MONTEREY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nielsen has honored Dole Fresh Vegetables for transformational innovation and for continually bringing improvements to essential day-to-day experiences and rituals.
The produce leader and specifically its line of DOLE® Chopped Salad Kits launched in 2013 received a 2016 U.S. Nielsen Breakthrough Innovation Award, selected for distinctiveness, relevance and endurance from close to 3,500 consumer products introduced to the market that year. It is the first time a produce brand has won the award in the eight-year history of the competition.
2016 Nielsen Breakthrough Innovation Award winners satisfied three requirements: a distinctive consumer product that delivered a new value proposition to the market in 2014; a minimum of $50 million in first-year U.S. sales; and a demonstrated ability to endure the market by achieving 90 percent of first-year sales during its second year.
“Dole is beyond honored that the DOLE Chopped Salad Kit line is one of only 92 U.S. products to receive this award since its inception in 2008 – and the first-ever winner in the produce industry,” said CarrieAnn Arias, VP of marketing for Dole Fresh Vegetables. “DOLE Chopped Salad Kits were launched in 2013 as the next wave in salad innovation: a taste-first chopped salad experience featuring layers of flavor, texture, color and crunch in every bite. The success of the initial line led to the introduction of two additional Chopped Salad varieties in 2015 to meet consumer demand.”
“The fact that Nielsen reviewed 20,000 U.S. product launches over eight years and found Dole and DOLE Chopped Salad Kits as demonstrating breakout innovation and success and improving America’s daily routines of eating is extremely fulfilling for everyone at Dole.”
The seven DOLE Chopped Salad Kits – with varieties that include Bacon and Bleu, BBQ Ranch, Chipotle & Cheddar, Pomegranate, Poppy Seed, Sesame Asian and Sunflower Crunch – are part of a larger line of packaged salad blends and kits, including conventional and family-size, sold under the DOLE brand.
Other brands to receive a 2016 Nielsen Breakthrough Innovation Award include Arm & Hammer™, Ben & Jerry’s®, Breyers®, Kellogg’s and Chobani®, among others.
For more information on the 2016 awards or to download a copy of the 2016 U.S. Nielsen Innovation Report visit Nielsen.com/breakthrough.
About Dole
Dole Food Company, Inc., is one of the world’s largest producers and marketers of high-quality fresh fruit and fresh vegetables. Dole is an industry leader in many of the products it sells, as well as in nutrition education and research. For more information, visit www.dole.com or follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dole.
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.
