“Back to basics” was the overriding theme at the most recent Natural Products Expo, held in March in Anaheim, California. Here are some of the health, organic and natural food trends spotted at the Expo.
- Healthier snacks. With snacking on the rise, manufacturers are jumping in with better-for-you alternatives. Exhibitors sampled exotic flavored waters, sweet potato chips, kale chips and dehydrated fruit
- Fruit and vegetable drinks in all flavors. Drinks such as the yoga-inspired Bikram Balance and Fruitasia, a fruit blended veggie shot of energy, are offering complete servings of vegetables and/or fruit
- Natural baby foods. Plum Organics presented grab-and-go baby food made of pureed natural ingredients. The ingredients used included Greek yogurt, blueberries, pears and purple carrots
- Nutty for coconut. Coconut was a popular component of several items. Products such as Coco’Mon coconut cooking oil shared the spotlight with coconut palm sugar, coconut water and dehydrated coconut
- Chia seeds. Used as an ingredient in a variety of food products, chia seeds contain high levels of omega-3s. FruitChia bars, Mamma Chia beverages and Coconut Chia granola all were displayed at the show
- Ancient grains. Grains like amaranth, quinoa, kamut, millet, hemp and buckwheat are making a strong comeback as people are looking for alternatives to wheat
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