Rookies of the year - top 10 new food and beverage products - includes related article on factors influencing the success of product launches

Prepared Foods, Oct, 1996 by Steve Dwyer

Introducing new products is serious business, what with the outlook for success usually providing one of two chances: Slim and none.

For every 64 new product ideas, eight become product, four are test marketed and two are introduced nationally, but only one succeeds, says to Philip Kotlar, author of "Marketing Management Analysis, Planning, Implementation and Control."

The new food and beverage products chosen by Prepared Foods for its 1996 Top 10 may have had nothing more in common than the fact they not only survived but thrived.

How did they pull it off? The criteria that PF used, in determining how these products made their point-of difference statements to consumers, included: Advances in formulation and packaging technology; sales growth; innovative marketing strategies and even creation of a new category. Products were defined as new if introduced regionally or nationally since the start of 1995.

The Top 10 is listed alphabetically for impartiality's sake. So without further adieu, the envelope please...

Arizona Ice Tea with Ginseng, Ferolito, Vultaggio & Sons, Lake Success, N.Y. Ginseng-flavored ice tea vaulted to No. 2 on the Arizona Beverage charts since its July '95 national release--no small feat considering Arizona boasts eight tea flavors, says Francie Patton, vice president corporate communications for the company. "Ginseng is a substance that has been used in herbal folk remedies for centuries," says Patton. "It's natural, exotic and mysterious...making it the perfect partner for an Arizona product." The product is marketed in striking 20-oz. cobalt blue bottles. "It makes an unmistakable statement of difference," says Patton. "For centuries, the color blue has been associated with mystery and healing--especially in the Orient." The flavor profile of Arizona Ice Tea with Ginseng is lighter and less sweet than other Arizona Ice Tea beverages.

Baked Tostitos, Frito-Lay, Dallas Baked Tostitos first hit the scene in test markets in August 1994, and for the first 52-week period ending Feb. 25, 1996, amassed sales of $134.5 million, according to Information Resources Inc. (IRI). It also commanded an 8.6% share of the $1.6 billion tortilla chip market. After the flagship brand Tostitos was beset by poor sales and almost discontinued, Frito-Lay in 1994 committed itself to a better-for-you tortilla chip, according to Lynn Markley, spokesperson for Frito-Lay. Baked Tostitos received a high-level of exposure when the parent brand Tostitos became corporate sponsor of the 1995 college football Fiesta Bowl.

Dannon Double Delights, Dannon Co., Tarrytown, N. Y. The unique line consists of six combinations of low fat blended, premium flavored yogurt packaged alongside a serving of fruit toppings in a convenient, dual compartment container. The line was introduced nationally in October 1995. "Dannon is the only company to package flavors like Banana Cream, Bavarian Cream and Cheesecake' alongside great-tasting fruit toppings that allow more choices of how to eat your yogurt," says Daniel Chassagnon, product manager for Double Delights. Each 6-oz. serving carries 170 calories and 2.5 g of fat.

Five Brothers Premium Pasta Sauce, Van den Bergh Foods Co., Trumbull, Coon. A tomato sauce that moves from the vine to the jar in four hours or less--that's Five Brothers' point-of-difference claim. Simon Rothon, executive vice president of Van den Bergh Foods, says that while other pasta sauce branders re-constitute and re-heat preprocessed, heat-preserved tomato paste, "ours is fresh packed, meaning fresh tomatoes are packed immediately." The company also came up with a technology to pack all its sauce in the summertime. Flavors include Summer Tomato Basil, Marinara with Burgundy Wine, Sauteed Mushroom and Garden Vegetable Primavera in 26-oz. mason jars. Alfredo Pasta Sauces come in 17-oz. jars. The product hit nationally in September 1995, and currently holds a 6% share of the $1.3 billion pasta sauce market.

Healthy Choice Hearty Handful Sandwiches, ConAgra Inc., Omaha, Neb. Hearty Handfuls, which won a prestigious 1995 Edison Award of the American Marketing Assoc., are renowned for bakery-style specialty bread stuffed with meat and vegetables. The idea, says Pat Quarles, spokesperson for ConAgra Frozen Foods, was fueled by consumers' desire for hand-held convenience foods. The product is a collaboration of ConAgra Frozen Foods and Lamb-Weston. Each sandwich contains an average of 4.7 g of fat and 307 calories. "Hearty Handfuls are the first frozen sandwiches to achieve the delicate balance of great taste and superior nutritional values," says Quarles. IRI data from August 25 showed sales of Hearty Handfuls at $34.5 million since its national introduction in early 1996.

Salad Time, Tanimura & Antle, Spreckles, Calif Back in 1992 when T&A began marketing fresh cut vegetables in flexible film bags, sales growth shot to 200% a year. Realizing the demand for fresh-cuts paved the way for Salad Time not just in a bowl--which had already established itself--but with fork/knife and garnishes, which moved salad from a side dish to an entree such as a lunch or dinner salad. The company began test marketing the product, which carries a 14-day refrigerated shelf life, earlier this year in several markets. The 5.6- and 6.3-oz. varieties include Santa Fe, Italiano, Caesar and Baby Spinach. Besides lettuce, fork and napkin, each single-serve kit includes individually pouched portions of such garnishes as smoked bacon, aged Parmesan cheese or Italian dry salami.