Nordic Spirit among the top innovative products chosen by consumers

Japan Tobacco International (JTI) and has won a Product of the Year 2021 Award for Nordic Spirit Nicotine Pouches.

The brand is part of 34 winners chosen by 10,000 UK consumers, and conducted in partnership with market reseracher Kantar, for the annual awards.

Unilever, Premier Foods, Danone and Procter & Gamble picked up multiple awards along with other household names and pioneering newcomers.

JTI’s Nordic Spirit brand triumphed with an innovative range of nicotine pouches that are free of smoke, vape and tobacco, and come in a range of unique flavours. The pouches draw from the 18th century tradition among Swedish farmers of mixing tobacco leaves with salt and water, creating the smokeless tobacco powder, snus, that were later put into tobacco pouches.

“Since launching in 2019, Nordic Spirit has gone from strength to strength and is now the No.1 nicotine pouch brand in the UK. We couldn’t be prouder and we would like to thank everyone who voted for our product,” commented Stephane Berset, JTI UK marketing vice president.

In the drinks category, Heineken has won an award for its Strongbow Rosé Cider and on the lower ABV end of the scale, the hard seltzer from Echo Falls, Blueberry & Hibiscus Rosé Seltzer, took the honours. Drynks Unlimited’s SMASHED Pale Ale was chosen as the winner in the alcohol free drinks category.

“2020 saw a boom in the trend for seltzers, offering a lighter alternative to traditional drinks such as beer or wine,” said Anne Uva, assistant brand manager, Echo Falls, said. “We launched our Echo Falls’ Rosé Seltzers to target those cutting back and cutting out and we’ve been really pleased with the reception from shoppers so far.”

The growing trend of healthy eating has been reflected in Product of the Year’s winners list with graze Super Snack Cereal Bars for kids (50% reduced sugar) winning an award and the craze for fermented goods is evidently still on the up as Good Earth Kombucha took home a Product of the Year Award. Arla’s Lactofree Organic Semi Skimmed Milk Drink won in the dairy alternative category and Herbalife Nutrition Tri-Blend Select took first place in the nutritional supplements category.

Hygiene has never been more important, and Thane’s H2O e3 Cleaning System and Cif Anti-Bac & Shine Range has won this year for delivering standout products. Persil’s Liquid Laundry Detergent impressed the consumers with its plant-based stain remover.

Unilever has won three awards across laundry and cleaning categories. Reacting to the multiple wins, Nadine Slyper, brand experience director at Unilever Homecare UKI, commented: “We are delighted to have received the Product of the Year award for not one, not two, but three of our incredible Homecare brands.

“Our teams have worked incredibly hard during these challenging times to bring Cif Anti-Bac & Shine, Comfort Coco Fantasy and Persil Liquids to the market, and we’re thrilled that consumers love them. To round off our Homecare brand awards, Surf has also won Best Use of Logo from a 2020/previous years campaign which we are very pleased to receive.”

Now in its 17th year, the Product of the Year Awards celebrates the products we use every day but often take for granted for their quiet innovation.

“Innovation comes in all shapes and sizes and in what has been a challenging year for everyone, we have seen brands big and small step up and stand out for some truly exceptional products” Helga Slater, managing director, Product of the Year, said.

“From the small, incremental improvements made by established brands to those breaking new ground, we are happy to once again be able to shine a light on the very best product innovation and we are thrilled for all the winners.”

Full list of 2021 Product of the Year winners across 34 categories:

• Alcohol, Strongbow Rosé Cider, Heineken
• Alcohol Free Drinks, SMASHED Pale Ale, Drynks Unlimited
• Bladder Weakness, Always Discreet Boutique Pads, Procter & Gamble
• Cat Food, Sheba Fine Flakes in Gravy, Mars Petcare UK
• Chilled Fortified Drinks, Good Earth Kombucha, Tata Consumer Products
• Cleaning Spray, Cif Anti-Bac & Shine Range (Spray & ecorefill), Unilever
• Coffee Pods, Starbucks by Nespresso Capsules Range, Nestlé UK Ltd
• Convenience Food, Batchelors Big Super Noodles Range, Premier Foods
• Dairy, Cathedral City Sandwich Slices, Saputo Dairy UK
• Dietary Alternative, Lactofree Organic Semi Skimmed Milk Drink, Arla Foods
• Formula Milk, Aptamil Profutura Follow On Milk, Danone Specialised Nutrition
• Free From Foods, Birds Eye Green Cuisine Chicken Free Dippers, Nomad Foods
• Gravy and Stock, Bisto Southern Style Gravy Granules, Premier Foods
• Hard Seltzer, Echo Falls Blueberry & Hibiscus Rosé Seltzer, Accolade Wines
• Health and Hygiene Products, H2O e3 Cleaning System, Thane Direct UK Ltd
• Hot Beverages, Costa Instant Coffee with Finely Ground Beans (Smooth Medium Roast), All About Food Ltd
• Household Paper, Nicky Defend Hand Towels, Sofidel SpA
• Hybrid Mattress, Rollo Hybrid Duo by Slumberland, Bensons for Beds Retails Ltd
• Hybrid Mattress Plus, Rollo Hybrid Duo Plus by Slumberland, Bensons for Beds Retails Ltd
• Kids Cereal & Cereal Bars, graze Super Snacker Cereal Bars, graze
• Laundry Additives, Comfort Perfume Deluxe Coco Fantasy Ultra Concentrated Fabric Conditioner, Unilever
• Laundry Detergent, Persil Liquid Laundry Detergent, Unilever
• Nutritional supplement, Herbalife Nutrition Tri Blend Select, Herbalife Nutrition
• Men’s Razors, King C. Gillette Men’s Double Edge Safety Razor, Procter & Gamble
• Nappy & Nappy Pants, Pampers Active Fit Taped Nappies, Procter & Gamble
• Nicotine Pouch, Nordic Spirit, Japan Tobacco International (JTI)
• Organic Formula Milk, Aptamil Organic Follow On Milk, Danone Specialised Nutrition
• Pet Clean Up, Vanish Oxi Action Urine Destroyer Pet Expert, Reckitt Benckiser
• Iced Coffee, Arctic Coffee Café Latte, Crediton Dairy
• Sauce Mayonnaise, Nando’s PERinaise Garlic PERi-PERi Mayonnaise, All About Food Ltd
• Snacks, Mr Kipling Minis Range, Premier Foods
• Sweet Treats, Mr Kipling Signature Collection, Premier Foods
• Toilet Tissue, Andrex Classic Clean Toilet Tissue, Kimberly -Clark
• Toiletries, Palmolive Naturals Range Shower Gel, Colgate Palmolive