(Jillian Wright on the far left, Founder of Indie Beauty Expo)

Last week in New York City, I attended Indie Beauty Expo, a showcase for independent organic and natural personal care products. This was the second year of Indie Beauty Expo, and I was incredibly impressed by both the show itself and the quality of the companies that presented.

While Living Maxwell mainly deals with organic food, body care products will be an area of focus going forward. This is because 60% of whatever we put on our skin gets into our bodies. So, that means the personal care products that we use are of utmost importance.

Here were 12 of the most interesting finds at Indie Beauty Expo. Some are USDA certified organic, while others contain both organic and natural ingredients. Read more »

Last week in Monterey, CA, the very first Organic Produce Summit was held, and given the importance of produce within the organic industry, it was no surprise that this event was so successful and so well-received.

At the larger trade shows that I go to – Natural Products Expo West, Natural Products Expo East and Fancy Food Show – there is little to no presence of organic fruit and vegetable vendors. So, to have a dedicated event for organic produce makes a tremendous amount of sense.

And maybe that explained why the Organic Produce Summit was sold out, and featured 600 attendees and 70 trade show booths. Read more »

(To follow my day-to-day organic food adventures, please be sure to add me on Snapchat: maxorganic)

Last week in New York City, I attended the Fancy Food Show 2016, one of the best food shows of the year.

While it is not an organic food show per se, there is an increasing amount of organic vendors and I would estimate that about 15-20% of the booths there do offer some type of organic product.  Read more »

While the main attraction of Natural Products Expo West and Natural Products Expo East are the newest and best products, one aspect of the show that goes overlooked are the trade show booths themselves.

Some companies put a tremendous amount of time, money, and thought into their booths, and I like to acknowledge those organizations who place real importance on making theirs stand out. To me, it speaks volumes.

When selecting my best trade show booth winners, I look for four main qualities: creativity, design, originality, and execution.

There were a lot of very good trade show booths from Natural Products Expo West 2016, but these two stood out from the rest.

BITSY’S BRAINFOOD

I might as well re-name this award the Bitsy’s Brainfood Trade Show Booth Award since they have won so many times already. Read more »

After each Natural Products Expo West and Natural Products Expo East, I always name my Top 5 Organic Food Products of the show.

And for the past few years, Vani Hari of FoodBabe.com and I have shot a video where I discuss my favorite organic food picks and she gives me her critique of them. With the advent of Periscope, we are now able to do this “live” and viewers from all over the world can ask questions while Vani Hari and I are discussing my top 5 organic food products. So, if you see the comments and hearts on the screen above, those are features of Periscope. Read more »

(MY APOLOGIES IN ADVANCE FOR THE SMALL VIDEO ABOVE. THIS IS ONE OF TWO VIDEOS THAT I SHOT HORIZONTALLY ON PERISCOPE AND THE RECORDING OF IT DID NOT TURN OUT AS PLANNED.)

As I do each year at Natural Products Expo East, I name my Top 5 Organic Food Products of the show. And as always, Vani Hari of FoodBabe.com gives me her critique for each of them.

There were a lot of excellent products that I discovered but these five seemed to really grab my attention. Read more »

Over the past few years at Natural Products Expo East, my friend Vani Hari and I have hosted dinners to raise money for GMO-labeling.

With no major GMO-labeling initiative on the calendar this year, we are now turning our attention to something equally as important – climate change. Read more »