The move toward natural, organic and healthy products is not a fad, but a societal shift that is poised to grow to $226 billion by 2018 with an annual growth rate of 8.6%. New Hope Natural Media, a division of professional information services company Penton, recently announced Natural Products Expo West (NPEW) concluded a record-breaking event on March 6-9 at the Anaheim Convention Center in CA. The event grew 5% bringing together over 67,000 industry members, more than 2,600 exhibiting companies and the most first-time exhibitors in the event’s history. From food and beverage to supplements and beauty to household and pet products, the event provided a window into the many categories driving the growth of the global natural products industry.
“As we wrap up the 34th annual Natural Products Expo, we are proud of our commitment to the natural, organic and healthy living community,” stated Adam Anderson, Show Director for NPEW. “The macro trend and shift to healthier lifestyles created explosive growth this year. Our conference sessions offered attendees with the vital industry intelligence and the exhibit floor buzzed with activity as attendees met the passionate individuals behind the brands on the shelves today and the products of the future.” President Weonki Lee from aT center LA, a Korea Agro-Trade Center based in Los Angeles, stated that this was their 6th consecutive year at the NPEW and they are planning on continuing to participate at the expo as they have received such positive responses and feedbacks from various multi-ethnic consumers to distributers. He also stated that he is proud that there are many other Korean brands that participate at the expo and that there were many new brands participating for the first time ever this year as well such as Korean Ginseng Corporation (KGC).
The new trend that we find were the “superfoods” which are nutrient and mineral foods at this year’s NPEW, where the word was first coined by nutritional research physician, Dr. Steven Pratt. In particular, quinoa and chia seeds were receiving the limelight as an ingredient in various foods and drinks of Central and South America. Headquartered in Ontario, CA, an organic instant rice company Minsley, are committed to manufacturing and distributing excellent quality of healthy meals in minutes. “In contrast to last year, the price of quinoa went up three times more. I think quinoa is going to be quite trendy for quite some time as it is such high level in protein and you can just add it to milk, juice, or any types of liquid,” stated Tae-jin Song, President of Minsley. Another prominent item that was included as a main ingredient in many foods and drinks was coconut, which comes to no surprise as this seems to be a recurring hot item yearly. Other recurring hot trends for food and drinks were tea products, gluten-free products, tofu, and many more.
Natural Products Expo East 2014 will return to the Baltimore Convention Center in the fall on September 17-20 in Baltimore, MD. Natural Products Expo West 2015 is scheduled to take place March 5-8 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, CA.
Yuna Hwang
K-Herald
