From the numbers I saw at Expo West, the Florida orange juice industry ($1.3b) spends $16m on advertising, the beef industry ($30b) spends $42m on advertising, and the milk industry ($27b) spends $10m on advertising.
Yet, the organic food industry ($25b) spends practically nothing. This makes no sense whatsoever.
I recently got back from Natural Products Expo West 2013 and had an absolutely amazing time.
Even though Whole Foods’ announcement – that it would be labeling GMOs sold in its stores by 2018 – was the big news of the show, there were still plenty of great products that captured my attention.
Here are my Top 5 Organic Products from Expo West 2013.
RED LENTIL ROTINI BY TOLERANT FOODS
These are my Top 5 Organic Food Products from Natural Products Expo West 2011.
NURTURME BABY FOOD
NurturMe is dehydrated organic baby food in powder form that you add to water, infant formula or even breast milk. It is convenient and lightweight, and the products are eco-friendly.
Very, very smart idea and I love the fact that the powder can be used for toddlers as well (put the powder into regular foods — the kids will get the nutritional benefits but won’t know it’s in there).
I was immediately impressed when I saw NurturMe.
UPDATE: THE RON FINLEY PROJECT HAS BEEN FULLY FUNDED AND SAVED! THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP AND FINANCIAL SUPPORT!
If you are a frequent or new reader of my blog, I ask you to please do two things:
1) Watch the video above about Ron Finley, the ‘gangsta gardener’ in South Central LA.
2) Read the below and help save his operation in Los Angeles. He is under a very serious threat of eviction, and we must do whatever we can to help save him. Ron is one of our own, and it is imperative that he continue with his very important work.
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Over the past week or so, there have been emails circulating throughout the organic industry from John Foraker, President of Annie’s, about Ron Finley.
These five, however, really captured my attention.
BIG TREE FARMS MORINGA POWDER
There is no other company that brings a greater number of healthy, sustainable, and innovative products to the market than Big Tree Farms.
Each year that I go to Expo West, I just shake my head in disbelief when company founders Ben Ripple and Frederick Schilling, two verifiable rock stars, show me their latest offerings. Not only do these guys set trends in the industry, but they are obsessive about employing manufacturing techniques that maximize nutrition levels.
While I could fill this entire post with Big Tree Farms products, the one that I left most excited about was their Tru Ra line of organic moringa, a green superfood that is almost beyond comparison – more Vitamin A than carrots, more calcium than milk, more iron than spinach, more Vitamin C than oranges, and more potassium than bananas.
Even though food is a huge component of Natural Products Expo West, it is not the only category that is exhibited there.
Supplements also have a very big presence, but what really fascinates me are a lot of the non-food items. So, what I like to do after each trade show is present to you some of the most memorable and compelling household items that I come across.
Here are my Top 5 Non-Food Products of Natural Products Expo West 2013.
CLEARLY FILTERED WATER PITCHER
Filtered water is a very hot topic because the quality of our water supply is so abysmal and contains toxic chemicals such as fluoride, chlorine, and atrazine.
Many people ask me about Britta and while it is better than no filter at all, I don’t believe that it is ideal by any means.
At Expo West, I came across a company called Clearly Filtered, a competitor to Britta, yet its results seem to be superior.
If you know me or have read my bio, you might be aware that I have had some addiction issues in the past.
Fortunately, those problems are behind me, and I have stayed on a positive path for many years now. One of the things that I attribute to my being to able avoid negative influences in my life has been my will power.
