Nielsen conducted an analysis of 3,439 newly introduced consumer products to determine 14 winning products that demonstrated breakthrough results in innovation. The conclusions and insights from this study, along with case studies for the winners, are found in the newly released Breakthrough Innovation Report.

The 2013 Nielsen Breakthrough Innovation Winners:

• Chattem – Allegra® Allergy
• Colgate Palmolive – Colgate® Optic White™
• Dannon Oikos® Greek Yogurt
• Del Monte – Milo’s Kitchen® Home-Style Dog Treats
• General Mills – Fiber One® 90 Calorie Brownies
• Hershey – Reese’s® Minis
• Kelloggs – Special K Cracker Chips
• Kraft – MiO Liquid Water Enhancer, Velveeta Cheesy Skillets
• Monster Beverage Company – Monster Rehab®
• Nestle – Skinny Cow Candy
• P&G – Downy UNSTOPABLES™ In Wash Scent Booster
• TalkingRain – Sparkling Ice
• Unilever – Magnum® Ice Cream

To be a Breakthrough Innovation Winner, a product needed to satisfy three requirements:

Relevance: Winners must be relevant and generate year one U.S. sales of $50 million or greater in Nielsen-measured channels (food, drug, convenience, dollar store and mass merchandise).

Endurance: Winners needed to achieve at least 90 percent of year one sales in year two. This measure confirms a sustained level of consumer demand yet allows for some drop in revenue during the transition from trial to adoption.

Distinctiveness: Winners must deliver a new value proposition to the market. We excluded brand restages, ingredient reformulations, re-packaging, size changes and other minor refinements to existing brands.