Want ‘Microbrewed’ Shampoo? Neither Did Reviewers Product Group Surveys The Best And Worst New Products

“Microbrewed” beer shampoo, caffeine-laced orange juice and cherry-marshmallow toothpaste got panned. Pre-stuffed tortillas and special mittens that remove unwanted body hair got raves.

“It’s like a movie review,” said Michael Soltes of Noah Products, whose “Lumident Chewbrush” was relegated to the AcuPOLL Precision Research survey’s worst-product list.

Cincinnati-based AcuPOLL takes it upon itself to measure response to often offbeat business ideas, including edible chocolate-lined straws and a brushless toothbrush you chew like bubble gum.

AcuPOLL shows a photograph and brief description of products to a group of 100 consumers - all women from across the Midwest who were the primary shoppers in their households - and they decide whether they would buy the product. A different group of women was surveyed for each product.

The company sorted through many of the nearly 25,000 new products introduced on store shelves in 1997 to come up with its annual list of 400 of the best and worst innovations.

Among this year’s losers: Pete & Pam premeasured toothpaste strips for kids, which comes in flavors like cherry-marshmallow, and JUICED orange juice, which is laced with caffeine.

Also disliked was Back to Basics, a “microbrewed” beer shampoo that puts “a head on your head,” featuring Honey Wheat Pilsner, Peach Amber Ale and Cherry Stout. Another was Yohay cookie straws, cookie tubes lined with chocolate.

They join a long list of past losers that includes barbecue-flavored dried vegetables, gloves filled with hand cream and frozen iced tea on a stick.

“I’m always just kind of awed that people believe that some of these products will be successful,” said Steve Phelan, vice president of AcuPOLL. “You gotta love the optimism and the creativity … but I just feel bad sometimes that they don’t do a reality check along the way and research if anybody will buy these things.”

Of course, being rated good or bad isn’t necessarily an indicator of market success. For example, Soltes has sold 30 million Chewbrushes in Europe and is hoping for similar sales in the United States.

“We’re getting rave reviews,” Soltes said of the mint-flavored, chewable tooth cleaner that doesn’t require toothpaste or water. “Handicapped people love them. So do campers.”

Winners included Hair-off Mittens, which makers say will make “sharp razors and harsh chemicals a thing of the past” by easily removing hair from women’s legs.

People also liked Old El Paso Tortilla Stuffers, pre-filled microwavable tortillas.