket Media (Campaign and PR Week) and our new partner for 2020 – Independent Retail News / Talk Retail.
With 86% of shoppers more likely to buy a product bearing the Product of the Year logo, our hard work here is done. Until entries open for next year, of course.
• Missed out this time round? Don’t worry. Entries for the 2021 Product of the Year awards open in May.
To see more images from the night and spot your friends, click here
Password: POTY2020