The people who decide

Members of the Product of the Year jury must be recognised economic and marketing experts, who are also familiar with the domains of product innovation and brand building. These characteristics guarantee that they can pick the most innovative products from the growing number of goods that are marketed every year. 

New entries and regular competitors

Zoltán Fekete
Magyar Márkaszövetség

As the president of the jury I am glad to report that the 8th Product of the Year competition was successful: in 2019 altogether 20 brands are entitled to bear the marking. Several new brands entered the competition, but there were also many that return year after year with new products. It is interesting that this year’s consumer survey has revealed: the most important evaluation factors of shoppers were innovation and consumer satisfaction. There were many brand new products among this year’s winners. //

A motivation for innovating

Dr. Zsuzsanna Illés
MAGYOSZ

Supporting innovation work in Hungary is very important for MAGYOSZ. Developing and manufacturing pharmaceuticals isn’t only one of the most traditional industries in Hungary, but also one of the most innovative segments of the processing industry: in 2017 MAGYOSZ members invested HUF 66 billion in research and development. It was great to see that more and more healthy foods enter the competition every year. As far as I can see demand is on the rise for healthy products.

Some of the entries were made by Hungarian SMEs – the national economy needs these companies very much. When evaluating the products, I tried to focus on what is new, from packaging design to content. The key to Product of the Year’s success is definitely the involvement of consumers. Thanks to this, manufacturers get realistic feedback on what shoppers want to see on store shelves. I think the reason why there are so many private label products among the winners is that retailers know their customers well. //

The importance of trust

Péter Novák
IAB Hungary

Strong brands can only be built on high-quality products. The majority of entries were innovative this year too, so the shopper survey found that a large proportion of consumers were satisfied with what they got. The trust in brands is probably the most important decision-making factor for shoppers. //

Being different from competitors

Zsuzsanna Hermann
Trade magazin

The most tangible advantage of the Product of the Year prize for shoppers is giving them some kind of guidance in-store, differentiating the product from competitors. This recognition makes consumers trust the winning products more and strengthens brand equity. As the editor-in-chief of Trade magazin, I was glad to see the results of entrepreneurial creativity, the many new innovations. We are honoured to introduce the winners to readers as the official FMCG media partner of Product of the Year. Congratulations to them! //

Through the eyes of the consumer

Tamás Géczi
Inspira

This year most of the competing products were real innovations that brought something new. I was especially happy to see that not only the jury, but also the consumers shared this view. Since I have been working in market research for more than 25 years, I am also looking at products through the eyes of the consumers, so when evaluating the entries I tried to concentrate on what kind of value or new feature these products offer to shoppers. Consumer opinion is key in awarding the Product of the Year prize, and what I noticed was that private label products are innovative and at the same time shoppers are really satisfied with them. //

Satisfied as a consumer too

Réka Szöllősi
ÉFOSZ

It is great to see that manufacturers tend to enter the competition with products that can really be considered innovative. I can see several products among the winners that I really like and use myself, but what I am most happy about is that the majority of foods rewarded can contribute to a balanced diet. In the non-food categories products made in Hungary by Hungarian companies performed well. It is noteworthy how many retail chains we can find on the list of winners. This isn’t surprising at all, as private label products are the driving force of innovation in Hungary. //