While most of the attention at Natural Products Expo West was focused on companies’ products, it cannot be overlooked that a good number of brands invested a tremendous amount of time and energy into building their trade show booths.

As such, I like to recognize those companies that went the extra mile and presented something special, and I always give out awards for the Best Trade Show Booths at Expo West.

What I look for most are originality, interactive experiences and impact.

Here are Best Trade Show Booths at Expo West 2018.

GENERAL MILLS

General Mills had a phenomenal show and its Annie’s Honey Bunny Grahams and Elbow Pasta & Cheddar were named to my Top 5 Organic Food Products of Expo West 2018.

Yet, its trade show booth stood above the rest as well. Read more »

As I do after each Natural Products Expo West, I name my top picks of the show.

Having discovered so many outstanding products, it was incredibly difficult to narrow the list down to five. The quality just keeps getting better and better each year.

Below are my Top 5 Organic Food Products from Expo West 2018 and if you’d like to read my key trends, full analysis and takeaways from the show, be sure to sign up for Organic Insider.

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MACA CHOCOLATE DARK ROAST FROM TEECCINO

Teeccino founder Caroline MacDougall has been formulating organic teas for decades, and her expertise in making delicious drinks was on full display in her new Maca Chocolate Dark Roast at Expo West.

Aside from the beautiful flavor, this herbal blend contains plenty of phytonutrients from the carob, cocoa and chiles.

Yet, what makes this drink so unique is that the company is using ramón seeds (above), a food that I had never known about before. Read more »

Whenever I go to a market in NYC these days and check out the refrigerated section, I am constantly amazed by the inordinate amount of shelf space that REBBL occupies.

But it’s for very good reason.

Under the brilliant leadership of CEO Sheryl O’Loughlin, REBBL has become the hottest brand in the beverage world, and people have become obsessed with the company’s adaptogenic coconut milk drinks.

While the company is well on its way to becoming a household name, what is barely known is just how mission-driven REBBL is and that 2.5% of all sales go to Not for Sale, an organization which aims to end modern slavery and exploitation around the world.

Yet, what makes REBBL truly stand apart is that the business was created and imagined with the primary goal of having a positive social impact. Read more »

(Photo courtesy of JYB Devot under the Creative Commons License)

Nestled in the heart of the mountains in the Andean Paramos region of Peru, there are 182 families who entirely depend on coffee cultivation for their livelihood.

Unfortunately, coffee rust – a fungus also known as “La Roya” — has devastated the coffee trees of 64 of these families, leading to catastrophic economic losses for hundreds of people.

With coffee production their only way to make a living and provide for their families, they have had no choice but to search for nearby land which has not been infected by coffee rust. While this is giving these families a financial lifeline, it has also resulted in the destruction of forests in the region, a territory that cannot that cannot afford this type of displacement. Read more »

Whether you’re flying for business or pleasure, the truth is that traveling is not the healthiest activity.

Aside from the stress that traveling puts on your body and the unpredictability of healthy food available to you when on the road, getting on an airplane is a very toxic activity, largely because the cabin air is so contaminated.

This is why it is absolutely critical that you are prepared in advance.

And a new turmeric product called Truvani has just come out that is a must-have item for whenever you do travel. Read more »

Last April, I was in Denver attending the National Organic Standards Board meeting and went to dinner one night at True Food Kitchen.

Sitting at a community table, I struck up a conversation with a woman across from me and she proceeded to tell me that she had recently switched to a vegan diet.

“So, do you know Dr. Joel Kahn? The cardiologist from Detroit,” I asked.

Given that the plant-based world is a tight community and that Dr. Kahn is a social media star, I had a feeling that she might have known him.

“Do I know Dr. Kahn?” she responded with her face completely lit up. “He’s the reason I am a vegan today! Everything he talks about online and in his books convinced me to go plant-based!”

With the release of his excellent new book The Plant-Based Solution, Dr. Joel Kahn is looking to make a similar impact on many more people.

I recently caught up with my friend, and here is what he had to say.

Numerous cardiologists that I have come into contact with lately are vegans, yet many prominent functional medicine doctors that I know do not advocate for a plant-based diet. They think eating meat is important. In your opinion, what are these doctors not understanding?

The functional medicine world is often stuck in the concept that a plant-diet is nutritionally deficient even though the USDA, AND, and other organizations say otherwise. Read more »

If you are ever asked why you eat organic food, particularly from a skeptic, there is a very easy answer — you don’t want to get cancer.

In July 2017, the State of California announced that:

Glyphosate is listed under Proposition 65 effective July 7, 2017 as known to the state to cause cancer.

That’s right. The State of California has said that glyphosate is known to cause cancer and is now requiring warning labels, effective July 2018.

https://oehha.ca.gov/proposition-65/crnr/glyphosate-listed-effective-july-7-2017-known-state-california-cause-cancer

So, that begs the question: why should consumers care about this?

Because glyphosate is the most widely used chemical in the world today — approximately 300 million pounds of it is used each year in the U.S. — and it is sprayed on much of our food supply. Read more »