A marketing guru once said that new products were the lifeblood of business. If so, business is about to grow — a lot.

According to the latest figures from the Mintel International "Global New Products Database" (GNPD), a record-breaking number of new products flooded store shelves around the world in 2006.

Almost 182,000 new products were introduced globally, with many of the product types focusing on the mind, body and general good health.

"The significant shift to more products with better-for-you positioning helped boost new product launches in 2006," said David Jago of Mintel. "Companies are offering more products that enhance well-being for consumers, and the strong focus in many categories is on promoting good health, which can be seen in the most popular product claims."

Some 105,000 food and drink products were launched last year — that is roughly 300 for every day of the year.

In addition, more than 77,000 new non-food products hit the market last year.

Overall, new product launches were up 17% over 2005, more than doubling the growth in new consumer packaged goods (CPG) launches from 2004 to 2005, as tracked by the GNPD.

Via eMarketer