Product of the Year winners announced

Parmalat’s Astro brand yogurt was the big winner of the 2012 Product of the Year Canada Awards, announced on Tuesday.

Astro picked up three of the 14 awards for: Astro Biobest Probiotic Drinkable Yogourt with Plant Sterols in the Healthy Choice category, Astro Original Greek Yogourt in the Natural Ingredients category; and Astro Original Yogourt in the Healthy Snacks category.

Parmalat also won in the Dips and Spreads category for its La Crème Cow de la vache product.

Paper products firm Cascades was recognized for two of its products: Cascades Defensia Dry Antibacterial Hand Towel in the Wellness category; and Cascades Enviro Ultra Bathroom Tissue in the Personal Care category.

Product of the Year is a global awards program in which consumers vote on product innovations. This is the third year the awards have been presented in Canada.

Winners are selected by consumers across 14 categories. This year, nearly 5,400 Canadians were surveyed by Product of the Year and Rogers Connect Market Research. (Canadian Grocer is also owned by Rogers.)

“Many winning products are a direct result of the manufacturers listening to what consumers want and delivering creative, innovative solutions,” says Sandra Parente, Product of the Year’s program director.

Other food winners this year include Cadbury Pieces from Kraft, Dole Fruit ’n Crisp, and BlueWater Seafoods Simply Bake.

Winning products are allowed to feature the New Product Award logo and according to the organization’s website winners around the world typically see sales increases of 10 to 15 per cent.

Here is a complete list of the 2012 winners (with company names in brackets):

Dips and Spreads: La Crème Cow de la vache (Parmalat)

Healthy Choice: Astro Biobest Probiotic Drinkable Yogourt with Plant Sterols (Parmalat)

Personal Care: Cascades Enviro Ultra Bathroom Tissue (Cascades Tissue Group)

Wellness: Cascades Defensia Dry Anti-bacterial Hand Towel (Cascades Tissue Group)

Confectionary: Cadbury Pieces (Kraft Canada)

Natural Ingredients: Astro Original Greek Yogourt (Parmalat)

Microwave Meals: Dole Fruit ’n Crisp (Dole Packaged Foods Company)

Dry Snacks: Pepperidge Farms Goldfish Grahams (Campbell Company of Canada)

Healthy Snacks: Astro Original Yogourt (Parmalat)

Frozen Foods: BlueWater Seafoods Simply Bake (BlueWater Seafoods)

Home Gourmet: Dulce Napoleon Cake (La Rocca Creative Cakes)

Personal Comfort: Essilor Optifog Lenses (Essilor Canada Ltd.)

Alcoholic Beverages: Smirnoff Premium Vodka Mixed Drinks (Diageo Canada)

Financial Services: CIBC Petro Points Mastercard (CIBC)

Recently, Canadian Grocer's publisher Jenn Litterick talked about some of the winners on Toronto's Breakfast Television show.

Click here to view. Canadian Grocer on BT