More Canadians want healthier options in foods and beverages and they also want companies to be more environmentally accountable, a new survey indicates.
The recession has also affected how Canadians shop, with the result that more people are buying products and eating at home, the research showed.
Conducted by BrandSpark, the seventh annual survey involved more than 25,000 Canadian consumers and uncovered key findings in areas of the environment, a desire for healthier options in food and beverages and an increase in purchases of private label and in-store brands versus premium and name brands.
The study is used to compile the winners of the 2010 Best New Product Awards where consumers voted on 144 products in 47 categories.
Known as The People’s Choice Awards for consumer products, the competition gauges habits and trends among Canadian consumers.
“The awards not only provide us with valuable insights about current products and innovations but also larger movements and approaches toward what they purchase and more importantly why,” says Robert Levy, president of BrandSpark International and founder of the awards.
“The vast majority of Canadians (65 per cent) still like trying new products,” he says. “People have made a big shift to eat at home more and as a result are spending more time and money in the grocery store.”
He adds that finding new products that really deliver is more important than ever, “especially with shoppers demanding greater value for money.”
The survey also found that Canadians want environmental accountability.
“Consumers are demanding companies to be more accountable in terms of their environmental claims, and they are willing to pay for products with realistic and tangible claims such as reduced packaging,” says Levy.
In terms of healthier options in food and beverages, consumers want products with added health benefits and they are willing to pay more for products that will help prevent illness, he says.
Although the debate between natural versus organic products rages on, 60 per cent of consumers believe that “it is important that a new product is made from all-natural ingredients and 45 per cent believe that it is more important that a product is natural than organic.”
Among consumers who did not purchase organic products, 53 per cent stated that “they don’t trust that all products labelled organic are actually organic” and 48 per cent stated they “are confused by what the term organic actually guarantees.”
Levy says “it appears that further consumer education is required in the natural versus organic debate.”
The top 2010 Best New Product Award Winners are: Astro ZerO Superfruit Yogourt in the food and beverage category; Burt’s Bees Replenishing Lip Balm with Pomegranate Oil in the health and beauty category and Ziploc Evolve Sandwich Bags in the household products category.
The awards for these and other items were being presented Thursday evening in Toronto. For a complete list of winning products, visit www.bestnewproducts.ca.