Over the past three years, Nielsen has studied over 17,000 new products launched between 2008 and 2012 and named 62 Breakthrough Innovation winners. In 2014, we found 14 products from a starting field of 3,463 launches in 2012 met the criteria for distinctiveness, relevance, and endurance.

High new-product failure rates lead some to believe that success is random and unpredictable. But innovation is far more science than magic. We share the lessons of Breakthrough Winners—as well as the perspective we’ve gained from the study of thousands of less successful launches—to encourage adoption of the principles and practices that enable consistent success, fuel sustained growth, and increase organizational confidence.