I just got back from a fantastic few days in Baltimore attending Natural Products Expo East, the organic industry’s second largest trade show of the year.

In all of my years attending Expo East, this might have been the best one yet.

There was an abundance of excellent innovation, and many interesting up-and-coming brands exhibited for the first time. Furthermore, both the crowds and the pace of the show were not overwhelming, as is often the case at Natural Products Expo West. Read more »

Last week, I attended Indie Beauty Expo in New York City, an annual event that showcases independent beauty brands, with a very heavy emphasis on natural and organic.

Even though food is the main emphasis of Living Maxwell, body care products represent an important and growing segment within the overall organic industry. Read more »

In what quickly has become one of the year’s must-attend events for me, Indie Beauty Expo 2017 was just held in New York City, and for the third straight year, it continued to impress.

As a showcase for independent beauty brands, with a heavy emphasis on natural and organic, Indie Beauty Expo not only provides valuable exposure to emerging personal care companies, but it also gives industry observers a unique and early look at trends that we can expect to see in the marketplace.

With more than 220 vendors in attendance, below are my Top 5 Organic Products from Indie Beauty Expo. Please take into account that there were a limited number of certified organic brands at the show, and the products that made my list are the ones that I believe to be as “clean” as organic, even if not certified.

If you would like to receive my full recap of Indie Beauty Expo, including key trends and highlights, be sure to sign up for a free trial of Organic Insider (no credit card required), and I will send it right over to you.

Read more »

For the last few days here in New York City, I was attending the Fancy Food Show, one of my absolute favorite trade shows of the year.

What makes this show different from many of the others that I attend is the number of international exhibitors. This gives me the rare opportunity to discover organic products from abroad that I otherwise would not get to see. And two of my picks below are produced from countries outside of the U.S.

(If you’d like to get my full recap and analysis of Fancy Food Show, be sure to sign up for a free trial of Organic Insider – no cost, no obligation, no credit card required – and I will send it right over.)

Here are my Top 5 Organic Food Products from Fancy Food Show 2017.

HAVEN’S KITCHEN KALE WALNUT PESTO

Nearly every time I go to the refrigerated section of the supermarket, I go looking for an organic pesto sauce, knowing full well that I probably won’t find one. For some inexplicable reason, they barely exist.

So, when I saw that Haven’s Kitchen had introduced a kale walnut pesto – and an amazing one at that – I was beyond thrilled. Not only is it flavored perfectly and has great texture, but this product fills a massive void in the market.

Alison Cayne, owner of New York City’s Haven’s Kitchen and author of The Haven’s Kitchen Cooking School, has also rolled out a few other fantastic sauces, including an herby chimichurri and a red pepper romesco. Read more »

One of the most unheralded but important aspects of Natural Products Expo West are the trade show booths themselves.

Some companies put a tremendous amount of thought and effort into their booths, and I like to acknowledge those brands that go above and beyond what is generally expected.

As such, after each Natural Products Expo West, I give awards to my the best trade show booths. For me, the themes of this year’s winners were originality, artistic creativity, and interactive experiences.

Here are my best trade show booths from Natural Products Expo West 2017.

KASHI

What might very well be the most unusual but arguably the most compelling trade show booth I have ever seen was from Kashi.

Not only was there no traditional booth, but the company wasn’t even passing out samples of its food! Literally, it had absolutely no samples to give out, which is unheard of at a food trade show. Read more »

As I do after each Natural Products Expo West, I name my top 5 organic food products of the show.

This year, it was especially difficult to choose just five. Not only did this year’s Expo West have nearly 2,800 vendors, but the quality of products from organic food companies has never been better.

To get my full recap of Expo West and to learn about the key trends at this year’s show, be sure to sign up for a FREE trial of Organic Insider (no cost, no obligation, no credit card required) and I’ll send it over to you.

Here are My Top 5 Organic Food Products from Natural Products Expo West 2017.

NUTIVA’S ORGANIC MCT OIL

If you are familiar with MCT oil, popularized by the Bulletproof coffee craze, and are an organic food person, you are also aware that there has been no organic MCT oil on the market. Until now.
Read more »

As I do at the end of each Expo East and Expo West, I list my top 5 organic food products of the show.

Some of the criteria that I use to judge the best products include originality, taste, and innovation. Also, I try as hard as I can to include products that most people have never seen before.

At last week’s show in Baltimore, there were many great organic products to choose from but here are the ones that I found to be the most compelling. These are My Top 5 Organic Products from Natural Products Expo East 2016.

FORAGER PROJECT’S DAIRY-FREE STRAWBERRY CASHEW YOGURT

Having watched this company for several years now, I give major kudos to the folks at Forager Project.

Despite being one of the country’s leading pressed organic juice brands, Forager has not been sitting still. Instead, it has pushed very hard to expand into food, with a complete emphasis on plant-based ingredients. Read more »