•POY winners also join initiative with supply of essential goods to unprivileged
•Part of POY’s CSR strategy to reach out to the needy sections of society

Riyadh/ Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, July 2014: The prestigious Product of the Year [POY] brand recognition umbrella, renowned across 42 countries worldwide for supporting excellence in product innovation and for giving consumers a voice in voting for their favourite new products, has announced a major community outreach program in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, aimed at reaching out to the underprivileged sections of the society.

As part of its program, which is integral to its Corporate Social Responsibility [CSR] initiative in the region, POY is distributing products to the underprivileged orphans and families across Saudi Arabia. Within the scope of this program, a vast majority of brands which have won the Product of Year awards in 2014 have joined hands to extend their support and make this a major community outreach within Saudi Arabia, in the true sense of the term.

POY winners participating in the endeavor include: NIVEA (winners in four personal care categories) donating 180 products, Sanita is donating 350 pieces of various items that are key to household hygiene and personal care; L’Oreal Paris and Garnier (winners in two key women’s beauty categories) – are donating a total of 200 products; Kleenex (winner in two facial tissue categories) is offering 50 bundles; Unilever is donating 150 products on behalf of Lipton, TreSemme and Lux; General Mills is donating 50 snacks of Nature Valley cereal bars, Reckitt Benckiser is offering 50 units of Airwick, and  Mondelez is donating 50 units of Kraft cheese [The complete list of donating brands and their winning products are mentioned below].

Dory Kfoury, CEO – Middle East and Africa for Product of the Year, said: “As the world’s largest consumer-voted program that recognizes innovation in consumer packaged goods, we have a responsibility to the community and touch peoples’ lives. Our massive CSR program is an attempt to provide the needy families in Saudi Arabia with some of the essential support items, especially to coincide with the Holy Month of Ramadan – the season of sharing and giving.”

He added: “We are extremely privileged to have the support of all the POY winning brands who have been benevolent in providing their products for the initiative. We want to make a difference with the program and we hope to contribute positively to the livelihood of needy in KSA, and we hope this will serve as an inspiration for other companies in the POY umbrella to follow.”

The program will be run across Riyadh – Saudi Arabia over a period of the Holy Month of Ramadan. “This is our first initiative of its kind which further reinforces our commitment to play our part in the community where we operate. We sincerely hope that our efforts will go a long way in providing a helping hand to some sections of the society within the country,” summed up Kfoury.