This will be the second year of the Product of the Year in Australia, with 5000 households now voting.

The award is all about having a symbol on the packaging which makes it easier for consumers to identify outstanding products in 21 categories, including; Packaged Goods, Beauty, Pet Care, Cleaning and Adult Medicine.

To be eligible, the products must have been released into the market between January 2009 and September 2010 and be either completely new or an innovation to a current product.

Contenders this year include the no touch hand wash system from Dettol and a space saving dustpan and brush from Oates made from recycled plastic bottles.

A panel of industry experts, including media, consumer research specialists, retailers and journalists, sifted through the multiude of entries to ensure that the final contenders met the requirements of design, packaging or function innovation.

The award is one of only 28 around the world, and has shown that winners generally increase sales by 10-15%, during the 12 months that they are permitted to use the Product of the Year logo in their advertising, marketing and on packaging.

The Australian winners for 2011 will be announced in Sydney on 03 February 2011.