Biggest Product Launches of the Year

No movie reached the level of box office success as “Avengers: End Game” in 2019. The movie, which premiered in April and was the final installment of Marvel’s Infinity Saga, was the first in history to gross over a billion dollars globally in its opening week. Domestically, the film has grossed nearly $2.8 billion to date.

Disney is a video streaming service like Netflix and Amazon Prime that launched on Nov. 12. Despite its late entry to the relatively crowded field, the service appears to be a success, with a reported 10 million subscriptions on its first day and 24 million in three weeks. Disney Plus content includes Disney’s family friendly movies and content from other companies like Marvel, Lucasfilms, Marvel, Pixar, and National Geographic.

Fast food chain Popeyes made headlines nationwide this summer when it introduced a new fried chicken sandwich to its menu. The sandwich was successful well beyond the company’s expectations, selling out in just two weeks when supplies were intended to last well over a month. Demand for the sandwich led to chaos in several Popeye’s restaurants, overtime work for employees, and a Twitter battle with Chick-fil-A, a competing restaurant.

The HBO miniseries “Chernobyl” ranks as the highest rated show in 2019 and the fifth highest rated show of all time. The five-part series tells the story of the April 1986 explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the Soviet Union. The show went on to win 10 Emmys, including the award for Outstanding Limited Series.

The Impossible Burger 2.0, which launched in January 2019, is the latest generation of the immensely popular vegetarian-friendly alternatives to meat. Though it is made of soy, beans, and lentils, the burger reportedly tastes like meat. It contains no gluten, animal hormones, or antibiotics and is kosher- and halal-certified. Impossible Burgers are available at a number of restaurants and fast food chains, including Burger King, Red Robin, White Castle, and Fatburger.

In February 2019, Coca-Cola introduced its first new flavor in over a decade: orange vanilla. The new flavor was initially a success, and the company attributed some of its 6% net revenue growth in the second quarter to innovations in its soft drink segment. The orange vanilla flavor raised awareness of the brand, but whether it becomes a permanent fixture in Coke’s lineup, like Cherry Coke, or goes the way of the ill fated New Coke of the 1980s, remains to be seen.

The Samsung Galaxy S10 5G is one of two smartphones introduced in 2019 to rank on this list. The product, which launched in June, represents the brand’s first foray into the 5G market, and along with 5G capability, it boasts a larger screen and better camera than the original Galaxy S10.

While most Americans do not yet have access to 5G service, availability is continually expanding. With the Galaxy S10 5G, Samsung beat Apple, its primary competitor in the United States, in the 5G race as there are currently no 5G ready iPhones on the market.

Every year since 2007, Apple has unveiled a new version of its iPhone. Some iterations have been more groundbreaking than others, but the announcements, which typically come in September, have become highly anticipated media events. This year was no exception when the company announced the all new iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max on Sept. 20. The new phones feature additional cameras that offer wide, ultra wide, and telephoto capabilities.

Spot is a robotic dog manufactured by Boston Dynamics, a robotics company. Unlike most products on this list, which generally target the typical consumer, Spot is geared more toward construction and industrial companies. Equipped with cameras and sensors, Spot can venture into dangerous and confined spaces as a data collection tool. The robot is about 3 feet long, 2 feet high, and weighs 60 pounds. Boston Dynamics has not yet listed an MSRP for Spot and encourages interested customers to contact the company directly for a quote or lease agreement.

This year, “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare,” a reboot of the 2007 game of the same name, set record sales for PlayStation 4 and PC and became the most successful digital launch in history for its developer, Activision Blizzard. The game, which is the latest edition to the popular Call of Duty franchise, racked up over $600 million in sales in its first three days on the market and appears to be on track to be the best selling video game of the year.