Granny M Essentials

That’s how the big consumer-packaged-goods players — from Procter & Gamble to Kraft to Kimberly-Clark — want you to feel about yourself for buying the new household products that they’ll be rolling out in 2012.

Some will try to make you feel smart for saving money. Some, for saving time. And some for being a tad ahead of the cultural curve. New products are the life blood of brands — making them even more crucial in a topsy-turvy economy. The goal in 2012 isn’t just to get you to buy the new product, but also to nudge you to very publicly gloat on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube about how savvy you were to make the purchase.

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Not only is it free advertising, it’s the most effective kind. It’s where we increasingly go to find out about new products. The number of folks who turned to social media as a source to learn about new products more than doubled over just the past year — from 24% in 2010 to 49% in 2011, reports a new study by Sentient Decision Science for Schneider Public Relations.

“Smart is the ultimate weapon in social volleyball,” says trends spotter Marian Salzman. “It’s the new game people play, lobbing 140 characters here, there and everywhere.”

But the great race to catch the public’s fancy with a new food, drink or gadget will almost certainly have fewer entries this year. U.S. product introductions will likely shrink in 2012, projects Mintel, the research giant. They shrank in 2011, too, to about 37,600 vs. roughly 41,000 in 2010, Mintel reports.

In some cases, consumers will even be willing to spend more to get less. “But there must be a benefit that outweighs the ‘less-ness’ of the product,” says Lynn Dornblaser, new products guru at Mintel.

One thing’s for sure in 2012: Whatever you’re selling had better do what it claims to do. Or it’ll take social-media heat.

The key trend-within-the-trend of 2012′s new products is this simple consumer demand of new product makers: Prove it. So says Dornblaser. “Companies must be crystal clear with consumers on everything,” she says.

At the same time, many products will continue to shrink. Companies can charge less for stripped-down products made with less material.

“Less is less,” says Tom Vierhile, innovation insights editor at Datamonitor, the research specialist.

Here are 10 key trends — and some products latching onto them — that appear to have potential to be hits in 2012:

Touchless cleaning. Sometimes, a new product changes the game. That’s P&G’s hopes for Tide Pods.

If it’s a hit, the three-chambered (cleaning, stain-fighting, brightening) laundry detergent, which comes tucked in a smooth, dissolvable shell, could lift the declining Tide brand and change the way Americans do laundry. If it’s a flop, it could hasten the billion-dollar brand’s slow slide and leave very high-priced egg on the faces of P&G executives.

Tide Pods, rolling out in February, are designed for folks who don’t like the mess of pouring laundry detergent into a measuring cup. You simply toss these pods ($15.99 for 57 pods) into the wash.

“This is the most significant invention in the category for three decades,” says Alex Keith, vice president of North American Fabric Care at P&G.

But P&G has been foot-dragging, Dornblaser says. After all, it launched the concept in Europe more than a decade ago, where, she says, “It is, indeed, transformative.”

Hyper-personal everything. Who’d a thunk that a box of Kleenex could become a talker? The folks at Kimberly-Clark are not changing what’s inside the box. They’re just offering to turn the box itself into a personal photo album.

This month, the brand will introduce MyKleenexTissue 2.0, which is a vastly improved, next generation of personalized, oval tissue boxes where folks can print family photos. The first rollout was widely ignored. But this go-round, the brand is linking up with online photo guru Shutterfly. It’s also linking with Disney and Major League Baseball, so a box of Kleenex can feature your daughter’s photo next to Snow White or your son’s mug next to the New York Yankees logo. Never mind that instead of paying $1.99 for a conventional, rectangular box of Kleenex, folks will pay $5.99 to $7.99 for this oval box with just 70 tissues.

“You’re not buying a box of facial tissues,” points out Jim Schuh, global director of digital marketing. “You’re buying a unique gift.”

Dornblaser asks: “I love you so much, I bought you this box of Kleenex?”

Simplified meals. Honey, what’s for dinner? Perhaps no single question stirs such angst.

Kraft’s solution: Kraft Sizzling Salads Dinner Kits. That’s a bottle of salad dressing and a bottle of cooking sauce sold in a kit. TV dinners they’re not. But all the cook has to do is mix the dressing into the salad and stir the cooking sauce into the chicken they plan to cook — and toss into the salad.

These roll out this month, with cooking time at 20 minutes, says Chris McClement, marketing director for Kraft dressings. “That’s a magical prep-time number for consumers.” Dornblaser is dubious. “It’s convenient, but not convenient enough.”

One-stop cleaning. It is the chore folks hate most: cleaning the house. Kitchen cleaning frequency is down 22% since 2004, and bathroom cleaning is down 28%, reports a study by SC Johnson.

But suppose cleaning could be made easier by a single, nozzled contraption filled with tap water that carries in it concentrated versions of glass cleaner, furniture cleaner and even toilet cleaner. SC Johnson is bringing this device to market by summer and calling it All-in-One. At $2.99, it may seem like a bargain, but the concentrates (Windex, Fantastik, Pledge, Shout and Scrubbing Bubbles) also cost $2.99 each.

SC Johnson’s new All in One

“Consumers who do cleaning have a time famine,” explains Kelly Semrau, chief sustainability officer at SC Johnson. “Our job is to create products that make cleaning more convenient.”

Vierhile is skeptical. So-called combo-packs often fail, he says, “when consumers find themselves using up one of the components and not touching the others.”

Ethnic foods ‘R us. As the nation’s demographics continue to shift, the food giants are falling all over themselves to figure out how to mainstream ethnic foods.

Perhaps no group has more influence than Hispanics, who account for 16% of the population.

General Mills will be rolling out a cereal next month that targets not only Hispanics but also the mainstream market: Dulce de Leche Cheerios.

At $3.99 for a 12-ounce box, it will be the first mainstream cereal that has the caramel flavor popular throughout Latin America. “If we just went after Hispanics, it wouldn’t be big enough for us to do,” says Jim Wilson, marketing manager at General Mills.

Vierhile wavers on this one. “Dulce de Leche was trendy maybe a decade ago, but then, again, so was wasabi.”

Chic on the cheap. For women with seriously frizzy hair, it’s been a pretty pricey proposition to rid themselves of the frizz using the hottest hair straightener: keratin.

At the salon, keratin treatments can fetch $200 or more. Entrepreneurs have tried to figure out penny-pinching ways to do it at home, but some of the do-it-at-home kits have been knocked for containing formaldehyde.

Next month, Unilever rolls out the formaldehyde-less Suave Professionals Keratin Infusion 30 Day Smoothing Kit, which straightens hair for one month for about $12.50. It will be Suave’s biggest new product launch in years, says David Rubin, director of hair care for Unilever.

Dornblaser likes the concept, but warns, “Long-term success will depend on if it delivers on its promise.”

Healthy but fast. Few foods are more on-trend than Kashi, whose name is synonymous with whole grains and better-for-you eating.

But the brand lagged behind the curve during the recent wave of frozen meals prepared with microwave steam. Not anymore. This month, it rolls out a line of four Kashi Frozen Steam Meals. The food is placed in special pouches that steam in the microwave so consumers get “real food taste and real food nutrition,” says Jeff Johnson, senior nutritionist at Kashi, which is owned by Kellogg.

The meal “cooks” in about five minutes. Now, he says, “Even busy people can eat healthier.”

Vierhile says better late than never, “but five minutes sounds like an eternity to the 3G crowd.”

Customized snacking.

We are a culture that lives to customize. Just ask Starbucks.

Now, even popcorn kingpin Orville Redenbacher is getting in on the customized action. This month, it will roll out Orville Redenbacher’s Flavors, a variety of customizable flavors — White Cheddar, Extra Cheese and Salt & Vinegar — that folks can shake onto their microwaved popcorn.

The brand took a cue from customers who were quietly sprinkling stuff onto popcorn at home, from cheese powder to cinnamon, says Jesse Spungin, general manager of popcorn brands. Some future shake-on flavors on the table: cinnamon, vanilla and, yes, Tabasco.

Vierhile likes it. “The launch may legitimize the shake-on flavor niche.”

Healthy energy boosts. Hard to believe, but Red Bull is even influencing V8.

Nearly two in three people say they don’t have enough energy. But nearly 40% don’t believe energy drinks are good for you, says researcher Mintel. Executives at Campbell, which owns the V8 juice brand, see this as a huge opportunity.

It’s about to add an energy boost to its V-Fusion line with V8 V-Fusion + Energy. When the drink made with fruits and veggies rolls out in the spring, the label will clearly spell out where that energy comes from: 80 mg of natural green tea. For V8, a brand not always linked to the hottest trends, “It’s an opportunity to be a credible player in the energy space,” says Dale Clemiss, vice president of beverage marketing.

Dornblaser likes the mix of healthy ingredients and a strong brand name: “We’re rooting for this one.”

Weird hygiene. We have gotten used to wacky whitening strips and flavored fluoride rinses. But does the thought of brushing your tongue sound icky?

A tiny brand called Orabrush last year rolled out via social media and caught fire, convincing millions to buy its $4.99 tongue-cleaning brush. Now, in 2012, it’s rolling out a companion Orabrush Tongue Foam that uses natural enzymes to rid the mouth of bacteria — and bad breath.

Using the tongue-cleaner without the foam is like shaving without shaving cream, says Jeff Davis, CEO of Orabrush. And, yes, wherever he goes, people look at him and stick out their tongues. Which is basically what skeptic Vierhile is doing. “Niche hygiene, like tongue cleaning,” he says, “is not for everyone.”