New product innovations of the year

Each year, Productscan Online examines the year's new food, beverage, health & beauty, household and pet products to identify the top 10 innovations from around the world. 2007's search uncovered unique new entries like Bilk, which manages to combine beer and milk for the first time, a new concept in Japan. New in Germany, NicoShot Beer is touted as the world's first nicotine-infused beer to help smokers control cravings.

The 10 new products that follow represent 2007's Build a Better Mousetrap new products of the year as chosen by Datamonitor's Productscan Online database of new products. Each launch offers “new to the world” product benefits with the potential to change or shape consumer packaged goods markets worldwide. Convenience was certainly a key theme in 2007 as was new product innovations aimed at the kids' market.

1. Swiss Miss Pick-Me-Up Hot Cocoa Mix.
The popularity of energy drinks is having an impact on other product categories as caffeine has moved into new categories ranging from potato chips to instant oatmeal. This new version of Swiss Miss contains as much caffeine as a cup of coffee plus as much calcium and vitamin D as a glass of milk to offer the best of all worlds. It's new in the USA.

2. Organic Batter Blaster Pancake & Waffle Batter.
Making pancakes and waffles from scratch can be a messy process. Batter Blaster offers a helping hand with pancake and waffle batter that is sprayable and is packaged in an aerosol can. The refrigerated product makes organic, light and fluffy pancakes as well as light and crisp waffles in just minutes. The aerosol can packaging greatly reduces cleanup and the product is fast, easy and fun for the entire family. The product is new in the USA.

3. JT Fragra Functional Water.
Bottled water is about more than just refreshment when it comes to this new launch from Japan. Fragra refreshes the breath and leaves a pleasant fragrance of citrus fruit in the mouth. Officially referred to as a “near water” by virtue of its 1% juice content, Fragra uses an active ingredient called linalool for breath freshening. Linalool is a natural substance occurring in lemons, oranges and other citrus fruit.

4. Popsicle SlowMelt Long Lasting Pops. One of the pleasures of summer is enjoying an icy frozen novelty. The only problem is trying to finish the novelty before it melts. That's less of a problem with Popsicle SlowMelt, which seems to have been designed with global warming in mind as it apparently lasts longer than ordinary pops to reduce drips and sticky fingers. This pop is also “good for you” as it contains fruit juice, vitamin C and features natural colours and flavours. It's new in the USA.

4. Tetley's Twistea Tea On The Go.
Tea lovers tend to like their tea a certain way. Now it's possible to enjoy this degree of customization in a packaged product with Twistea. New in the United Kingdom, Twistea features a Tetley teabag locked into a plastic cup. The consumer simply adds boiling water and twists the lid of the cup to customize the taste of the product and achieve the desired strength. The teabag remains in the cup and does not need to be disposed of separately.

6. Children's Benadryl Perfect Measure Pre-Filled Single Use Spoons. Kids find it a lot easier to swallow liquid medication than pills, but liquids have their drawbacks. For one, they are not very portable. Until now, that is, with Perfect Measure that consists of pre-measured, pre-filled spoons filled with Children's Benadryl that are great for “on-the-go” relief. Offered in an Allergy variety, the product is new in the USA.

7. KidKupz Candy-Coated Medicine Dispensing Cups.
Taking your medicine is often something to dread, especially for kids who would just as soon stay sick than choke down some bad tasting medicine. Enter new KidKupz which are designed to “take the ick out of sick” with a candy coated rim that makes almost any medicine taste better. Using a similar concept as a salt-coated rim for a Margarita glass, KidKupz come in a variety of flavours including Sour Cherry, Blue Raspberry and Watermelon. Sold in a 6-cup box, they're new in the USA.

8. Pur Flavour Options Water Filtration System Flavour Cartridges.
Bottled water is refreshing, but it can be boring. Moreover, there are waste issues, so much so that the city of Chicago has a new tax on bottled water. Enter Pur Flavour Options, a new way to get flavoured water, right from the tap. Flavour Options mounts on a regular water faucet. Whenever you feel like adding flavour to a drink, just push the dispenser. The more you push; the more flavour is added to your glass. Each cartridge provides up to 75 servings of flavour without any sugar, calories or dyes. New in the USA, Flavour Options comes in flavours like Peach and Raspberry.

9. Air Wick FreshSweep 2 in 1 Broom with Air Freshener.
Sweeping the floor can be hard work, but at least there's a new benefit for this task thanks to Air Wick. FreshSweep is a broom equipped with a Stick-Ups air freshening disc that helps disperse the air freshener and make rooms smell fresh and clean every time you sweep. The broom's Stick-Ups air freshener is refillable and comes in fragrances like Fresh Waters and Crisp Breeze. The product is new in the USA.

10. Nature Made Rx Essentials Daily Supplement Tailored To Your Prescription.
It's a fact. The population is aging and millions of consumers need to take medications each day to manage health issues. Now, for the first time, there is a supplement that is optimized for consumers taking specific prescription medications. Nature Made's new line includes Softgels for People Taking Cholesterol Medication like Lipitor, Zocor or Pravachol. Other supplements are offered for those taking Anti-Depressants, Arthritis Medication, and Diabetes Medication. The line is new in the USA.