CINCINNATI -- A product that stops runs in pantyhose is among the best new products of the year, while chocolate-flavored salsa is among the biggest duds, according to a study by AcuPoll, a product idea screening company.
The annual survey, which looks at more than 500 products, is designed to show which products are the best and worst new products of the year based on initial interest by those surveyed, not by potential for sales or product performance.
AcuPoll said most of the products that were given a thumbs up by consumers provided convenience, like DowBrands' Baker's Mate nonstick ovenware line, which quickens cleanup. Consumers liked others because the marketers took an existing successful product and improved it, like M&M; Mars' Milky Way Light candy bar, which has only half the fat of the regular Milky Way.
"It's like having your candy and eating it too," said Steve Phelen, AcuPoll vice president.
Products that consumers eschewed were unappealing, AcuPoll said, or were aimed at a need that didn't exist.
Take the freeze-dried vegetable crisps made by Burns & Rickers. Each bag contains a mixture of vegetables, including sweet potatoes, carrots, string beans, squash, taro, blue potatoes, zucchini and onions.
Others, like Wisconsin Pharmacal Co.'s Reality female condoms, didn't live up to people's expectations because they were complicated to use and expensive, AcuPoll said.
Each year, thousands of new products are introduced by marketers looking to grab new customers through innovations in existing products or with new products designed to fulfill an unmet need.
"A successful product really fits a need and delivers on its promise," said Jonathan Prinz, president of the Schechter Group, a corporate and brand identity consulting firm in New York.
It has to. This year alone, more than 22,000 new products hit the market, and about 90 percent of those will fail.
While AcuPoll's survey is designed to indicate initial interest in the product, not whether a product is destined to fail, it does detect trouble for a product.
"We're a very good predictor," Mr. Whelen said. "If you don't get people to try your product, it can't be successful." AcuPoll said the annual poll is about 85 percent successful in predicting market success for new products.
That could mean good news for products on its list of best new products. Among them: Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Co.'s Active Strips bandages; Dap Inc.'s Patch Stick, a pocket-sized tube of nail hole and crack filler; Playtex Product Inc.'s Dura Mitt scouring glove; Kraft General Foods' Shake & Bake Perfect Potatoes, a mix of spices for potatoes; and Breyer's Viennetta Ice Cream.
Also included among the best products are: Colgate-Palmolive Co.'s dish-washing liquid with anti-bacterial hand soap; Dexus Laboratories' Pantyhose Savers, a small tube that stops runs in pantyhose; and CPC International Inc.'s Hellmann's potato salad dressing.
PTC Conversely, some products don't seem to fit a need or deliver on their promises.
Consider Natrix International's Bilberry 2020 Optometric Nutritional Formula, vitamins that are supposed to be good for the eyes. The package never explains why the eyes need extra vitamins, nor what benefits this additional nutrition will bring.
Other products on the list of worst new products seem to hold similar characteristics, including the Scent Coatier perfumed nail polish, and Saratoga Sweets' chocolate-flavored salsa. These products confused consumers who weren't sure what need they filled.
All of the products, both good and bad, were determined by conducting interviews with a national sample of 1,200 women who are the primary shoppers for their households. The consumers polled rated each product concept for purchase probability, unique qualities and value.
The products were among 500 products selected for AcuPoll by Marketing Intelligence Ltd., a new-product tracking service.
Some products that were included on the list in past years as best new products went on to be successful in the mass market, such as Mr. Phipps pretzels or Oreo Ice Cream Cones, both made by Nabisco, a unit of RJR Nabisco Holdings Corp.
Similarly, other products that were met with initial negative reaction in AcuPoll's survey in past years also failed on the market. One example: Butterfinger low-fat chocolate peanut butter-flavored milk.
To be sure, Crystal Pepsi, the clear soda that AcuPoll called a "great idea," was on one year's list of best new products. That product was a failure for Pepsi.