Innovativeness is the key criterion for the ‘Voted Product of the Year’ election. The independent Expert Committee, initiated by POY Benelux (the election’s organization) gathered for the Dutch 2020 edition. Our Technical Director Michel Wittenberg and member of this committee, joined in to answer the main question of this summer meeting: ‘what’s new and innovative from a consumers’ perspective.’

The Levensmiddelenkrant covers their findings (sorry only in Dutch). Lots of brands label their products as ‘new.’ But, what’s truly new and innovative in the eyes of consumers? The experts coming from different fields reviewed all submitted products for the 2020 election, which sometimes was easy and in other cases triggered an interesting discussion. Conclusion: all submissions met the innovation criterion to enter this year’s competition.

Michel:”It’s a fine line to class a product as new or an innovation. A product might not be shockingly new for a consumer, but for a manufacturer it can be a huge leap in their way of working. These are factors that need to be considered”

Voted Product of the Year Benelux founded in 1987, is part of Voted Product of the Year Worldwide, active 45 countries. In their yearly competition consumers vote for the best FMCG, summited for this election by national companies, based on a questionnaire from market researcher Nielsen. The best products in different categories are allowed to carry the logo Voted Product of the Year.