NEW YORK, June 27, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- As a global performance management company that provides a comprehensive understanding of what consumers watch and buy, Nielsen (NYSE: NLSN) announced today the 2016 U.S. Nielsen Breakthrough Innovation Award winners. Nielsen's annual Breakthrough Innovation Awards recognize America's unsung household heroes. In conjunction with announcing the winners, Nielsen also issued the fifth edition of the U.S. Breakthrough Innovation Report at Nielsen's U.S. Consumer 360 event in Las Vegas. 

In today's tech-obsessed consumer landscape, it's important to recognize the impact that everyday household staples have on the quality of consumers' daily lives and rituals. These new products come from an innovation force with a little less fanfare: consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers. Meeting the challenge of continuously finding new ways to help improve America's daily routines of eating, cleaning and grooming is a feat that should be recognized. 

"Celebration of innovation should not be limited to just the technology space," said Rob Wengel, Principal at The Cambridge Group, Leader of Strategic Innovation at Nielsen and co-author of the U.S. Breakthrough Innovation Report. "Consumer goods innovations bring improvements to our essential day-to-day experiences and rituals, from the time we wake up to the time we go to sleep."

This year's Breakthrough Innovation Award process reviewed close to 3,500 consumer products that were introduced to the market in 2014. Through this objective analysis, 18 brands met Nielsen's requirements for distinctiveness, relevance and endurance to earn the award. Breaking the mold, this year's roster of winners differs from years past by recognizing the largest class of winners to date and including two "start-up" companies—a Nielsen Breakthrough Innovation award first.  

THE 2016 NIELSEN BREAKTHROUGH INNOVATION WINNERS:

• Arm & Hammer™ Clump & Seal™, Church & Dwight Co., Inc.
• Bai, Bai Brands
• Ben & Jerry's Cores®, Unilever
• Breyers® Gelato Indulgences™, Unilever
• Butterfinger® Peanut Butter Cups, Nestlé
• Cheez-It® Grooves™, Kellogg's
• Chili's® At Home, Bellisio Foods®
• Chobani "Flip"™, Chobani®
• Chopped Salad Kits, Dole®
• Gain® Flings®, Proctor & Gamble
• Giovanni Rana, Rana Meals Solutions, LLC
• Glade® Wax Melts and Warmers, SC Johnson
• Milk-Bone® Brushing Chews®, Big Heart Pet Brands®
• Nasacort® Allergy 24 HR, Chattem
• Nexium® 24 HR, Pfizer
• P3, Oscar Mayer
• Sally Hansen Miracle Gel, Coty Inc.
• Skinny Pop Popcorn, Amplify Snack Brands

Over the past eight years of the Nielsen Breakthrough Innovation Study, the presence of strong leadership has been a consistent factor and has played a decisive role in the successes the Breakthrough Innovation winners have achieved. Within the 2016 U.S. Nielsen Breakthrough Innovation Report, the theme of "Breakthrough Leadership" frames this year's narrative. Through insightful case studies, winners share details of their extraordinary accomplishments, showcasing Breakthrough Innovation in action. The 2016 Breakthrough Winner Spotlights provide real-world case studies of what transformational innovation looks like and how to achieve it.

Champions featured in Nielsen's fifth U.S. Breakthrough Innovation Report satisfied three requirements to qualify for the award: Each product was distinctive and delivered a new value proposition to the market; each generated a minimum of $50 million in year one U.S. sales; and finally, the winners demonstrated the ability to endure the market by achieving in year two at least 90% of year one sales.   

"Achieving innovation success in this highly competitive space is no easy task," continued Wengel. "Breakthrough Innovation enriches people's lives and stimulates economic growth. Lessons from this year's winners show that with a deep understanding of people and their needs, and a lot of hard work, breakthrough success is available to any company of any size in any category."

For more information about the Nielsen Breakthrough Innovation Awards or to download a copy of the 2016 U.S. Nielsen Innovation Report visit Nielsen.com/breakthrough.

About the Breakthrough Innovation Award, Report and Project
The U.S. Nielsen Breakthrough Innovation Project is a long-term in-depth analysis of more than 20,000 U.S. product launches over eight years. Since its inception in 2008, the project has celebrated 92 top products in the U.S. and 198 globally. The findings and winner spotlights in the U.S. are featured in the U.S. Breakthrough Innovation Report, which is released annually at Nielsen's U.S. Consumer 360 event.

About Nielsen
Nielsen Holdings plc. (NYSE: NLSN) is a global performance management company that provides a comprehensive understanding of what consumers watch and buy. Nielsen's Watch segment provides media and advertising clients with Total Audience measurement services for all devices on which content — video, audio and text — is consumed. The Buy segment offers consumer packaged goods manufacturers and retailers the industry's only global view of retail performance measurement. By integrating information from its Watch and Buy segments and other data sources, Nielsen also provides its clients with analytics that help improve performance. Nielsen, an S&P 500 company, has operations in over 100 countries, covering more than 90% of the world's population. For more information, visit www.nielsen.com. 

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/celebrating-americas-unsung-household-heroes-nielsen-announces-2016-us-breakthrough-innovation-award-winners-with-release-of-fifth-edition-report-300290304.html

SOURCE Nielsen