The Product of The Year selection process explained

For the past 10 years I have been involved in the selection process of the Products of the Year. You can call it a big marketing exercise but it is primarily a great way to encourage innovation and development in the market. In fact thanks to the Product of The Year selection process companies are forced to keep up with improving their products every year. Ultimately it’s the consumers who reap the benefits of this ‘exercise’. In fact, to be eligible for entry, the products must have been launched in the past 12 months and demonstrate innovation in one or more key areas – including functionality, design, packaging, or recipe. Every September I attend Jury Day as part of the panel including journalists and industry experts. We assess all entries for quality to ensure they meet the innovation criteria set by Product of the Year committee.

Take a look at these pictures where I ‘hang out’ with my friend and blogger Mirka Moore of the popular mummy blog All Baby Advice and Fitness for Mamas.

We have a great day usually trying a lot of beauty products and food.

I don’t like all the products that enter the process and I leave comments on how I think they can be improved from the consumer’s perspective.

Once every member of the Jury decides which products are worthy of going forward, the ball is passed onto the shoppers / the consumers – over 10,000 – who vote for their favourite ones in each category.