This year’s 29 winning products, which include a CVS Pharmacy own-brand snack, will get to bear the 2016 Product of the Year title.

NEW YORK — Product of the Year USA has announced its 2016 product innovation award winners, which include an own-brand item from CVS Pharmacy.

The 29 winning products, which include 11 health and beauty aids items, were chosen in a vote of more than 40,000 consumers in a national representative survey, which POY USA conducts each year with research partner TNS, a global consumer research firm that’s part of the Kantar Group.

POY USA noted that the winning products will get to bear the 2016 Product of the Year title, enabling shoppers to easily identify the most innovative products voted on by consumers. The company added that Product of the Year winners outperform category sales performance by 38.1%.

“Consumers are looking for quick, in-and-out experiences in stores when making their everyday household purchases,” stated Rich Fryling, managing director of Product of the Year USA. “The red Product of the Year Award seal lets shoppers know that over 40,000 fellow consumers prefer the winning products over the competition.”

CVS Pharmacy won a POY USA award this year for its Gold Emblem Abound Unsalted Pistachio & Almond Blend snack.

In the HBA category, the winning products were the following:

• Oral Care: ACT Advanced Care Mouthwash, Chattem Inc.
• OTC: Flonase Allergy Relief, GlaxoSmithKline
• Feminine Care: Playtex Sport Collection, Edgewell Personal Care
• Vitamins & Supplements: Emergen-Zzzz, Alacer Corp.
• Beauty Tools: Amopé Pedi Perfect™ Extra Coarse Electronic Foot File with Diamond Crystals, Reckitt Benckiser
• Condoms: Durex RealFeel Condoms, Reckitt Benckiser
• Eye Care: Clear Care Plus, Alcon
• Hair Styling: Göt2b Mind Blowing Fast-Dry Hair Spray, Henkel
• Men’s Hygiene: Right Guard Xtreme Heat Shield Deodorant, Henkel
• Hair Care: Schwarzkopf Essence Ultime Omega Repair 11-in-1 Leave-In, Henkel
• Lip Care: Softlips Cube, Mentholatum Co.

POY takes submissions of innovative products launched within the previous year. The submissions are grouped into categories such as food, beverages, home improvement, pet, etc., with one product being named the category winner based on the results of the TNS survey.

The other product winners covered such categories as consumables, general merchandise and home products, including:

• Paper Products: Kleenex Perfect Fit Facial Tissues, Kimberly-Clark Corp.
• Chocolate: M&M’s Crispy Chocolate Candies, Mars Inc.
• Sugar Confections: Sweetarts Soft & Chewy Ropes, Nestle USA
• Sustainability: Energizer EcoAdvanced, Energizer
• Better For You: Weight Watchers Smart Ones Smoothies, Kraft Heinz Co.
• Ice Cream: Skinny Cow Dipped Ice Cream Bars, Nestle USA
• Coffee Beverage: Skinny Cow Creamy Iced Coffee, Nestle USA
• Condiment: French’s Tomato Ketchup, French’s Food Co.
• Frozen Foods: Ore-Ida Bold & Crispy Steakhouse Fries, Kraft Heinz Co.
• Liquid Laundry: Tide HE Turbo Clean Liquid Detergent, Procter & Gamble Co.
• Laundry Pacs: Tide Pods Plus Febreze, Procter & Gamble Co.
• Kitchen & Home: Finish Powerball Max In 1, Reckitt Benckiser
• Shower & Bath: Lysol Click Gel, Reckitt Benckiser
• Specialty Laundry: Downy Fresh Protect, Procter & Gamble Co.
• Car Care: Turtle Wax Dash & Glass, Turtle Wax
• Pet Food: Beyond Purées, Nestle Purina PetCare
• Pet Health: Milk-Bone Good Morning Daily Vitamin Treats, Big Heart Pet Brand

The winners were announced at Thursday night’s 2016 Product of the Year Awards Ceremony at the Edison Ballroom in Manhattan, hosted by “Saturday Night Live” alumnus Rachel Dratch and NBC “30 Rock” comedian Scott Adsit, with red carpet interviews conducted by Cat Greenleaf, host of NBC’s “Talk Stoop.” 

Established 29 years ago, Product of the Year is the world’s largest consumer-voted award for product innovation and operates in 42 countries. Winning products receive the right to use the POY seal in marketing communications for two years.