South Africa – November 9, 2023 – Today, NIQ released its highly-anticipated 2023 BASES Breakthrough Innovation Awards for South Africa. The awards recognize successful product launches across all strategies, ranging from launches that disrupted their categories and grew their brand, to targeted plays that but were designed to delight a specific target.
1,500 new SKUs launched in South Africa in 2021 in over 50 product categories. This year, BASES Breakthrough Innovation Awards named 21 winners among innovative brands in South Africa that have transformed their categories. It also acknowledged 6 Wavemakers, products that show great potential for future success.
The recipients of this year’s South Africa Breakthrough Innovation Awards made remarkable strides across diverse product categories. 71% of South African consumers think that their country is in a recession, and their buying behavior reflected that, as they seek out discounts in their purchases. South African shoppers are notoriously price-conscious and continue to rank among the top five most price-sensitive countries in the world. In the Snack Food category, South African buyers tended to gravitate towards spicy flavors which was reflected in this year’s winners.
This year’s Breakthrough Innovation winners have successfully navigated through a persistently precarious landscape, marked by the enduring impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain disruptions, extraordinary inflationary constraints, and a 61% increase in load-shedding hours.
Eric Prinsloo, NIQ BASES Commercial Director for this region commented, “In tough economic times consumers go into a recessionary mindset, reducing purchases and actively looking for promotions. New product launches can be an effective way of keeping your product in their basket without over promoting. However, achieving Breakthrough Innovation status is not easy. It is important to learn from past winners as their success stories can be the inspiration you need for your own future success story.”
The 2023 South African Breakthrough Innovation Award Winners are:
- Belgravia Blackberry Gin
- Brutal Fruit Strawberry Rouge
- Cappy Apple Burst
- Checkers’ Forage and Feast Range
- Doritos Flamin’ Hot
- FUTURELIFE Granola Crunch Range
- Jungle Cereal Bar Range
- Kellogg’s Coco Pops Big 5
- Kellogg’s Granola Nutty Delight and Tropical Burst Range
- KOO Pilchards Range
- L’Oréal Revitalift Filler (Hyaluronic Acid Serum)
- Lay’s Argentinian Creamy Pepper Steak
- Lindt Lindor Salted Caramel Range
- NIK NAKS Flamin’ Hot
- Nola Mayonnaise
- Predator Mean Green
- Red Bull the Red Edition Watermelon
- Simba Flamin’ Hot
- Surf Dishwashing Liquid Range
- Three Ships Mash Tun
- Viceroy Smooth Gold Brandy
The 2023 South African Breakthrough Innovation Award Wavemakers are:
- #WHATTHEFANTA
- Cadbury Dairy Milk Top Deck Bunnies
- Cadbury Festive Range Tablets
- KitKat Christmas Break
- Lay’s Money Heist Korea: Rio & Tokyo
- NIVEA Radiant & Beauty Range
For over a decade, BASES has identified more than 700 products from around the globe as Breakthrough Innovations. These innovations addressed key consumer needs and delivered stand-out experiences that redefined their categories. This, in turn, has resulted in incredible outcomes.
For more information about this year’s Breakthrough Innovations winners and to learn from their successes, please visit the Breakthrough Innovation website.
About the Breakthrough Innovation report
The 2023 Breakthrough Innovation Awards has evaluated thousands of new products with the goal to acknowledge and reward those that have achieved the pinnacle of success. The brands included in this year’s winners represent a wide array of products that have excelled in their respective categories. Winners of the Breakthrough Innovation Awards are the products that delight customers, gain distribution, stay on-shelf, and drive results for their parent companies. Learn more about how BASES supports innovation and measures success on our Breakthrough Innovation website.
About NielsenIQ
NIQ is the world’s leading consumer intelligence company, delivering the most complete understanding of consumer buying behavior and revealing new pathways to growth. In 2023, NIQ combined with GfK, bringing together the two industry leaders with unparalleled global reach. With a holistic retail read and the most comprehensive consumer insights—delivered with advanced analytics through state-of-the-art platforms—NIQ delivers the Full View™.
NIQ, is an Advent International portfolio company with operations in 100+ markets, covering more than 90% of the world’s population. For more information, visit NIQ.com.
Media Contact
Melina Mammidou
Associate Director, Marketing Communications
melina.mammidou@nielseniq.com
