Better Homes and Gardens Best New Product Awards Announces 2014 Winners As Voted By 80,000 Americans

NEW YORK, Jan. 22, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Better Homes and Gardens along with leading market research firm BrandSpark International, today announced the winners of the 2014 Better Homes and Gardens Best New Product Awards (BNPAs). The Best New Product Awards is the leading consumer-voted CPG awards program in North America, honoring consumer products in the categories of Beauty, Food & Beverage, Health & Personal Care, and Household.  The 91 winning products are:

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"Now in its sixth year in the U.S. and also operating in Canada, Mexico, Turkey and China, the Best New Product Awards and the companion BrandSpark/BHG American Shopper Study have provided an annual forum for the voices of American consumers to be heard. The Awards let shoppers know how to identify new products that have been voted the best by other consumers," said Robert Levy, President and CEO of BrandSpark International and founder of the Best New Product Awards. "As the program continues to gain momentum, we are able to reveal the opinions and needs of American shoppers, which helps manufacturers innovate and improve their products and offerings."

The winning products were chosen directly by more than 80,000 consumers who participated in an extensive nationwide survey, conducted by independent marketing research firm BrandSpark International in partnership with Better Homes and Gardens. The 2014 survey had 294 entries and 91 product winners across a range of categories. Better Homes and Gardens will showcase the winners and select insights within its print, broadcast and digital properties.

Consumers can also enter the "Best New Product Awards Shopping Spree Sweepstakes" and win $1,250 to purchase all 91 winning products. The sweepstakes is live starting January 17^th though June 30, 2014. For more information about the Better Homes and Gardens Best New Product Awards winners, visit: www.bhg.com/bestnewproductawards. 

"Each month Better Homes and Gardens strives to give our millions of loyal readers inspiring content and the confidence to go from dreaming to doing," said James Carr, EVP & President, Better Homes and Gardens. "The BHG Best New Product Awards provides us a rare opportunity to hear back about which products, trends and innovations are inspiring our readers and all American consumers today." 

In addition to the winning products, the American Shopper Study uncovers what is on the minds of American shoppers.  Some highlights from this year's survey are*:

NUTRITION:

• 84% of American shoppers are convinced that there is a lot they can do with food and nutrition to prevent illness.
• 65% say they will try new food and beverage products recommended by others.
• 58% say that health concerns are behind their food selection "usually" or "always". However only 18% say they are willing to sacrifice taste for health benefits, while 36% say they will never or rarely do so.
• 75% of Americans are actively making changes in their lifestyle to be healthier.

BEAUTY:

• 66% of shoppers believe that research and development is regularly leading to better products, while 69% believe the same for health products, and 61% for household care products. For food, 48% agree, reflecting how R&D for food products is perceived differently.
• 55% say they will try new beauty products recommended by others.

SHOPPING HABITS:

• 76% of American shoppers like trying new products with 72% saying they look for new products that will make life easier.
• Roughly 70% of Americans say that they would be willing to pay more for a new product if it was better than the current selection of similar products.
• Among many potential sources of recommendations, the most trusted is "family and friends," trusted by 85% of shoppers, followed by consumer reviews, specialty magazines, and consumer voted awards, which are trusted by seven in 10 shoppers.
• 88% report that they use written shopping lists often.[1] Shopping lists are routine for most American shoppers and were used during 67% of CPG shopping trips. Even with the list in hand, however, shoppers reported that they forgot to pick up something they needed 15% of the time and purchased items they did not plan to buy on 51% of the time.

OUTLOOK ON ECONOMY:

• 37% are less loyal to companies now than before the latest recession.
• 50% say their life was negatively impacted by the recent economic downturn and only 20% feel their family is better off financially than six months earlier, while 29% believe they are worse off.
• 76% of Americans say they are always looking for ways to reduce spending on everyday items and 68% say they often postpone making purchases until they spot a good deal.

SAVING MONEY:

• 89% feel proud when they get great value for their money.  56% believe that private label products are just as good as brand name products while 42% consider store brands to be a better value. Despite this, American shoppers still see value in established brands and 68% prefer to buy brand name products on sale as opposed to purchasing a private label equivalent.
• Shoppers are following the deals with seven in 10 reading the supermarket circulars every week to find the lowest prices. Use of digital circulars has increased with 1 in 2 shoppers referencing them at least each month. Meanwhile 1 in 2 shoppers report taking advantage of price match policies.

MOBILE SHOPPING HABITS:

• Smartphones were used for shopping on 12% of CPG shopping trips.
• Referencing a digital shopping list was the most common use of mobile during CPG shopping, used in 46% of occasions in which a smartphone was utilized, following by looking for digital coupons (27%), checking a recipe (27%) and price comparison (23%).

About Better Homes and Gardens
Reaching nearly 37 million readers every month, the Better Homes and Gardens brand extends across the web, tablet, mobile, broadcast, broadband and numerous licensed products, serving and connecting women who are passionate about their homes and the lives they create there. A Meredith publication, Better Homes and Gardens inspires women to dream and gives them the confidence to move from dreaming to doing.  For more information, please visit www.bhg.com.

About the 2014 BrandSpark/Better Homes and Gardens American Shopper Study
The 2014 BrandSpark/Better Homes and Gardens American Shopper Study presents the results of America's most comprehensive shopper trends and behavior survey.  More than 80,000 respondents contributed (Oct. to Nov. 2013) with data weighted to the national profile of shoppers. The BrandSpark Shopper Study was also conducted in Canada for the 11^th year, and in Mexico, Turkey, China, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Brazil and Japan.  For more information, visit www.BrandSpark.com.

About BrandSpark International
BrandSpark International is a leading brand, marketing and product innovation research company. Its comprehensive and innovative research approach gets at the heart of how consumers think, why they act the way they do, and what clients need to do about it. With expertise in retail and leisure categories and an exclusive relationship with the Best New Product Awards, BrandSpark International has a deep global perspective on the drivers of innovation unlike any other research company. For more information, visit www.BrandSpark.com

[1] Defined as Always + Sometimes

*Please credit all findings to "2014 BrandSpark International/Better Homes and Gardens American Shopper Study."

SOURCE Better Homes and Gardens