Top 25 Breakthrough CPG Product Innovations of 2019

Products on the list include those in the food and beverage, personal care, OTC, and petcare categories and reflect consumer trends such as good-for-you ingredients, convenience, and a move away from traditional beverage products, among others.

PepsiCo's bubly sparkling water
PepsiCo’s bubly sparkling water line was among the Top 25 Breakthrough Innovations, aligning with sparkling water’s position as the fastest-growing category in bottled water, at 30%.

Global measurement and data analytics company Nielsen Global Connect has released its Top 25 Breakthrough Innovation winners for 2019, powered by its BASES Activation Profiles consulting framework. According to the company, for close to a decade, this list has been the gold standard in recognizing innovation and global success within the Consumer Packaged Goods space. Says Nielsen, the steady growth and diversification of its Top 25 Breakthrough Innovations mirrors the shifting tides of today’s consumer landscape and reinforces the idea that today, success comes in many different forms and strategies.

Amazingly, Nielsen’s innovation data shows that in 2019, a new product was launched into the U.S. marketplace every two minutes. Building on this, it says, over the last three years, brick-and-mortar CPG unit volume has barely wavered above a 1% growth rate year-over-year in the U.S.—a statistic that it declares is a “clear indicator that some innovations aren’t earning their keep.”  

This year’s Breakthrough Innovation process reviewed close to 45,000 product launches introduced to the market in 2017. Explains Genevieve Lee Aronson, Vice President of Communications for Nielson, “The Nielsen Breakthrough Innovation analysis always factors in two years of sales, so the products named in the 2019 list came to market prior to last year.” Among the qualifications, the products must have exhibited strong Year 1 sales of >$50 million, and sustained or growth of Year 1 sales in Year 2, meaning >90% of Year 1 sales in Year 2.

She adds that the criteria for breakthrough success also takes into account the strategies that led to a brand’s success, such as creation of a product that had brand incrementality, category distinction, and/or successful appeal toward a specific consumer target. This includes the way in which the products leveraged the power of visuals at shelf through package design and how creative drove the products’ success.

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