IRI Announces the Most Successful New Brands of 2007

IRI New Product Pacesetters Report Finds Winning New Brands
Deliver Health and Wellness Solutions and Unique Product Experiences
CHICAGO & ORLANDO, Fla.--(Business Wire)--
The most successful new consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands were
revealed today by Information Resources, Inc (IRI), the leading global
provider of consumer, shopper, and market insights for CPG, retail,
and healthcare industries, at the 2008 IRI Reinventing CPG & Retail
Summit. The highly anticipated New Product Pacesetters report, now in
its thirteenth year, showcases brands that beat the new product odds
to drive growth through innovation.

"These brands are case studies in how to surpass abysmally low new
product success rates in the CPG marketplace, where less than 5
percent of new brands reach $50 million in year one sales," said Anne
Berlack, executive vice president, IRI Business and Consumer Insights.
"The New Product Pacesetters report highlights not only the brands
that won over consumers, but also what distinguishes them from the
thousands of other products available on store shelves today."

Top 10 Food and Beverage Brands

While taste, variety, and convenience continue to be important to
consumers, health and wellness reign supreme. This year's winners
offer high-demand nutrition, weight management, and disease management
solutions. Their success points to a fundamental shift in consumers'
perceptions of food--not only a source of enjoyment and satisfaction,
but a health solution with the potential to deliver very specific
benefits, such as low sodium to manage high blood pressure, probiotics
to boost immunity, and whole grains for a healthy heart.

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2006-2007 New Product Pacesetters: Top 10 Food & Beverage Brands (Mil
$)
(Total Year One Dollar Sales across Food, Drug, Mass Channels,
excluding Wal-Mart)

Campbell's Reduced Sodium Soup $101
Bird's Eye Steamfresh Frozen Vegetables $87
Vault/Vault Zero Regular/Diet Soft Drinks $70
Gatorade A.M. Sports Drinks $70
General Mills Fiber One Chewy Bars $64
Heineken Premium Light Lager Beer $63
Dannon DanActive Probiotic Dairy Drinks $63
Sara Lee Heart Hearty and Delicious Breads $63
Dannon Activia Light Yogurt $62
Jazz Diet Pepsi $56

Source: IRI New Product Profiler(TM)
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"During the next year, demand will explode for functional food and
beverages that deliver health benefits beyond basic nutrition," added
Berlack. "Retailers and manufacturers that marry functional benefits
with effective consumer education, as Dannon did this year with
DanActive immunity-boosting beverages, will win big."

Top 10 Non-Food Brands

The most successful new non-food brands raised the bar on
performance and delivered unique new experiences. From a more
comfortable fit with Huggies Supreme Natural Fit diapers to
professional-power oral care from Crest Pro Health, Pacesetters set
new consumer expectations. There was also a heavy focus this year on
creating a more pleasant experience in everyday chores and personal
care with aromatherapy scents in home care and hair care products as
wellness extends beyond food and beverages.

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2006-2007 New Product Pacesetters: Top 10 Non-Food Brands (Mil $)
(Total Year One Dollar Sales across Food, Drug, Mass Channels,
excluding Wal-Mart)

Huggies Supreme Natural Fit Diapers $171
Herbal Essences Hair Care $154
L'Oreal Vive Pro Hair Care $83
Nexxus Salon Hair Care $76
Sunsilk Hair Care $70
Tide Simple Pleasures Detergent $66
Gain Joyful Expressions Detergent $66
Plan B Female Contraceptives $61
Febreze Noticeables Air Freshener $61
Crest Pro-Health Toothpaste $61

Source: IRI New Product Profiler(TM)
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"The phenomenal success of these brands in slow-growth, mature
markets prove the power of innovation," said Berlack. "These brands
are re-defining category expectations, making laundry a sensory
experience, for instance, or hair care a highly-targeted solution.
Other companies can benefit from studying these best practice examples
to significantly improve new product success."

About the Report

The IRI New Product Pacesetters report will be featured in the
March issue of IRI's monthly Times & Trends publication, which will be
available to download at www.infores.com. The findings of this report
were compiled based on insights from IRI New Product Profiler(TM), an
interactive solution drawing upon an historical product database that
empowers CPG marketers to analyze the critical success factors of the
strongest new product introductions.

About Information Resources, Inc.

Information Resources, Inc. (IRI) is the world's leading global
provider of consumer, shopper, and retail market intelligence and
insights, empowering consumer packaged goods (CPG), retail, and
healthcare companies to grow their business profitably in a complex
marketplace. Driving breakthrough growth in the industries it serves,
the company's portfolio of services, solutions, and technology enable
leading retailers and their suppliers around the globe to see what
they are missing, act faster with greater confidence, and win at the
shelf. Ninety-five percent of the FORTUNE Global 500 in CPG and retail
leverage IRI to power their business. For more information, visit:
www.infores.com.

IRI
John McIndoe
E-mail: john.mcindoe@infores.com
Phone: (312) 474-3862
Fax: (312) 474-2512
or
Shelley Hughes
E-mail: shelley.hughes@infores.com
Phone: (312) 474-3675
Fax: (312) 474-2512

Copyright Business Wire 2008