Natural Products Expo West reaches 77,000 attendees & Award winning Products 2016

By Karen Ostlund Natural Products Expo West grows by 6.9% to 77,000 Attendees at the World’s Largest Natural Products Event Experience in Anaheim, March 9-13 2016. Many health food and skincare brands were showing at award season's gifting suites in Los Angeles, as a pre-presentation to the expo. Next stop for Natural Products Expo is the east coast event at the Baltimore Convention Center, September 21-24 in Baltimore, MD. The 36th annual Natural Products Expo West & Engredea, the world's largest natural, organic and healthy products event, experienced another record-setting year with 6.9 percent growth, and played the host to more than 77,000 attendees. The event brought together an inspired community of industry members and more than 3,000 exhibiting companies, including more than 600 first-time exhibitors.  The show, was held March 9-13 at the Anaheim Convention Center, is produced by the recently re-branded New Hope Network.  Vega Sport Performance Protein Chocolate For the second year in a row, New Hope Network expanded the event’s exhibit space to encompass the entire Anaheim Convention Center campus. In addition to traditional exhibit halls, new exhibitors showcased hot products at the Hilton Hotel Anaheim. The official Natural Products Expo West “Best of West: Press Award” went to: Suja Organic Crushed Raspberry Probiotic Water. Suja Organic Crushed Raspberry Probiotic Water. Runners-up included Vega Sport Performance Protein Chocolate and Justin’s Maple Almond Butter with Pretzels Pack.  The winner of the NEXT Accelerator Natural Products Business School Pitch Slam was Veggie Fries. Veggie Fries are frozen french fries made from a blend of all-natural, farm grown vegetables, legumes, and potatoes, chopped and blended together with herbs, spices, and just a pinch of sea salt. They are vegan, non-GMO certified and free of the top 8 allergens including gluten, soy, dairy, and wheat. Each batch of Veggie Fries provides a crispy texture on the outside, fluffy and tender on the inside. Every variety has at least 27% of non-potato vegetables and legumes, containing 9 vegetable servings and a substantial amount of vegetable nutrition in every 14oz bag.          Justin’s Maple Almond Butter with Pretzels Pack Denise Day, Marketing Director at Boulder, CO-based Bhakti Chai said, “We are so excited to be here at Expo West to launch our new line. This event has been the perfect timing right ahead of our summertime new product launch when we will have even wider distribution for new items with many of the retailers we met with right here in Anaheim.”

Natural Products Expo West is the preeminent show for spotting trends in the food and CPG industry. The content and research team at New Hope Network tracked the following macro forces and consumer trends this year: Ancient Wisdom, Transcendent Transparency, Snackification, Feed Me!, The Rehabilitation of Science and The Value(s) Shopper. For examples of related trends and exciting new products that support each trend visit the online gallery at newhope.com. The NEXT Forecast 2016 projects strong growth for the natural products industry. U.S. consumer sales of natural, organic and healthy products are forecasted to expand 64 percent from $153B in 2013 to $252B by 2019, including growth of 9 percent per year driven in part by new and emerging brands. “Natural Products Expo West serves as a launching pad for innovation from entrepreneurial brands to more established companies looking to keep up with shifts in consumer demand,” said Carlotta Mast, Executive Director of Content and Insights, New Hope Network. “Evolving shopper tastes and values have positioned the natural products industry as a major force in what products end up on shelves from natural stores to more conventional supermarkets.” The education program offered a full docket of topics as well as keynote presentations from Sam Kass, former White House Personal Chef; Erik Weihenmayer, author, adventurer and activist; and Marth Rogers, acclaimed author and business strategist. Taylor Collins, Co-founder/Chief of EPIC Provisions said, “Expo West embodies the essence of natural products and has created some of my most beloved and greatest memories as an entrepreneur. It is the quintessential gathering of cutting edge natural foods brands and the highlight of my year. The most influential and amazing people in our lives were met on the conference show floor.” Natural Products Expo West 2017 is scheduled to take place March 8-12 at the Anaheim Convention Center.  To see show highlights watch the Natural Products Expo West 2016 “Find Your Spark” video. www.newhope.com.