Living Maxwell
Company Stories
For as long as I have been covering the organic food industry and giving out Natural Products Expo West awards, it has always been a Top 5 list.
However, due to the incredible number of fantastic products that I saw at the 2024 show and at the urging of my good friend Liana Werner-Gray, I have expanded the list to a Top 10.
Living Maxwell
Company Stories
For those of us who are fans of Dr. Bronner’s, the company’s products have a constant presence in our households, and we use them to clean our bodies and physical surroundings on a daily basis.
While this is unquestionably a critical component of our lives and imperative to maintain good health, cleaning transcends removing whatever is on our skin, on our clothes or on our kitchen countertops. It also affects our emotional well-being and directly impacts how we show up in the world.
And this is precisely why Lisa Bronner’s Soap & Soul: A Practical Guide to Minding Your Home, Your Body and Your Spirit with Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps spoke to me so much, as it squarely touches on the importance of cleaning both the tangible and intangible — an essential formula for a meaningful life.
Living Maxwell
Company Stories
For as long as I have been covering the organic food industry, I have attended Natural Products Expo East, with my first show in Boston in 2009.
So, it is very bittersweet to report that after last week’s show in Philadelphia, there will be no more Expo East moving forward. New Hope, the organizer of the event, has decided to launch something new in 2024 called Newtopia Now.
Living Maxwell
Better Choices
For many people, organic milk is the first organic food product that they will buy.
This is largely because milk serves as an important source of nutrition for kids. It, therefore, begs the question “what exactly is my child drinking?”
Not all milk is created equal
Hormonal milk contains a genetically engineered hormone called Recombinant Bovine Somatotropin (rBST), which is produced by companies such as Monsanto and Elanco.
rBST is injected into approximately 20% of all U.S. dairy cows in order to increase milk production, and industry studies by consultants report that this hormone is safe for both the cows and consumers.
A message from Tradin Organic
At Tradin Organic, we believe that regenerative organic farming is key to growing healthy and nutritious food ingredients — for now and for future generations.
And in Sierra Leone, we have grown the world’s first Regenerative Organic Certified cacao.
Living Maxwell
Company Stories
With celebrities rushing to invest in organic food companies these days, Sarah Michelle Gellar truly stands alone.
This long-time Hollywood actress isn’t writing a check, fading into the background and hoping for a payout several years down the line. She is doing the exact opposite.
Sarah Michelle Gellar is helping to run and is playing an active role in building one of the hottest organic food brands in the industry. Along with her two other co-founders, CEO Galit Laibow and COO Greg Fleishman, Foodstirs is redefining the healthy baking category by using the best organic and Biodynamic ingredients available.
In addition to her acting career and responsibilities at Foodstirs, this Emmy Award-winning actress and mother of two recently released Stirring up Fun with Food: Over 115 Simple, Delicious Ways to be Creative in the Kitchen, her #1 best-selling book. Organized by the month, Stirring up Fun with Food succeeds because of its approach — providing engaging “food-crafting” ideas that help kids develop self-confidence, creative thinking, and even math skills in the kitchen.
Living Maxwell
Company Stories
Most people would probably say that choosing the best farmers market in the country would be based on selection, prices, quantity, how much is organic, crowds, and overall experience.
For me, it is much more simple.
Which farmers market will dictate my entire travel schedule just so I can be there for it?
Living Maxwell
Company Stories
Natural Products Expo West, the largest organic trade show in the U.S. was back for the first time since 2019, as the last two years were canceled because of COVID.
Prior to this year’s show, I had one CEO tell me that he thought this would be the best year for innovation anytime in the past decade, given that brands had such pent-up demand over the last 24 months and would be particularly eager to show buyers their most forward-thinking products. Based on what I saw at last week’s Expo West, I believe he was correct. The innovation that I saw was outstanding.
Living Maxwell
Better Choices
Whether it is with a salad or any other dish that I am making at home, organic fermented foods – usually sauerkraut (above) or kimchee – can almost always be found on my plate. Why is this?
I have come to understand that if we want to have a strong immune system, we must take care of our gut and provide it with beneficial bacteria.
And that is exactly what fermented foods give us – beneficial bacteria.
Dr. Natascha Campbell-McBride, a Russian neurologist and founder of the GAPS Diet, says that:
“about 85% of our immune system is located in the gut wall. This fact has been established by basic physiology research in the 1930s and the 1940s. Your gut, your digestive wall, is the biggest and the most important immune organ in your body. There is a very tight conversation and a relationship going on between the gut flora that lives inside your digestive system and your immune system.
A message from Tradin Organic
For more than a decade, Tradin Organic has been working with local partners in The Philippines to bring a diversified range of organic products to the market, such as coconut oil, tropical fruits and even cocoa.
The company is helping to support local farmers by assisting them with technical support and organic certification, in addition to paying Fairtrade premium on top of the organic premium.
Living Maxwell
Company Stories
When I was in California recently to attend Expo West, I made a stop at Erewhon Natural Foods Market in Los Angeles. I first discovered Erewhon last year and it is the most amazing organic market.
As I explain in this video, a few things make it stand apart from the rest — the elixir bar and the massive selection of raw food products.
If you are ever in Los Angeles, make sure you stop by Erewhon. This organic market is truly one of a kind.
Living Maxwell
Better Choices
I get asked all of the time by people “how do I know that the food that I am eating is organic?”
Well, when we buy food in the supermarket, there is an organic certification process managed by the USDA. Those organic food products have the organic seal.
Yet, what do we do when we go to restaurants?
While there are very few restaurants that have actually been certified organic (there used to be one in NYC called Gustorganics), most of them are not.
In this video, I share with you the one question that I always ask when I go to a new organic restaurant. The answer gives me a good idea about how serious they are about organic.
