While the redesigned, water-resistant Apple iPhone 7 was the number one most memorable new product of the year, 2016 saw seven new food products among the top 10 Most Memorable New Products, according to research conducted by Schneider Associates and Sentient Decision Science.

This marks the first time in five years that food launches were more memorable than new technology products. Among the leaders KFC Nashville Hot Chicken (#2); Pizza Hut Grilled Cheese Stuffed Crust Pizza (#3); Pizza Hut Bacon Stuffed Crust Pizza (#5); Reese’s Pieces Peanut Butter Cup (#6); Hostess Deep Fried Frozen Twinkies (#7); and Doritos Mix and Taco Bell Crunchy Cheesy Core Burrito (tied at #9).

The Amazon Echo Dot (#4) and Samsung Gear VR (#8) rounded out the top 10.

According to Joan Schneider, CEO of Schneider Associates: “With the 24-hour election news cycle as the new norm, products that broke through the noise were national snack food favorites from trusted brands like spicy chicken from KFC, innovative pizza from Pizza Hut, a new form of Twinkies from Hostess, candy treats from Hershey’s, a burrito remix from Taco Bell and munchies from Frito-Lay and Kellogg’s.”


Other findings:

  • Election noise was deafening. A whopping 66% of consumers failed to recall a single new product in 2016. That’s down significantly from 2015 (50%) but holds steady compared to previous election years like 2012 (67%) and 2008 (69%).
  • What’s old is new again. While TV commercials are still a top source of information for consumers to learn about new products (61%), coupons and free samples made a big resurgence in 2016. Coupons as a cited source for trying and buying new products more than doubled from 13% in 2015 to 28% this year, with free samples also registering at 28% (up from 12% last year).
  • Multi-channel exposure matters. The one thing that’s been consistent throughout this survey is the increasing number of touch points necessary for consumers to remember new products. Only 13% of consumers remember products after being exposed to them with one source, a number that rises to 28% for people who have seen a product via two or three sources.
  • The Generation Gap is real. While 71% of Baby Boomers and 75% of people 68 and older rely on traditional sources of media like TV commercials, that number drops to 45% for Millennials and 42% for iGens. These younger consumers are going online for exposure to new products, with 81% of iGens and 67% of Millennials relying on social media to recall products.