• Top innovators: The 2024 Breakthrough Innovation Awards recognized three winners and seven Wavemaker honorees for leading products that achieved remarkable success in Singapore, standing out in a competitive marketplace. 
• Innovation drives growth: Breakthrough Innovation Winners in Southeast Asia outperform category averages, achieving 4X higher sales velocity and 2X higher distribution during their launch year. Additionally, Breakthrough Innovation winners were able to grow sales by over 50% in the second year of launch, illustrating the lasting impact of strategic innovation. 
• Emerging trends: Growing consumer demand for health and wellness, culturally inspired ingredients from Japan and Korea, and local and personalized products is rapidly shaping the future of FMCG innovation in the region. 

Singapore, December 11, 2024: NielsenIQ (NIQ), the world’s leading consumer intelligence company, is proud to unveil its latest insights, showcasing how innovation remains the cornerstone of business growth. During an exclusive event in Singapore, NIQ BASES celebrated the winners of the 2024 Breakthrough Innovation Awards, honoring brands that have disrupted the market and captivated consumers with exceptional new product launches.

These award-winning products launched between 2022 and 2023 and have successfully navigated an ever-evolving consumer landscape.

Driving Growth Through Innovation

In today’s fast-evolving marketplace, where consumer expectations shift rapidly and market conditions remain unpredictable, innovation continues to be the driving force behind sustainable growth. According to NIQ BASES, top innovators in Southeast Asia achieve four times higher velocity and double the distribution in their launch year compared to category averages for new launches. This demonstrates how strategic innovation can propel brands ahead of the competition.

“Launching successful innovations remains one of the most effective ways to achieve both consumer-led brand growth and retailer acceptance,” said Gautam Seth, Vice President at NIQ BASES. “The 2024 winners demonstrated strong sales in their launch year and the lasting power of their innovations over time. This list celebrates the best of what FMCG manufacturers are able to accomplish to drive growth and show what is possible when we pair a great idea with a superior product and strategic activation. The success of these marketers validates that innovation done well can be the growth engine even in a challenging economic environment.”

NIQ BASES empowers FMCG brands with cutting-edge insights to fuel product development, brand renovation, and go-to-market activation. With over 100 patents and a database of 500,000 evaluated innovations coupled with significant R&D investment in AI, Neuro and Agile platforms, NIQ offers unparalleled expertise in market dynamics and actionable strategies for success.

Celebrating Breakthrough Innovators

This year’s winners of the Breakthrough Innovation Awards exemplify excellence in execution, with products that not only broke through the marketplace clutter but also addressed evolving consumer needs. Winning products in Southeast Asia saw on average a remarkable 56% increase in sales during their second year compared to their first—a testament to the power of purposeful innovation.

Since 2012, more than 900 brands globally have been recognized with this prestigious honor, including ~600 innovations in Asia Pacific across categories like Food & Beverages (60%) and Personal & Home Care (37%).

The 2024 Breakthrough Innovation Award Winners in Singapore are:

• SKIPPY Creamy Peanut Butter Zero Sugar Zero Salt Added by Hormel Foods  
• Sunshine Poketto™ Sandwich by Sunshine Bakeries  
• Quaker Oats 5 in 1 Multigrain Range (Red, Black, and White) by PepsiCo

The Wavemakers category recognizes promising new product launches that have demonstrated strong market velocities and potential for future success.

The 2024 Breakthrough Innovation Award Wavemakers in Singapore are:

• Häagen-Dazs Macaron Flavors by Häagen-Dazs 
• Nestlé KitKat® Cereal by Nestlé  
• Cadbury Cookies by Mondelez 
• Snickers Almond Dark Chocolate Bar by MARS Wrigley 
• Eclipse Plus Soothing Herbal Mints by MARS Wrigley 
• Ferrero Rocher Origins Premium Dark Chocolate Assortment by Ferrero 
• Jack Daniels and Coca-Cola by Coca-Cola Beverages Phils. Inc.
• Sunshine Poketto™ Sandwich by Sunshine Bakeries  
• Quaker Oats 5 in 1 Multigrain Range (Red, Black, and White) by PepsiCo

Each winner showcases how a Good Idea, a Good Product, and Effective Activation—the three guiding principles of NIQ BASES—can deliver exceptional marketplace success.

Emerging Innovation Trends 

The 2024 Breakthrough Innovation analysis highlights significant opportunities for brands in Southeast Asian markets to drive growth in the future, including: 

• Health & Wellness: Products featuring low-calorie, low-sugar, low-fat, or gut-health-related ingredients resonate strongly with Southeast Asia consumers, especially in the food and beverage categories. Some markets also seek functional benefits like energy-boosting and immunity. 
• Cultural Inspirations: Ingredients and flavors inspired by Korean and Japanese trends are gaining momentum across multiple categories, helping brands stand out from competitors.  
• Local & Customized: There is a growing demand for local or sustainably sourced ingredients in products that are customized to local preferences across categories in the region.  

“These insights represent actionable opportunities for brands to address emerging needs or gaps in the marketplace to create new products and build lasting connections with consumers,” added Seth. 

Great innovations solve consumer problems — and they do it better than anyone else! Harness the power of innovation to inject new life into your brands. 

About NIQ

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. NIQ combined with GfK in 2023, bringing together the two industry leaders with unparalleled global reach. Today NIQ has operations in more than 95 countries covering 97% of GDP. 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™.   

Media contact

Koh Yee Ling
yeeling.koh@nielseniq.com