Product of the Year (POY) India, is an independent survey on product innovation.
POY held its first awards night on January 17, 2009 at an event held in Mumbai. The event was presented by media partner Star India, while Xerox and Easies were the associate sponsors.
POY was launched in February 2008. It tabs the various products at several levels, including consumer surveys and selects with a jury to decide on the innovative winners in each category. The consumer surveys, this year were conducted across 36 centres in India. Face-to-face interviews were conducted as against online surveys to ensure accuracy of results.
Charulata Ravi Kumar, CEO, POY India, said, “This is the debut year of POY in India and the response has been overwhelming, with participation from leading brands across categories.”
FMCG and retail products across 26 categories are short listed by a jury, which is then judged by the final decision-maker – the consumer. Around 40,000 consumers gave their verdicts on the short listed products. There was a single winner in each category. Hindustan Unilever walked away with the most awards, seven in all, in the various categories.
The jury which short listed the various entries included eminent personalities such as Uday Shanker, CEO, Star India; Bharat Kapadia, Director, Lokmat; Waheeda Rehman, Actress; Bhaskar Das, Executive President, The Times of India Group; Alan Collaco, Secretary General, ASCI; David Blair, Country Head, Fitch; and Bhupal Ramnathkar, MD, Umbrella.
Speaking on the efficiency of the awards, Charulata said, “POY tests the conviction of a marketer against the reality that a consumer choice assigns. Therefore, we don’t define innovation to the participant. Companies nominate the products they feel are their best innovations on the last 18 months.”