מוצר השנה 2013

Last week was the 2013 Product Of The Year community event. Like last year, I had the privilege of being invited. As a blogger who writes about new products on the local market I was thrilled to be invited. Since my blog is mainly about food and drinks I will focus most of this post talking about the winners in those categories but I will touch on other products as well

If you want to see a full list of all this year’s Product Of The Year winners here is a link to the page where you can see all the winning products

Like last year, the event took place at Cinema City, Glilot Junction. After getting lost in the huge Cinema City complex, for a few minutes, I finally got clear directions how to get to the correct room. At the entrance to the assigned room I got my movie ticket and a name tag.

The first hour or so I spent mingling with the other Product of the Year Community guests, hearing about and tasting some of the winning products from the company representatives.

תנור בנוי 72 ליטר AEG

מעדנות מאפה פילו

Again like last year, there were booths set up where the different companies told us more about their winning products. I found it very helpful and interesting to get to see firsthand winning items like the AEG Maxi Klasse Oven that was busy baking up another winning product; Maadanot Family Size Filo Dough “Bourekas” filled with potatoes. Every time I got to that booth the family size bourekas were either in the oven baking; not ready to try, or the last slice was handed to someone else but it smelled delicious and everyone who tasted it seemed to enjoy it. Still, I got to see how well the oven worked. Its interior is big and spacious, yet it doesn’t use too much electricity and fits nicely into the average size Israeli Kitchen. If you are in the market for a new oven you may want to give it a look and see if it suits your needs.

אלקטרה בר

Since we are “in the kitchen”, talking about appliances, I will also mention that I saw the winning Electra Bar Water Cooler. Part of what made them win this year is that you can customize your cooler with any photo or design you like. You don’t have to pick from a selection of colors they come up with. Instead, say you want to see a photo of your kids every time you are getting a glass of water you can have that photo printed on the appliance by Elextra Bar. This surly makes for a “one of a kind” water cooler.

פריגת רימון

Continuing with drinks, Pregat won for two of their fresh squeezed juices, Here I wrote about the PriGat Fresh Squeezed Red Orange Juice back in Oct 2011, when I tried it. I never did get to try the Pomegranate Juice so I was happy to have the opportunity. I thought it tasted like I was eating a pomegranate. As someone who really enjoys pomegranate that was a very good thing. The juice was on the thicker size and full of pomegranate flavor. I liked the touch of tang from the pomegranates. Not to mention, all the health benefits of eating/drinking pomegranates. I only had a small taste but I would like to buy this juice and see if I enjoy it on a regular basis. I just have to read the label next time I’m in the store and see if it has any added ingredients other than pure 100% pomegranate.


לייף גרנולה ותנובה יוגורט ביו

At one booth Tnuva Bio Yogurt teamed up with Life (SuperPham’s store brand) and I got to taste the winning yogurt mixed with fresh fruit salad and topped with Life’s winning granola mixture. I very much enjoyed the Tnuva Bio plain yogurt and the fresh fruit salad, the yogurt was creamy and smooth with a nice gentle yogurt flavor, it’s a yogurt I would buy on a regular basis, but I gotta say I wasn’t impressed with the granola. The dried fruits in the granola mixture were too hard and I didn’t enjoy the texture contrast. The oats were too dry and tasteless to me. As a whole I would say, I tasted much better granola mixtures but then again it was only a small taste and since they have a whole line of flavors maybe I need to try a different flavor and see if it’s better than the one they had at the booth. I do like the tube-like look of the Life Granola packaging but as we all know you “don’t judge a book by its cover”.

מטרנה מחיות

Speaking of fresh fruit I was impressed with Materna’s booth. They won for their line of Mechyot Baby Food Purees; made from real fruit and vegetables that were picked especially for baby food. The winning Materna baby food line has no additives, preservatives, or coloring as well as no added sugar or salt. Since the crowd in question at the Product Of The Year event were adults (I saw one or two infants, most likely someone who could not find a sitter) and Materna was not going to serve adults baby food, they chose to set up a booth full of fresh fruits and vegetables. It was nice to have fresh fruit to snack on during the meet and greet.

סטארקיסט פילה מעושן

Starkist also had a booth; they won for their tins of Smoked Salmon, Herring, Mackerel and Tuna Fillets. The fish is smoked in an all natural smoking process. I had tasted the smoked salmon months ago but never got to write a blog post about it. I thought it was ok, but a little too salty and peppery for my taste. A little bit on a cracker, the way they served it at the booth, could be a nice appetizer to stimulate your appetite but a little went a long way for me.
I was impressed with the girls at that booth who worked hard the whole evening breaking up the fillets to make them bite-size appetizers to put on a small cracker.

פרסיל קפסולות ג'ל לכביסה

Two booths that had constant action were Persil and Soad. Both of them were having contents going on were a winner would get a free tablet computer. I couldn’t get close enough to play but from what I could tell Persil; who won for their Gel Laundry Detergent Perfect Caps had the contestants stand a few feet away and, since the concept of the product is “just throw a capsule full of gel detergent into the washer and turn on the machine”. So the game was you had to see how many capsules you can throw into the open washer from where they had you stand. Of the contestants who threw the most into the washer, they picked a winner-lottery style.

Soad who won for two products 1.Soad’s Floor Cleaning Liquid with Laundry Softener Scent and for 2.Gel Detergent 12 Hours Freshness.

סוד נוזל ניקוי רצפות בניחוח מרכך כביסה

The floor cleaner with softener scent came about because Soad did a survey and found out that 37% of Israeli households add a capful of laundry softener to their floor cleaner to get that fresh laundry scent all throughout the house/room.

The first game at Soad’s booth was to wear a blindfold and see if you can identify which scent each floor cleaner was.

The reason the gel detergent won Product of the Year is because Soad claims that it has a special technology that keeps damp clean laundry, that you haven’t had a chance to remover from the washer right away, fresh and smelling wonderful for up to 12 hours. The game for that product had something to do with matching up socks but I could not get close enough to really tell what was going on.

It would have been nice to win a tablet but I didn’t mind too much that I didn’t get close to these booths, having ultra sensitive skin I can’t use any of these items and even being really close to an open bottle of say the floor cleaner could make me breakout in a rash. Come to think of it I would love for Persil to make a sensitive skin version of the gel capsules that I would surly try.

Gad Cheese had a booth too but I didn’t get to taste any of their winning cheese but many people seemed to keep going back for more.

בירה שנדי אבטיח מכבי

Shandy had a booth too, not being a beer drinker I was skeptical to try it but I ended up tasting the lemon beer. I have to say it was ok. I don’t love bubbly drinks to start with and beer for sure is not “my thing” but I enjoyed the taste. I get why they won product of the year. I am happy to taste the Tropic Watermelon flavor that I got in the product bag at the end of the night (more on the bag soon).

OfTov had a booth as well were they gave out coupons for their winning products. They won for two products 1.Of Tov Low (4%) Fat Salami-it’s made with olive oil so they can lower the amount of animal fat used in the deli meat and 2.Of Tov 100% all natural schnitzels. I wrote about the turkey roll made with olive oil (here) I am not sure if that’s the same line of products but not being a fan of salami I haven’t tried that. I do think I will try the schnitzel, now that I have a coupon for it. I think maybe the reason they didn’t have a sample to taste at the Of Tov booth is because there were dairy (and fish) products at other booths so maybe the organizers chose not to have meat samples as well, for those who keep kosher. Along with the coupons Of Tov handed out a magnetized shopping list pad that I can hang on the refrigerator.

נורטון

Norton, who won for their 360 Multi Device Antivirus Program handed me a box of something to do with "kid proofing" the computer but, I haven’t had a chance just yet to look through the box and see what it’s all about. I do know that Norton is an awesome anti virus, that I used for years on my computers. Their winning product is a multi device protector for your computer, smart phone and tablet an “all in one program”.

Huggies had a booth for their winning diapers. The line has a girl version and a boy version and they demonstrated with water how and why each one is specifically designed for its gender.

As far as cosmetics SeboCalm gave out their winning BB cream. Since it’s made specifically for sensitive skin I am curious to try it and see what I think.

קליניק

Talking about sensitive skin (which as I mentioned I have) I’ve been a longtime satisfied customer of Clinique products. I was happy to see that Product of the Year Israel has created a special “Gold Label” prize category this year and two of the three Gold Label winners are Clinique products.
They had a booth where we could try their winning Chubby Stick lip pencil. I have yet to try it but since they gave me one, in the bag at the end of the night, I will give it a try.
The other Clinique product that won is The Even Better Eyes Dark Circle Corrector. I wouldn’t have minded getting a sample of that too but it was nice to get the Chubby Stick to try.

קרסטס שמן לשיער

The third Gold Label winner is Kerastase Elixir Hair Oil. I would love to try this product. I have heard and read some amazing reviews for this hair oil but haven’t found it in any of the local salons I checked in. From what I read it is worthy of the special Gold Label prize.

Teva’s For Two Supplements for pregnant and nursing moms where out of samples by the time I got to the booth. It’s a 200 mg Omega 3 (DHA) with no heavy metals and is therefore appropriate for pregnant and nursing moms.

I think that was all the booths, the room was very crowded, there were many bloggers and Product of the Year community members so I may have missed a booth or two but I got to see and try many of the products that had booths.

At about 21:30 we were told to head into the movie theater, I was wondering which Product Of The Year winning snack we would get as we entered the movie. Last year we got the Carmit Chocolate Covered Pretzels so I thought maybe this year we would get either Puffed Doritos (I blogged about here), or maybe the Paramount Farm's Wonderful Flavored Pistachio Nuts (I blogged about here) or possibly one of the winning Nature Valleys Dark Chocolate Granola Bars but I was pleasantly surprised when they handed me another favorite of mine; Strauss Baby Carrots (I blogged about here).

נשנושי גזר

It was nice though that we got a bag of Puffed Doritos (I blogged about here) and 2 kinds of Nature Valleys Dark Chocolate Granola Bars in the gift bag at the end of the event. I was surprised and a little disappointed that we did not get a bag of the Paramount Farm's Wonderful Flavored Pistachio Nuts or Elites Mouse Chocolate bars in the products bag. I would have liked to try that chocolate and report back to you but it was not in the bag and they did not have a booth at the event. I’m not sure why.

Once we were all seated (and munching on baby carrots), Yael Dagan; Director of Product of the Year Israel, told us all about Product of the Year as a whole and how the products are chosen. As I explained last year the word that kept coming up over and over again was INNOVATION. She explained that they are constantly looking for the most innovative products that will make every and any aspect of our life better, healthier or more enjoyable. I explained it a bit in this post back in March of 2011 but you can find out all the details by going to the Product Of the Year website.

After a slideshow showing us all the winning products and telling us, in a few words, why they won Yael said 5 people have a surprise waiting for them under their seat. Naturally everyone checked but although the theater was jam packed only three people seemed to find the envelopes which meant they won a Pedilady.

פדי ליידי

That's a nice prize for those that won it. Being ultra obsessed with at home pedicures (and manicures) I bought a Pedilady over a year ago, when I first saw it advertised. I have to say for an at home electric pedicure tool I think it deserves to win Product of the Year. I use it on a regular basis and really like it. No, it’s not like going to a salon and having a pedicure done for you but since I live here in Israel; such a warm & beautiful country, where I rarely wear socks, it’s important to me to keep my feet smooth, so I am thrilled to have my Pedilady. Even after a year of using it regularly I still have not had to replace the roller mineral stone heads. They still work just as well as they did the first time I used the Pedilady. One thing I would tell Pedilady is they should have included a brush to clean the mineral stone heads. I use a soft toothbrush, which I bought special for this purpose. I find that in order to keep the mineral stone working well you do need to keep it clean because it really does remove lots of dead skin every time you use it. I am happy for the people who won the Pedilady. I hope they like it and use it as much as I do. It can be purchased at SuperPharm. They often have it on sale for (I think) 149 NIS so wait and don't pay full price.

After that we watched a few commercials for some of the winning products Like Dr. Fisher Natural Care Line and I think Dr Fisher’s Ultrasol Young Sunscreen line (plus maybe a few other products, I don’t remember anymore), then the movie began.

This year they screened the movie called The Sapphires

Bummer for me, after about half hour of the movie I had to leave, since I was dependent on public transportation and I don’t live in the greater Gush Dan area I had to leave on time to make the last bus or I would not have been able to get home. I, for one, would have loved to stay to the end and watch the whole movie and then get the bag but for that to happen they would have to start the event at about 19:00 and not 20:30 so that the event would end at about 23:00 so that I can still take public transportation to get home. I am not sure why they start at 20:30 and not earlier, maybe next year they will start earlier.

At about 01:30 I made it home and was able to look through the bag and see what products they gave us.

Here goes:

שמן קנולה תרסיס טעמים

1 Teamim Canola Oil Spray- I like the idea of spray oils when cooking it prevents me from "over doing it" on the oil.

2 Shandy Tropic Watermelon Beer- as I mentioned above I am excited to try this.

3 Starkist Smoked Salmon Fillets- maybe my friend who enjoys more salty products will like this smoked fish more than me.

4 Similac Farm Life Toy Kit- Similac won for their Similac Comfort Line of Baby Food. They gave this game kit that is intended to let you reuse an empty container of Similac and turn it into a game container. The farm life set I got is intended for 9 months and over. I think it’s a cute and eco friendly idea that I like very much.

5 Materna Mechyot Apple Baby Food Puree- I may taste it just to see if it really tastes all natural or I will give it to the baby and see if they enjoy it.

דר פישר

6 Dr. Fisher Natural Care Shampoo- the one I got is for regular hair made with Herbs Roses and Pomegranate Milk, I would love to try this but given my sensitive skin I may have to give it to a friend to try but the idea of pomegranate milk sounds great for a hair products.

7 Persil Perfect Caps Gel Laundry Detergent- as I mentioned I would love for them to make a sensitive skin version of this.

8 Soad’s Floor Cleaning Liquid with Blue Laundry Softener Scent – am not sure what scent it is but it seems to be a floral scent.

סוד ג’ל בטכנולוגיית 12 שעות של רעננות

9 Gel Detergent 12 Hours Freshness- I really wonder if the 12 hour technology makes a difference. I will be giving this to a home/center where lone soldiers stay when they have a weekend off from the army. I’m sure it will come in handy. I will ask my lone soldier friends for feedback after they uses it for a while.

מים בטעם משמש אננס עדין נביעות פלוס

10 Neviot+ Water with a slight Pineapple flavor- not being a fan of pineapple this will be going to my soldier friends as well.

11 Neviot Sparks lightly bubbly water in a glass bottle- I have wanted to try this but never got around to it so I am glad to try it now.

12 Nature Valleys Dark Chocolate Granola Bars as I mentioned above we got a box of the Chewy and a box of the Crunchy bars since I mentioned here in past blogs that these Nature Valley bars are my favorite cereal bars, I am always happy to have another box of them in the house. I wonder if the Nature Valley Thins I wrote about here a few days ago will win a product of the year award next year. I guess we will wait and see.

13 Always Ultra Pads with wings- The new and innovative thing about these pads are the odor neutralizing ActiPearls.

לייף מוצרי ציפורנים

14 Life Nail Polish Drying Spray- Life (SuperPharm's store brand) won for their full line of nail care. Anyone who knows me well, knows that I am slightly obsessed with nail polish. I polish my nails at home on a regular basis. Its rear to see my nails without polish on them. I really have to "give props” to Life for stepping it up this year and really improving their nail care line. They came out with many new products including polishes; they even have a scented line of polishes. I can’t say they are the best polishes on the local market but, for the price, compared to the imported brands, they are well worth the money. One product I really liked in Life’s nail care line is the nail polish remover in the special easy to use bottle. Not that the remover itself is anything special, it’s perfectly fine, but what I love about it is the bottle itself. I just refill it each time with whatever remover I am using. It’s just great to have the bottle like they use in nail salons, it makes it much easier to use while doing my nails. The drying spray I got in the bag is not a product I ever use or tried but I’m happy to try it now.

15 Life's SuperPharm Wellness Garlic and Onion flavored whole Grain Chips- I got a small bag of this snack I haven’t tried it yet but it looks interesting.

דוריטוס מנופח

16 Migdal Insurance- won for their Travel Insurance Smartphone Application, they gave a non breakable mini travel mirror with the app code on the back so you can download it to your smartphone.

17 Puffed Doritos (I wrote about in this blog post)

18 Revlon Colorstay Makeup SPF 6- gave a small sample. I got the color 200 Nude for combination oily skin.

19 Loreal Paris gave a full size of the winning Revitalift Laserx3 Day Cream- pretty impressive to get a full size of such a product.

סוגת קמח

האגיס חיתולים בן בת

20 Sugat Stybel Flour- won for their line of special flours. I got a 1 kilo bag of white flour that has added vitamins and minerals.

21 Huggies gave a sample pack of 4 girl diapers and 4 boy diapers.

22 The last, but surly not least, product in the bag was from Clinique. They gave, what seems to be, a full size Chubby Stick, again impressive to get a full size cosmetic protect. I got the color 07 Super Strawberry.

סנפרוסט סדרת מרקים לקט ירקות וציר מרק

One of the products that did not have a booth and was not in the bag, but I really like and have blogged about here is Sunfrost's Frozen Vegetables & Legume Soup Mixes it's a product I continue to buy. I have tried all the flavors, as they came on the market. I understand why it was a winning product but don't know why it wasn't represented at the event, it's a real winning product in my home.

Now that you heard about the winning items you can look for the special red Product of the Year winner label in your local stores, all the winning products will have it on them. This is done to make it easier for us; the customers to notice the products on the store shelf.
For a full list of all the winning products you can check out the Product of the Year webpage.

לוגו מוצר השנה 2013

I look forward to seeing what will win Product of the Year next year and how many of the product will be things I have tried and liked.

I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank Liran Davidovich; product of the Year Community Manager, as well as everyone else that had a hand in organizing the event. I’m sure they put in many hours of hard work to put together such an l event. I am thankful for the invite, it was nice to meet other bloggers and very helpful to hear about and try many of the products I had not had the opportunity to see or try on my own.
Till next year thank you Liran for all your hard work and hope to see you again next year.

Disclaimer: No one is paying me for this post. All opinions are my own.