IRI has announced last year’s most successful consumer packaged goods launches in its 2016 New Product Pacesetters report, with DairyPure taking first position.

IRI has announced last year’s most successful consumer packaged goods launches in its 2016 New Product Pacesetters report. Thousands of new brands hit retail shelves during 2016, the company notes, with 80% of the top-ranking brands hailing from small and midsized manufacturers and accounting for 64% of Pacesetter dollars. Overall, the top-selling 200 new brands captured cumulative year-one sales of more than $5.8 billion across IRI’s multi-outlet geography.

For the top 100 food and beverage champions, median year-one dollar sales were $11.4 million, down from $19.6 million in 2015. Prevention played a key role in driving the success of these top-performing products as consumers turn to CPGs for help in meeting their nutritional goals.

2016 New Product Pacesetters: Top 10 Food and Beverage Brands

($ Millions of total one-year sales)

1. DairyPure ($1,163.1)

2. Dunkin Donuts K-Cups ($204.1)

3. Not Your Fathers Root Beer ($114.6)

4. OREO Thins ($110.2)

5. Artesano ($102.4)

6. Screamin Sicilian ($73.2)

7. Oscar Mayer Natural ($61.7)

8. DairyPure Creamers ($54.9)

9. Sargento Balanced Breaks ($54.2)

10. Henrys Hard Soda ($50.3)

Consumers want fresh, unprocessed, simple foods that are made with ingredients that they can understand, notes IRI, because nutrition has become a first line of defense for living well. And since 40% of consumers recognize that being healthy starts with lifestyle, they are reading labels, looking for products with fewer ingredients, and turning to natural, organic and superfoods that can boost nutritional impact.

Antibiotic-free foods (ABF) are becoming increasingly more popular, particularly in meat, poultry and dairy products, IRI says, giving. DairyPure, the top-selling beverage launch of the year, as an example of an ABF solution that is hitting the mark. Consumed by 42% of U.S. households, DairyPure is the result of a consolidation of a number of regional brands. To ensure consistency and purity, regional dairies are required to meet stringent sourcing, processing and testing processes, which are consistent with DairyPure’s Five-Point Purity Promise, IRI notes.

The sweet snacks sector is offering powerful new options in indulgence, IRI says. While there were only four sweet snack Pacesetter brands this year, down from seven in 2015, some of these brands made a really big splash in the market by providing indulgence with a healthier-for-you twist, the company notes. Nabisco, for instance, introduced OREO Thins. Even though it is indulgent, this launch is a light, new twist on a classic favourite, IRI says, packing traditional OREO flavours into a delicate new cookie with a crispier texture, fewer crumbs and fewer calories.