Biggest Natural Products Expo in the World

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The world’s largest natural, organic and healthy products event, Natural Products Expo West & Engredea, experienced another record‐setting year this year, hosting more than 85,000 attendees. The show was held March 7th‐11th at the Anaheim Convention Center, California; and brought together 3,521 exhibiting companies, including more than 600 first‐time exhibitors.

In just a few weeks Australia’s biggest trade show in the natural, organic and healthy products industry will take place: the Naturally Good Expo. This is a great opportunity to learn more about the industry, its products and innovations, understand the latest trends, and connect with like-minded peers, international buyers and distributors. Ahead of the Expo, we chatted with two local Australian businesses, who attended the show. Nicholas Simms, CEO of Bubs Australia and Cheryl Stewart, Export Manager of Morlife, share their insights.  

What did you think of Expo West & Engredea shows?

Nicholas Simms: I found the show to provide a great insight into trends in the local organic market, as well as acting as a barometer for trends internationally.

Cheryl Stewart: Its massive! Bigger than you can imagine. The innovation and quality of the food products is exceptional; and whether you are looking at exporting to the USA, sourcing new and trendy raw materials or searching for hot product ideas, there’s certainly lots to see for all.

Which trends did you find there?

Nicholas Simms: Chilled organic foods that are bridging the gap between health and convenience, which is an area of accelerating growth; from chilled protein bars to cold pressed oatmeals.  

Cheryl Stewart: One of the biggest trends I noticed was a huge increase in vegan products compared to last year. Many products had Sprouted/Activated and Fermented ingredients as a part of the formula and Probiotics were in everything (including kombucha/kefir/gut products). One of the newest trends was collagen beauty superfood products starting to appear on the market.

What’s your view of the US market?

Nicholas Simms: It is immense in size and has numerous nuances compared to our marketplace. However, this enables entrepreneurs to innovate and develop new products and propositions; ultimately injecting competition into the the marketplace which results in great benefits for consumers.

Cheryl Stewart: The US market is a highly competitive market with some super-cool food products that have a significant amount of innovation already built into them. It seemed, in terms of packaging of products, that trend-words were the bigger requirement; such as free-from claims and a few key ingredient features. These were the only hook needed on the front of the packaging, yet they didn’t always marry up with the ingredients on the back and in the fine print. Overall, they tend to be “ahead of the game,” so for Australian exporters wanting to enter that market, you really need to put your best products forward.

The Naturally Good Expo presents us with a local opportunity to discover the next products shaping the future of the natural, organic and healthy lifestyle marketplace and connect with international buyers. From supplements and functional foods to grocery and health and beauty, gain insights into retail trends, challenges and strategies. And for those interested in developing export markets, don’t forget to book your tickets to the Food and Beverage Exporter’s Forum in Sydney here. Details for other locations coming soon