POY celebrates second year of innovation in 36 categories

The award ceremony saw products winning in 36 categories on the basis of verdicts given by 30,000 Indian consumers across 36 centres of the country

Product of the Year celebrated its second year in India with an increased number of entries and categories. The awards ceremony took place on March 6 at the Taj Lands End, Mumbai and was attended by varied personalities from diverse fields such as media, corporate houses and leaders as well.

Product of the Year (POY) helps consumers identify innovative products in a highly cluttered environment. POY screens the various products at several levels, including consumer surveys and selection by a jury, to arrive at innovative winners in each category. This year, products in 36 categories were given the recognition. The judgment was based on a face to face survey of 30,000 Indian consumers across 36 cities of the country.

POY celebrates second year of innovation in 36 categories

Charulata Ravi Kumar, chief executive officer, Product of the Year, talks about the development of the award ceremony in the second year. She says, "The POY awards are meant for FMCGs globally. Also, many companies have participated for the first time this year. We have adhered to the global process while adding 10 more categories this year. It is very important for companies to join hands with advertising agencies to cover a larger consumer base reaching millions, which will be a distinct initiative in itself."

Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) got the maximum awards - 10 in all - in different categories. LG Electronics India received four awards in various categories. Godrej Sara Lee and L'Oreal India fetched three awards each.

Ballarpur Industries, Hewlett-Packard India, Videocon Industries, PepsiCo India and Whirlpool India walked away with two awards each.

The other awardees were Frito-Lay, HDFC Standard Life Insurance, Amante, Kansai Nerolac Paints, Nestle India and ITC.

The jury members who were given the responsibility of short listing the entries included Aniruddh Lahiri, president, TCG Group; Sandip Tarkas, president, consumer strategies, Future Group; Srinath Sridharan, senior vice-president and head, strategic alliances, Wadhawan Holdings Pvt. Ltd; Tarun Rai, chief executive officer, World Wide Media; Dolly Thakore, media and theatre personality; Supriyo Guha, CEO, Economist India; Anurag Batra, chairperson and editor-in-chief, exchange4media; Bipin Pandit, president, Ad Club Mumbai; Sumit Sahay, head, marketing, Croma; Ketan Desai, film producer; BS Kampani, chairperson, Indian Institute of Packaging; KT Suresh, president, Yuva (NGO); Bhaswar Mukherjee, director, finance, HPCL; Jim James, director and publisher, Haymarket Media (India); Biji Kurien, CEO, CPS Color; Suruchi Katariya, manager, direct taxation, Deloitte; and Sabira Merchant, actor and restaurateur.

Companies with a groundbreaking streak have always succeeded in attracting consumer mind space rather than those that lure with price baits. Product of the Year is a value chain created by the consumer and the manufacturer through a continuous process of evaluation. The consumer judges the best innovations and responds through increased trials.

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