VUSE Tops 2015's Most Successful C-store New Products
CHICAGO and WASHINGTON, D.C. — IRI revealed last year's most successful consumer packaged goods (CPG) launches in its 2015 New Product Pacesetters report, a benchmark analysis of exceptional first-year CPG sales success for newly launched products.
Thousands of new brands arrived on retail shelves during 2015, and 54 percent of all new product launches appeared in the food and beverage aisles. The remaining 46 percent came from the non-food realm. The top-selling 200 new brands captured cumulative year-one sales of more than $6.5 billion across IRI's multi-outlet geography, according to the company.
"The key to launching a successful new product today is not only understanding your core and target shoppers, but also how these shoppers view the CPG marketplace," stated Susan Viamari, vice president, thought leadership, IRI. "Their viewpoint is very different from manufacturers and retailers. Consumers think about satisfying needs in terms of eating occasions, drinking occasions and product usage occasions. CPGs need to recognize which CPG categories compete for each occasion. It varies by mind-set, daypart, channel and shopper, so the days of one-size-fits-all strategies are gone forever."
Technology and analytic know-how play a major role in creating an understanding about market trends and consumers' needs and wants, as well as how those factors impact the way consumers make purchase decisions, according to Larry Levin, executive vice president, Business Development, IRI. CPG marketers must use this knowledge to understand sources of volume and incrementality for each of their brands across usage occasions, knowing where their sales are coming from.
In the convenience store market, median year-one sales across the top 10 IRI New Product Pacesetters were $18.6 million, demonstrating the power behind consumers' ongoing quests for uniquely indulgent experiences, IRI said.
The 2015 New Product Pacesetters top 10 convenience store brands were:
1. VUSE — $221.1 million
2. Monster Energy Ultra Sunrise — $82.7 million
3. MarkTen — $69.3 million
4. REDD'S Wicked Ales — $43.3 million
5. RUFFLES Deep Ridged — $26.5 million
6. Jack Link's Small Batch — $18.9 million
7. Juicy Fruit Starburst — $18.4 million
8. Monster Energy Unleaded — $17.1 million
9. Wrigley's 5 Ascent — $14.6 million
10. Pillsbury Soft Baked Mini Cookies — $10.0 million
"To be successful, marketers must have a clear, comprehensive and consistent understanding of their competitive set, despite rapidly changing market conditions and fickle consumer attitudes and behaviors," Viamari said. "These insights will help CPGs address white space innovation opportunities that meet the needs of high-potential consumer segments. This knowledge will also support development of highly accurate sales forecasting and brand development programs that will minimize launch failure and maximize market potential."
The full 2015 New Product Pacesetters report is available for download here.