Negative headlines don't sway supplement shoppers

Although negative media is the commonly cited culprit behind shoppers’ skepticism about supplements, independent stores can actually turn this problem on its head. For Emily Kanter, co-owner of Cambridge Naturals in Cambridge, Massachusetts, bad press actually gives her store good fuel to draw customers back into its aisles.

“After a story comes out, shoppers have told us they’re concerned about quality, so they’ve stopped shopping big-box and returned to our store because they know they can trust what we have,” she says. “Negative publicity seems to be a way for us to encourage more people to seek out quality brands and stores.”

Cheryl Hughes, owner of The Whole Wheatery in Lancaster, California, feels the same way. She has never seen sales dip because of a bad story.

On the manufacturing side, Jeffrey Brent Brams, vice president of product development at Garden of Life, views negative press as an opportunity to highlight transparency and traceability. Plus, he adds, the natural products shopper isn’t easily swayed by flash-in-the-pan findings. “We all suffer from following the bouncing ball of confusion of what’s good and what’s not,” he says. “Our consumers who have always had a relationship with food are less impacted by the temporary controversy over science. They know whatever is being said today will change tomorrow.”

Take these steps to address customer trust in supplements

There’s no doubt about it: When it comes to consumer trust, the dietary supplement industry is facing its fair share of challenges. According to a survey by Nutrition Business Journal and New Hope Network, just 39 percent of consumers find supplement manufacturers trustworthy. Only half believe the industry follows strict regulations and, worse, a whopping 59 percent think there could be undisclosed ingredients in their supplements.

While it might be tempting to attribute these findings to a lack of information, Alan Lewis, director of special projects at Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, says the real problem is actually an oversaturation of information. “Medical doctors receive a total of just 19 hours of nutrition training during medical school, so one of consumers’ most important sources for personal health information is simply silent on nutrition—or worse, dismissive of it,” he explains. Lewis believes this knowledge gap, in turn, prompts consumers to reach out to all types of places for guidance on supplements, many of which are not credible. The internet, of course, comes to mind. With so much readily accessible info, it can be tricky for consumers to discern the legit from the questionable, fueling confusion and distrust.

Beyond an overabundance of information, an oversaturation of products and retail outlets is further muddying the waters. “Consumers are accessing more and more products that used to be reserved for the natural channel in club and mass retail where there is no shopping assistance,” says Jeffrey Brent Brams, vice president of product development at Garden of Life. Online shopping poses a similar problem, as human interaction is nonexistent. “This model does not support expertise,” he says. “It supports price, availability and selection.”

Cheryl Hughes, owner of The Whole Wheatery in Lancaster, California, also believes today’s dizzying selection of vendors and products is hindering trust. “Supplements are everywhere and every company has its own brand, which makes consumers wonder what’s actually going into these formulations,” she says.

Terry Lemerond, EuroPharma founder and owner of two Terry Naturally retail locations in Green Bay, Wisconsin, agrees that product proliferation erodes confidence, especially when some bad apples don’t include efficacious doses in their supplements. This undermines the credibility of legitimate products, too. “If a consumer uses an ineffective product,” he says, “they lose trust not only in that product, but also in the industry as a whole.”

But there is a silver lining. When presented with 14 institutions, including the police, the medical system and newspapers, more than 70 percent of survey respondents placed small businesses squarely at the top of the list as the most trustworthy. They also rated the natural and organic food industry highly, with more than half giving it their seal of approval. And consumers are optimistic: 68 percent of respondents think the industry is continuously trying to make products more effective; 66 percent believe the industry is trying to improve quality. Now brands and retailers must live up to their reputation and potential.

Action items: brands

The most effective trust-building tool in supplement companies’ arsenals is their commitment to quality. Most brands stocked by independent natural retailers are already going above and beyond in this area. At Europharma, for example, raw materials and products undergo a minimum of three levels of testing before supplements ever reach the shelf. Its curcumin ingredient has 30 published studies at its back. And if ever a customer still isn’t satisfied, Europharma makes good on its money-back guarantee on all products.

Brams believes this kind of commitment to quality has to be the baseline—a jumping-off point rather than an end point. To engender unwavering trust, manufacturers must take every baseline standard and elevate it.

At Garden of Life, this means upping the purity baseline by investing heavily in third-party certifications such as USDA Organic, Non-GMO Project Verified and B Corp. “This is a really important strategy for this channel,” Brams says, because it establishes trust by offering specialty customers the truly specialty products they want. For instance, not just a protein powder but a USDA Organic protein powder. A side benefit of this is that, as more third-party seals pop up in the independent market, “you start to bridge that consumer crisis we’re experiencing because now they’re educated about third-party testing and auditing,” Brams adds.

Generating trust through transparency is a common call in the supplement industry, and it’s a worthwhile baseline. The Council for Responsible Nutrition intends to debut its Supplement Online Wellness Library this year, which will make transparency simpler for brands by allowing them to register with label information and additional certifications and documentation. “That’s the cornerstone of a good regulatory paradigm—knowing what’s on the market and what’s in each product,” says Duffy MacKay, CRN’s senior vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs. But even MacKay admits this is just the start.

“Transparency does not equate to goodness; it equates to not hiding,” Brams says. “Transparency is the invitation to the party, but it’s not the party.” The party, he argues, is traceability. That’s why quality brands must take transparency to new heights with cutting-edge initiatives.

As Brams points out, truly natural brands can take shoppers on a trip that companies that use artificial ingredients cannot. They can highlight where the seeds were sown, which farmer grew them, which auditor verified them and how the finished product was manufactured in an eco- or socially friendly way. “Traceability is the journey your food takes from seed to plate, and it implies that someone is tracing the product,” Brams says. “That, to me, is what our promise as an industry needs to be.”

 

Action items: retailers

Many independent natural products retailers already do a lot to foster trust. Knowledgeable staffs, educational seminars, in-store demos, informative shelf-talkers and signage, and community partnerships are cornerstones of this industry and enable retailers to remain solid sources of education for their core base. But in order to gain even more confidence—and attract customers from beyond that core—they need to step up every one of their initiatives. Here’s how.

Do demos right. In-store demos are a mainstay at Massachusetts-based Cambridge Naturals, but second-generation co-owner Emily Kanter upgrades this tactic by asking brands to send executive-level sales reps. “They must be able to answer questions about efficacy testing or where herbs are grown—information that higher level representatives have at their fingertips,” she explains. “It’s a next level of trust we’re trying to communicate. We’re saying we have nothing we want to hide from shoppers and, in fact, it’s to their benefit to seek out this information.”

Amplify store voices online. Conversations between knowledgeable staff members and shoppers are key, but retailers should expand these conversations beyond the aisles. At The Whole Wheatery, Hughes leverages social media to help her shoppers solve their most pressing health problems, which, she says, builds confidence in spades. She tracks trends online to home in on what her shoppers might want most, matches products to those needs and promotes them on social media as solutions. “Taking that second to say ‘We can help you’ builds trust,” Hughes says. “And if we can do it online, we’ll reach people we maybe couldn’t in the store.”

Kanter uses social media to share employee endorsements and create personal connections. “We want staff to get personal about products,” she says. “They may say why they love a supplement or share that they got to visit a facility and were so impressed with it. These are things we communicate in the aisles, but not everyone asks. By using social media, we can get the word out there even if nobody asks.”

At Terry Naturally, Lemerond amplifies the impact of in-store events and lectures by uploading them to YouTube so the entire community can access the information.

Up the educational ante. Hosting a panel or a nutritionist talk is a great idea, but education can be even more impactful when you make it entertaining. Natural Grocers recently partnered with hip-hop artist DJ Cavem to host “culinary concerts” at local schools and in-store. Lewis says the events—part concert, part cooking demonstration—target kids in order to drive purchases.

Certify and beautify. It’s true that quality sets independent natural retailers apart from big-box stores, but if you can communicate that quality without saying a word, you’ll really instill confidence. For example, Cambridge Naturals has become a certified B Corp, which demonstrates that the store goes above and beyond with its commitment to quality and socially and environmentally friendly business practices.

It also helps to let your high-quality products do the talking. “There’s a lot of emphasis on making produce and grocery look beautiful,” Kanter says. “But it’s also a disservice to leave the supplement section scattered and not front-faced because that doesn’t communicate quality. We want to have a beautiful [supplement department] because it communicates that people have invested money and research in order to make these products.”

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5@5: Reviving heritage grains | Backlash for Hunt's non-GMO message

Amber waves of heritage grain: Minnesota's historic grains and seeds are seeing a revival

We know that heritage grains are making a comeback, but do we know why they're so important? Modern strains of wheat, a staple crop in Minnesota, lack genetic diversity, rely on chemicals and are replanted every year, which takes a toll on the soil. Here's a look at how organic farmers, small producers and community gardeners are bringing back the good stuff. Read more at The Growler...

 

Hunt's responds to 'non-GMO tomato' backlash

The company recently released a video in which it declares that "no matter how far afield you look, you won't find a single genetically modified tomato among our vines." Well, yes, but that's because there aren't any GMO tomato seeds commercially available. Farmers, consumer and scientists took to Hunt's Facebook page, calling the company's message "deceptive" and "fear-mongering." The company responded saying it was "sorry for any confusion" and that it recently updated many of its tomato products to meet Non-GMO Project Verification standards. Read more at Ag Web...

 

Byte Foods raises $5.5 million for smart vending machines that serve local fare

The founders of Byte previously ran a meal delivery service but were inspired by a smart refrigerated kiosk to change their direction. Byte's employer-focused model places kiosks in offices and refreshes them daily with fresh healthy foods and beverages. Read more at Tech Crunch...

 

Danish study links fish oil during pregnancy with lower asthma risk in kids

In a study involving 700 women during the third trimester of their pregnancy, the children of women who took 2.4 grams of fish oil capsules saw 30 percent fewer cases of wheezing and asthma before age 5 than the control group. The benefit was especially apparent in babies born to women who, in the beginning, had low blood levels of the lipids found in fish oil. Read more at NPR...

 

Mountain Rose Herbs buys assets of smaller Eugene herbal products company

The inventory, recipes and production equipment of Terra Firma Botanicals, an herbal extract and elixir company whose founder passed away in November, have been bought by Mountain Rose Herbs, which will also hire Terra Firma's seven employees. Read more at The Register-Guard...

A look at the innovative natural products arising across the nation

Innovating in the east

Even though New York City is a hot spot for new food companies to gain traction, brands are innovating with ready-to-go options for busy lives all along the Eastern seaboard.

Smiling Hara Tempeh Soy-Free Smoked Salt and Pepper Hempeh
Ideal for vegetarians who eschew soy, this Asheville, North Carolina-based brand’s “hempeh” is sure to please. With 22 grams of protein per serving, this delicious gluten-free meat alternative is made with fermented peanuts, hempseeds and brown rice flour and seasoned with smoked sea salt and black pepper. This hearty hempeh cutlet can be treated like a steak—brush with oil and grill or bake, or slice and add to stir-fries. SRP: $5.99

True Made Foods Vegetable Ketchup
Traditional ketchup ranks low on the nutrition scale. Sure, it contains tomatoes, but most brands pack in refined sugars. To deliver a healthier sauce, this Washington, D.C.-based brand incorporates vegetables such as butternut squash, carrots and spinach into tomato puree. This low-sugar condiment pairs well with grilled cheese, burgers or sweet potato fries. Also available in veggie-filled BBQ Sauce and Veracha Hot Sauce. SRP: $5.99

New Pop Skinless Popcorn Hot and Sweet
The folks behind this New York–based brand retooled everyone’s favorite movie theater nosh by omitting the crunchy skin that gets stuck between teeth. Popped with high-pressure technology, these slightly sweet corn kernels have zero oil, butter or salt and only 32 calories per serving. The Hot and Sweet flavor is made with just three ingredients: corn, red chili peppers and raw organic cane sugar. Other flavors include Original and Sweet Cinnamon. SRP: $2.99 to $3.29

Fawen Drinkable Soup Sweet Potato & Red Lentil
Disclosure: Fawen’s new organic ready-to-drink soups haven’t been through an accelerator program, but we love the innovation (and flavor!). This version is a delightful beta-carotene-packed blend of sweet potatoes, onions, red lentils, coconut water, coconut milk, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, ginger root and ground turmeric. Each serving delivers just 220 mg of sodium, relatively low for the drinkable soup category. SRP: $6.99

Molli True Mexican Flavors Veracruz Cooking Sauce
Molli True’s beautiful authentic cooking sauces are inspired by cities in Mexico. This bright red beauty, emblematic of the port city of Veracruz, is a sweet-spicy blend of tomatoes, onions, green olives, salt, garlic and the robustly flavored smoked Morita peppers. Suggest Veracruz for authentic fish dishes—just simmer and serve over rice. Also available in delectable flavors that nod to cuisines from Mexico City, Morelos, Acapulco and more. SRP: $8.99

 

Building from center

The Midwest isn’t necessarily renowned for healthy food originality. But natural brands spanning from Austin to Chicago are dishing up special diet-friendly snacks, beverages and even baby food.

Siete Foods Cassava & Chia
Finally! A grain-free, gluten-free tortilla that has the taste, pliability and puffiness of a traditional wheat-based tortilla. Made with care from a Mexican-American family in South Texas, these refrigerated tortillas showcase simple, pronounceable ingredients: cassava flour, coconut flour, chia seeds, coconut oil, avocado oil, apple cider vinegar and sea salt—that’s it! They’re a little pricey but totally worth it. SRP: $8.99

Pure Spoon Creamy Avocado and Apples
This cold-pasteurized baby food brand wins for simplicity and cleanliness of ingredients. Just USDA Organic apples, avocados, grape juice and lemon juice are inside this refrigerated puree. Pure Spoon’s products are an antidote to the yearlong shelf-life of conventional baby food brands that contain preservatives. Pure Spoon doesn’t even include citric acid or ascorbic acid in their products. SRP: $2.69 to $2.99

Austin Eastciders Hopped Cider
This Texas company chooses tart, bittersweet apples from Europe and Washington to impart a dry flavor (not supersweet like most ciders), making this beverage more palatable to beer drinkers. This version is  infused with hops to coax out hard apple cider’s bitter notes. At 5 percent alcohol, this drink is for retailers in states with flexible alcohol merchandising laws. Also available in Texas Honey, Original and Pineapple flavors. SRP: $8.50 per 6-pack

Binnie’s Coconut Butter Dark Chocolate & Sea Salt
For nut-free children and adults, Binnie’s chocolaty coconut butter is an awesome answer. Suggest a smear of this concoction of organic shredded coconut, extra-virgin coconut oil, agave nectar and cacao powder on toast, pancakes or apple slices. Binnie’s hasn’t been involved in a food accelerator, but the company first garnered local Colorado interest via farmers markets before expanding distribution. SRP: $12.99

TeaSquares Acai Blueberry
Based in Chicago, this new snack company blends wholesome ingredients (almonds, pumpkin seeds, blueberries, coconut oil, millet) with one very unique add-in: tea powder! Available in several flavors that use either matcha or black tea powder, TeaSquares are designed to sate hunger at the office, before the gym or when folks just don’t have time for a bowl of cereal in the morning. SRP: $6.99

 

Growing west nationwide feed innovation

Long hailed as the place for out-of-the-box thinkers, the West and Mountains are pioneering natural food brands that win in health, flavor and super-clean ingredients.

Skinny Dipped Almonds Dark Chocolate Cocoa
Most chocolate-covered almonds have way more chocolate than nut, making them more candy than healthy snack. Not so with these lightly coated almonds from SkinnyDipped. Also available in Dark Chocolate Raspberry and Dark Chocolate Espresso, these decadent Non-GMO Project Verified snacks are sweetened only with organic maple sugar. Each 1.5-ounce serving contains a very reasonable 6 grams of sugar, 5 grams of fiber and 7 grams of protein. SRP: $3.29

Good Culture Organic Cottage Cheese Strawberry Chia
Involved with 301 Inc., the venture capital and business arm of General Mills, this Irvine, California-based brand takes cottage cheese, a staple often containing fillers and stabilizers, and turns it totally natural. We’re talking USDA Organic ingredients including skim and whole milk, cream, strawberries, cane sugar and chia seeds plus live active cultures. The result is a healthy snack with a whopping 17 grams of protein and just 5 grams of fat. SRP: $2.49

Smashmallow Cinnamon Churro
Take the much-adored campsite dessert into the gourmet realm with these beautiful marshmallows, made with organic cane sugar and natural flavors. At just 80 calories for four ’mallows, these squishy treats can supercharge desserts of all ilk. We particularly love Cinnamon Churro, coated with a street food–style dusting of cinnamon and sugar to provide a slight crunch and a ton of flavor. SRP: $3.99

Spicy Mo’s Spicy Smoked Gouda Dip
This dip from Los Angeles-based Spicy Mo’s is a masterful blend of smoked gouda, home-made mayonnaise, rich cream cheese, and super-hot, locally sourced habanero peppers, green onions and cilantro. Spicy Mo’s is involved with L.A. Prep, a community kitchen with a network of more than 50 food businesses that work in the same building to foster healthy food and healthy growth in partnership with Food Centricity, a business accelerator. SRP: $7.99

Wonder Fuel Coconut Oil MCT Superdrink With Cold-Brewed Mocha
Packed with medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs to the cool kids), this functional beverage contains a slew of healthful organic ingredients, including coconut water as a base, coconut cream, fair-trade coffee extract, acacia for fiber, cocoa, vanilla and cinnamon. With 90 mg of caffeine, 9 grams fat and 140 calories, this unique dairy-free beverage is a Bulletproof dream. SRP: $5.39

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Natural food accelerators feed innovation across the nation

From the hipster-packed avenues of Brooklyn to Indiana suburbs to the sun-drenched cities of Southern California, natural food startups are launching in droves.

It’s tough to pinpoint exactly how many brands spring up every month. But of the 1,450 exhibitors at last year’s Natural Product Expo West, more than one-third were first-timers. Even though their distribution may be regional, fledgling brands have major impact. Sure, large national corporations can focus-group new products into existence and retool earlier SKUs with consumer-friendly features like reduced sugar or portability, but true innovation usually comes from startups.

New natural companies are fueled by lofty ideas, dreams and uncertainties. They’re bound not by shareholders but by promises made to themselves, their families and their friends. Identifying and celebrating these startups is the main goal of New Hope Network’s prestigious NEXTY Awards, which sleuth out new natural products that win on innovation, inspiration and integrity.

While they’re not short on ambition, these entrepreneurs are often plagued by insufficient resources. This is why so many startup brands turn to crowdfunding platforms for capital. At press time, Kickstarter had 30 active food-focused businesses vying for money. Another platform, Barnraiser, is devoted entirely to backing food brands. When it works, crowdfunding  can generate serious capital to launch a business. Remember the potato salad satire company that exceeded its $10 goal by more than  $55,000 on Kickstarter?

But beyond seeking financial help, brands are increasingly turning to accelerator programs designed to, well, accelerate business through expertise, relationships and funding. “As a fund that invests in early-stage companies, we strive to always bring more than just capital to the companies we work with,” says Lauren Jupiter, cofounder and managing partner at AccelFoods, an accelerator based in New York. “We focus on three basic pillars: access, expertise and infrastructure.”

There’s been a groundswell of accelerator programs sprouting up across the country. Almost all provide regionally relevant resources and relationships to foster retail viability. For example, when selecting brands to work with, SKU, a CPG accelerator based in Austin, Texas, identifies companies on the cusp of gaining wide distribution. “We’re looking for market-validated products that are ready to scale,” explains Shari Wynne Ressler, founder and president of SKU. “We look at brands operating in growing sectors and for people in these companies who want to turn their product into a very discernable brand.”

Mark King, cofounder and president of Austin Eastciders, a hard apple cider company based in Austin, Texas, says graduating from SKU’s accelerator program provided invaluable resources. “SKU helped us connect with successful entrepreneurs in our space and opened doors for investors to become involved in our business,” he notes. 

Connecting with engaged mentors through accelerators—as well as from more seasoned natural food brands that have survived the trials and tribulations of starting a business—can help guide new brands to success. “Mentorship is a vital component of an entrepreneur’s development and a tremendous support in navigating the many successes and challenges along the way,” Jupiter says. “As mentees, founders are able to push the boundaries of their strategic thinking, test assumptions and avoid common startup pitfalls.”

As a natural products retailer, you are uniquely positioned to leverage the innovation coming out of accelerator programs. Your customers are constantly seeking new products that express their food values, whether it’s a special diet, conscious sourcing or an authentic mission. Therefore, stocking a steady supply of unique new products along with your best-selling standbys ensures that shoppers will have a sense of discovery, adventure and excitement while also snagging staples such as eggs, bread and almond milk.

9 natural personal care predictions for 2017

No longer a niche movement favored only by hardcore natural evangelists, nontoxic beauty is thriving—and the innovative, high-performance products entering the space are proving that the category has staying power. Natural and organic personal care experienced an 8 percent sales increase in natural retail in 2015, according to Natural Foods Merchandiser’s annual Market Overview. Even more telling about its future: Its growth surpassed that of both food and supplements in the natural channel last year.

So what’s driving this sales boost? Medical breakthroughs are proving some of the risks associated with cosmetics chemicals—and mainstream media is covering it. But interest in the space isn’t as closely tied to fear as it once was. Thanks to innovation and performance, demand is more about want than want not. New, mission-driven companies are launching impressive products and inspiring us to make healthier personal care choices; existing companies are reformulating in a more sincere way; and consumers are connecting the dots between health, beauty and sustainability.

Today, nontoxic personal care is contributing larger movements tied to both the future of consumer wellness and to innovative, do-good business models. And many of the trends we believe are shaping the future of the natural and organic personal care space are manifestations of today’s larger top-of-mind issues—those of health, environmental sustainability, trust and integrity. Now, who says beauty is only skin deep?

The gut-skin connection

It’s critical to address the relationship between health and beauty when it comes to natural beauty’s growth, and a key piece of this puzzle is the microbiome—the millions of bacteria and biomes found in and on the human body. The rapidly growing gut-health category is no longer linked only to digestion, according to NBJ's 2016 Healthy Solutions Report, which shows that gut health is increasingly being tied to immunity, brain health and more, including skin health. As a result, we predict that the skin care and nutricosmetics will start capitalizing on the role of healthy bacteria in healthy skin.

The concept hasn’t exploded just yet because, well, it’s young and it’s complicated. Manufacturers and marketers must figure out exactly what these solutions can look like. What we do know is that research shows that skin actually has its very own microbiome and that our internal microbiome relates to skin health. Early approaches to supporting the skin’s microbiome are threefold: ditch harsh synthetic skin care that can attack "good bacteria;" support your internal microbiome with probiotics, since mounting research shows gut bacteria imbalances can contribute to acne; and, finally, experiment with topical probiotics that can help balance the skin’s microbiome.

This last approach holds the greatest challenges and opportunities, which industry experts are beginning to explore. According to David Keller, vice president of scientific operations for probiotic ingredient supplier Ganeden, challenges to effective topical probiotics include shelf stability and shelf life (dead bacteria are not probiotics, the company points out), research on specific strains and their targeted beauty benefits, and FDA compliance. The company is addressing these by investing in a research-backed anti-aging ingredient called Bonicel that is derived from probiotics. "When probiotic bacteria grow, there are many beneficial by-products that are produced," Keller says.

We can’t wait to see what’s next.

Natural beauty is the new craft beer                                                                              

The craft movement is alive and well—a result of consumers demanding full ingredient transparency and craving a stronger connection to products—and, it’s not just showing up in chocolates, coffees and brewskis. Much like these products have done so successfully, personal care companies are getting back to basics in order to cater to a market that’s hungry for craft products and authenticity.

Craft and DIY beauty is going strong as more consumers shift toward safer, cleaner personal care products and crave the knowledge about where ingredients come from. As a result, more shoppers are turning to bulk bins for ingredients that support healthy skin, hair and nails; and companies committed to apothecary-style packaging and simple, authentic messaging abound, particularly for simple products like soaps and body lotions. "Craft and artisan soaps have really caught our customers’ attention," says Jonathan Lawrence, director of vitamins and body care and general manager at Illinois-based Fresh Thyme Farmers Market. "They love the idea of going back to the basics and making products by hand. This adds to the unique shapes, scents and overall appeal in the same way that craft beer has exploded."

Another trend emerging as part of this movement is hyperlocal and even foraging for beauty. Hall Newbegin, founder of Berkeley, California-based body care company Juniper Ridge, forages domestic woodlands for ingredients to use in soaps, body washes and other personal care products. "We go out to the mountains and harvest the plants, then distill out their goo," he says. "You’re getting a real experience of fragrance. People are rightfully afraid of fragrance because there are so many synthetic scents out there."

Diversifying the natural beauty retail landscape

Both value and high-end beauty products are appearing on natural retailers’ shelves—and, depending on the retail environment, there is certainly room for both, especially when retailers focus on creating dynamic shopping experiences for different types of beauty consumers (think the shopper used to purchasing in department stores or salons, as well as those who buy beauty at drugstores or convenience stores). Sales of NOPC products in natural retail are significantly outpacing those in conventional for these categories because natural retailers are bringing product diversity, deep education and stringent standards to the table.

But natural beauty distribution outside of natural retail is where we can expect to see some developments in 2017. Conventional retail will continue to stock more natural options, while also dabbling in local or regional offerings and building some holistic beauty education into the mix. Meanwhile, more high-end/luxury retailers will bring certified organic, biodynamic and fair trade offerings into their aisles, as opposed to just products simply touting a few plant-based ingredients. Finally, we expect to drugstores, universities, airports and other convenience-oriented retail outlets brining more natural options into the mix.

It better work better

One of the biggest barriers to acceptance of natural beauty products was the perception that they didn’t "work." This was particularly an issue in categories like oral care and deodorants. Today, however, companies are committed not only to formulating with the right amounts of the right ingredients but also to convincing shoppers that these products work as well as their conventional counterparts. Our NEXTY Award winner Schmidt’s Deodorant is leaving its mark on the natural deodorant industry and proving that there is a natural solution that gets the job done. For this company, the best way to get consumers on board is to get them to try the product. Meanwhile, natural skin care companies focusing on antiaging, clear skin and more are putting their products to the test in order to earn consumer trust.

Regardless of which beauty category a company is in, we will continue to see brands rising to the occasion—and raising the bar. Skin, body, hair and nail care featuring gentle, plant-based active ingredients that also lend clinical results was once a pipe dream. Today, that’s what responsible companies are delivering. "Ten-plus years ago it was very rare to find the words scientifically proven or clinically proven on a product label at your local health food store," according to Jeremiah McElwee, founder and chief thinkubation officer at Thrive Market and Simply Fair Skin Care. "Like most of the natural products industry, the skin care products you find on shelves today are far more efficacious and higher quality than they ever have been." Our prediction: they’ll just keep getting better and better.

Waste-not beauty

Waste has been one of the most important topics in the food industry—as manufacturers, advocacy groups, retailers and more explore ways to "save" potentially wasted good food and distribute it where it’s most needed. But food isn’t the only industry that needs to address waste. Today, repurposed plants are showing up in everything from soap to face cream. What started with ancient cultures using discarded ingredients in unique ways is transforming into green chemistry innovations, according to Kantha Shelke, PhD, CFS, principal at Corvus Blue LLC, a Chicago-based food science and research firm. "Biotechnologists are now advancing this practice in a more systematic manner to find ways to recycle and valorize agro-food industry by-products."

A few brands we’ve seen making the most of waste include Further Products, which makes soap from glycerin left behind from converting depleted restaurant waste grease, and The Grapeseed Company, which leverages upcycled wine ingredients in its bath and body products. Other large scale initiatives such as The European BioRice Project are taking shape to explore how rice by-products can be used for the beauty industry. And organizations including FoodSolutions Team and Phytonext are repurposing a range of vegetable wastes using green chemistry methods.

Also expect to see more happening in waste-free packaging in the beauty space. Innovative botanical papers processed eco-efficiently from plant waste such as coca husk from the chocolate industry, coffee chaff and cellulose from rice are some of the most up-and-coming potential solutions to wasteful plastic packaging.

Nontoxic antibacterials go "viral"                                                                                  

It’s a very, very rare occasion that the FDA will actually ban a cosmetic ingredient (after all, the U.S. has banned only around a dozen cosmetic ingredients, while Europe has banned more than a thousand). So despite years of dialogue and contention around triclosan, a common ingredient used in soaps and other "antibacterial" products, this year’s triclosan ruling to ban the chemical ingredient from soap was a significant event that has some serious long-term implications.  

A little bit of background: In September, the FDA banned triclosan and 17 other chemicals used in hand and body washes marketed as "antibacterial." Why? Research has linked the ingredient to issues ranging from liver damage to hormone disruption and allergies, while other studies have shown that using soaps with triclosan were no more effective at preventing illness than using regular soap and water.                                      

While triclosan has been off-limits for naturally minded brands and retailers for years, this ruling will inspire more large companies to invest in the science supporting natural antibacterial alternatives. For years, the greatest innovations in these areas have come from Seventh Generation and CleanWell, which uses thyme for its antibacterial properites. However, we can expect to see more in 2017. Natural companies will still have an advantage, as even some triclosan alternatives are still potent and potentially dangerous chemicals.

Industry self-regulation is the only way

Triclosan is the exception, not the rule, when it comes to government action in the personal care space. While different pieces of safe cosmetics legislation have been seriously introduced since 2013, we have seen little to no progress, leading experts who follow the space to conclude that for now—and for the foreseeable future—the only way for the industry to clean up its act is by industry action.

The least regulated category (looking at personal care, supplements and food), there are essentially no restrictions on personal care ingredients, no checks and balances to ensure quality production and no ability of the government to act if a product is found to be unsafe. This means that large conventional brands can use a range of potentially dangerous chemicals; it also means that extremely small companies could be formulating in a dirty bathtub in a basement.

While all of this may sound discouraging, what it has led to is consumer advocacy that has prompted companies to reform; and also organizations and trade associations that unite companies committed to safe cosmetics, such as the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. Companies are choosing to become certified—USDA Organic, B Corp, Fair Trade, NSF "contains organic," Biodyanamic—in order to prove their commitment to quality. And, above all, responsible companies are committed to full transparency of ingredients, trade secrets, manufacturing processes, sourcing partners and more.

Essential oils keep going…and going….

With strong ties to health, beauty and the DIY artisan beauty movement, essential oils and aromatherapy will continue to grow. This year, brands become more experimental with blends and deliveries. And essential oils aren’t just booming in direct-to-consumer—more retailers are finding success with essential oils and aromatherapy products thanks to the consumer trend toward plant-based foods and heightened interest in artisan beauty products. The demand for natural or holistic alternatives across all facets of life makes essential oils’ versatility in food and beverage, supplements, household products, and personal care another major contributor to growth. More companies are entering the space or expanding their offerings, and as consumers become more attuned to the environmental and social impact of their products, smaller brands can more readily ensure that ingredients are sourced responsibly and delivery on a promise of product quality and ingredient integrity.

Better together: pairing topical and ingestible products

I’ve long been predicting the opportunity for companies to launch topicals that pair with complementary beauty supplements. And while we’ve yet to see many brands tapping into the health-beauty connection in this direct way, we are starting to see supplements and beauty companies partnering on in-store promotions and marketing efforts to connect the dots. One recent example is NeoCell and MyChelle, who worked together to position their vitality-focused products together in the aisles of Sprouts.

Of course, we still see the opportunity for the inside out and outside in approach to beauty. And the increasing awareness about the role of the microbiome and healthy bacteria in skin health, could be a strong gateway (i.e. what Ganeden has done). Companies that formulate with ingredients that are effective both topically and when ingested also have some big opportunities: think resveratrol, collagen, CoQ10 and more.

Rising functional ingredients [NEXT Forecast 2017]

The following is an excerpt from the NEXT Forecast, an insider’s guide to where the natural products market is now—and where it’s headed. Drawing from proprietary data sets, expert interviews, in-market case studies and the Natural Products Expos, the NEXT Forecast is the industry’s leading source of forward-looking insights. Learn about this and many other in-market trends laddering up to dominant macro forces in this report.

While multivitamins and supplements are still experiencing strong growth, younger demographics, like millennials, are resistant to taking them every day in a pill form—they can be difficult to swallow, expensive and easy to forget they’re sitting, unopened, in the medicine cabinet. As a result, inherently functional ingredients are popping up in foods and beverages that consumers are already consuming every day—cereals, bars, beverages, snacks and even treats like chocolate.

• Sales data show that ingredients promising energy, better nutrition and vitality are resonating with both natural and conventional consumers. In the 52 weeks ending November 29, 2015, several superfoods experienced significant sales gains, according to SPINS. For instance, consumer sales of chia seeds and chia seed oil, riding on their rock-star health reputations, spiked 36.2 percent.
• Similarly, the Peruvian root maca, prized for its hormone-balancing potential, grew a whopping 49.2 percent.

Next Forecast 2017 opportunity

Natural companies are dead-set on infusing their products with ingredients that garner consumer interest for purported health benefits. Exotic-sounding whole-food ingredients such as baobab, lucuma, purple corn and coffee fruit are the latest foods stirring attention. But rather than formulate on the latest flavor of the week, the smartest brands find ingredients that deliver unparalleled flavor and healthfulness and that have a sourcing story that cements an emotional connection with shoppers.

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Get the full NEXT Forecast to see how 14 macro forces will shape the future of the natural products industry.
nextforecast.com | Order now

5@5: Nestle's food-meets-pharma approach | Hollywood funds food and ag tech

'Nature is not good to human beings': The chairman of the world's biggest food company makes the case for a new kind of diet

While Big Food as a whole has made many moves over the past few years toward fewer artificial ingredients and more better-for-you offerings, Nestle's outgoing chairman Peter Brabeck-Letmathe has helped position the company in a direction somewhat less "natural"—somewhere halfway between food and pharmaceuticals, where scientific knowledge is applied to food products. The company has invested billions in healthcare companies, upped its R&D spending and partnered with Samsung on a digital health project. Read more at Quartz...

 

39 celebrities investing in food and agriculture technology

From athletes to movie stars, it seems like everyone wants in on the future of food. Here are some high-profile investors—including Bill Gates, Beyonce and James Cameron—in food and ag tech companies. Read more at Ag Funder News...

 

National biotechnology panel faces new conflict of interest questions

Members of a panel under the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, which provides policy guidance to the government, have connections to biotech businesses and nonprofits that critic say could affect the committee's upcoming report on biotechnology in a way that downplays health and environmental worries. Read more at The New York Times...

 

Baldor, Brick Farm Market form food waste partnership

Baldor Specialty Foods, a produce processor and distributor in the northeastern U.S., wants to divert 100 percent of the organic waste generated by its Fresh Cuts operation, which processes more than 1 million pounds of produce per week. It's working with partners to turn fruit rinds and pits into animal feed; to use trims and scraps to make juices and soups; and to process the rest of its organic waste in a waste-to-water system. Read more at Progressive Grocer...

 

Canada's healthy-eating guide fights to stay relevant

Canada's Official Food Rules debuted more than 70 years ago as a way to help prevent malnutrition during wartime. It got a makeover during the 70s and added a warning to eat sugar, fat and salt in moderation in the 80s, but Canada's obesity rate has tripled since then. Health Minister Jane Philpott is leading the charge to update it again next year, with hopes of coming down hard on processed food and trans fat. Read more at BBC...

9 ways to attract and serve sports nutrition customers

Sports nutrition is a booming category, with an ever-expanding customer base and more products available than ever. But with so many places to purchase protein powders, nutrition bars, pre- and post-workout supplements and other sports-focused formulas, how can you hook these shoppers and keep them coming back? We asked one independent retailer who has found a winning formula and two longtime sports nutrition experts with deep roots in natural products to share their best suggestions.

Retailer

Partner up. We partner with local fitness centers, yoga studios, CrossFit gyms and other likeminded businesses that believe eating well and fitness are synergistic. We’ll offer the owner or head trainer a discount to shop with us and also give them grocery lists to fill out for their customers who ask which foods and supplements they need. Then, because we know it’ll be an expensive first-time shopping trip, we’ll give those folks a onetime 20 percent discount for everything on that list and an ongoing discount for future purchases. This strategy really works.

Work closely with vendors. We have great relationships with our sports nutrition vendors, from both the buying and marketing perspectives. Once they see their lines grow and that we’re not just giving out samples for no rhyme or reason, they’re usually happy to offer us discounts. Also, we often ask them to send swag—drawstring bags, T-shirts, anything we can use to merchandise alongside their products. We’ll even rubber-band them to products so customers feel excited about getting something useful for free. Stores that are very heavy on sports supplements have tons of swag, so we need to compete with that.

Focus on products mass doesn’t have. Now more than ever, people understand the relationship between food and fitness, so it’s easier to lure them away from, say, GNC. Now the scariest competition is coming from mass. Target and Walmart carry some brands for $5 cheaper, so we do what can with the products also sold in those stores. But instead of pouring all of your energy into trying to compete against them, focus on unique product lines not available in mass. We have all kinds of plant proteins and amino acids and stock as many sample-size and individual packs as possible so people don’t have to commit to huge packages when trying something new.

—Kathy Andrew, marketing director at Nutrition Smart, a seven-store natural products chain in Florida

 

Sports nutrition expert

Hire a sports nutrition specialist. The most important elements that independent natural products stores typically lack are product selection and knowledge. So a staffer will say sure, we have a few products, but after asking a few questions, even a semi-informed shopper will realize the retailer doesn’t really know what he or she is talking about. Bring in someone who is committed to catering to this market—who knows all about this category, knows which products to order and can give shoppers correct sports nutrition info. If this specialist uses these products, competes in sports, has a relevant certification or has a fit physique, even better.

Represent at events. Given all the different local sporting events, from 5K and 10K races to triathlons to high school swimming meets, why not go and put up tents, booths or tabletops? Offer samples of products you sell, have items available for purchase and hand out coupons. You might make a few thousand dollars just off of traveling athletes who forgot to bring necessities. Even locals may buy last-minute items from you, learn that you sell products they like or didn’t know you carried and become regular customers.

Push quality ingredients and certifications. Today, many sports nutrition customers are looking for third-party certifications and the presence or absence of certain ingredients. Consumer confidence comes in two ways: The first is through the absence of undesirable and unnamed ingredients, so this is an easy place to raise a flag and say, “Look at what we carry based on the ingredients these products do not contain.” The second is through the additional, research evidence-based benefits your products offer. Point out that they’re safe and effective, and call out Certified Gluten-Free, ELISA-tested or third-party banned substances testing certifications.

—Anthony Almada, cofounder of EAS, founder of Vitargo Global Sciences and cofounder of the International Society of Sports Nutrition

 

Sports scientist and dietitian

Market to moms. Moms have a lot of influence over the products their families consume, and they tend to think more long-term about health. By contrast, many teenage boys and young men just want to get big and full of testosterone and impress people and don’t consider their overall health. We’ve softened up our company’s look even more to attract females, and we’re seeing other sports nutrition brands do the same. It’s been interesting to see the trend of marketing to mothers take off—and work well. 

Don’t forget your food focus. As a scientist, sports supplements formulator and dietitian, I believe food is the answer. If people get back to eating real food and avoiding processed foods full of artificial ingredients, they’ll be so much healthier. Even when selling sports nutrition products, encourage customers to shop the perimeter of your store and remind them that supplements are for supplementing their diet. The real question to ask is how they regularly eat—not how they wish they ate. After looking at that, you can help customers improve their diet and then augment it slightly with supplements.

Promote balance. Our bodies have really fallen out of balance, and we need to bring them back to where they should be. This time of year, many people are trying get back into exercise. Encourage those shoppers to stay hydrated, eat lots of fruits and veggies, and take antioxidant and adaptogen supplements to stave off oxidative damage and excessive muscle soreness. Adaptogenic herbs and mushrooms go back millennia in Eastern medicine, which is all about restoring balance, and we’re seeing them used a lot more in sports nutrition. Stock plenty of branched-chain amino acid supplements and recommend them to replenish amino acid pools immediately after exercise.

—Mark Olson, dietitian and founder and CEO of Metabolic Response Modifiers in Oceanside, California

Help shoppers better understand sugar labeling

NFM Secret Shopper: I want to watch my intake of added sugars, so how should I read labels to know how much is in a packaged food, such as this mango salsa?

Store: The Nutrition Facts panel will tell you how many grams of sugar are in there. See here? It says 6 grams.

NFM Secret Shopper: But some of that sugar comes naturally from the mangoes and whatever other fruits and veggies are in the salsa, right? And that type of sugar isn’t necessarily bad for me?

Store: Correct. That’s not considered “added sugar.” Sometimes extra sweeteners are added to foods on top of naturally occurring sugar, and you want to be mindful of those. But just by looking at the Nutrition Facts, you don’t know for sure where sugar is coming from, so that’s when you turn to the ingredients list. OK, yep, here it says “evaporated cane sugar,” so that means this salsa contains added sugar.  

NFM Secret Shopper: But there’s really no way of knowing how much of the total sugar is “added”?

Store: Not really. Some brands will print “no added sugars” or “no additional sweeteners” on the front of their labels, but if they don’t, it’s not always clear. 

How did this retailer do? 

Our expert educator: Jen McDaniel, RDN, owner of McDaniel Nutrition Therapy in St. Louis and spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

This retailer was well-informed and gave sound nutrition advice. She began by pointing to the Nutrition Facts label to seek out the sugars listed. With a second prompt from the secret shopper, the employee explained the difference between sugar types and accurately noted that consumers should be more concerned with added sugars than naturally occurring ones. The retailer did not mention why this is, so she could have explained that sugars like those found in fruit or yogurt are married with a host of vitamins and minerals whereas added sugars have little to no nutritional value. When asked how the shopper could decipher how much of the total sugar content came from natural or added sugars, the retailer stated accurately that this is difficult to do and—very smartly—mentioned the importance of looking at the ingredient list.  

Here is some more helpful info and advice the retailer could have offered: Compare brands for amounts of total added sugars (for example, mango salsa A with 4 grams versus mango salsa B with 7 grams). Scan ingredients lists for sugar aliases such as high-fructose corn syrup, honey or fruit juice concentrate. Look for how many different types of added sugars are in the ingredient list. And finally, come July 26, 2018, food manufacturers will be mandated to specifically list out how many grams of added sugar are in products, which will make it easier for everyone to identify added sugars. 

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10 stories shaping the natural products industry

1. National GMO labeling

GMO labeling got its day on Capitol Hill (but not in the way many had hoped) as federal lawmakers sought to stop Vermont’s own law that was set to go into effect in July. Some hail that the nation now has labeling. Others say it is an end-run around state’s rights and a win for Big Food because the resulting "label" likely won’t appear as an easy-to-read, on-package solution. The law requires disclosure with a symbol or digital link with wording such as "scan here for more food information."

2. Local GMO control

While state GMO labeling laws took a hit in July, local growing bans received a boost in December when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled that federal law does not prevent state or local governments regulating or banning commercial GM crops.

3. New Dietary Ingredients draft guidance

In August, the long awaited—or nearly forgotten—Draft NDI Guidance was published—five years after the first version was released in 2011 and 22 years after being mandated under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994. With the mandate, manufacturers of any new dietary ingredients (NDIs are defined as dietary ingredients not in market distribution pre-1996) are required to file the ingredient with—and receive approval from—the FDA before releasing them to the market. The latest draft clarified many points left uncertain in the 2011 version.

The jury appears to be out on the resulting document. The draft offers protections for branded ingredients but strict provisions regarding synthetic botanicals. Some say it is status quo, while others suggest it goes too far. Industry groups have opposed the document.

4. 365 by Whole Foods Market

The oft-cited face of the natural products industry got a new look in 2016 with the launch of 365 by Whole Foods Market. The supernatural retailer birthed the millennial-focused concept in response to sagging stock performance. Expect the true test of its strategy to take shape in 2017, as the chain plans to open at least 10 365 by Whole Foods locations.

5. The new Nutrition Facts

Michelle Obama unveiled the new Nutrition Facts panel in May. The new panel will feature larger type for calories and serving sizes, updated serving size and daily values, an added sugars line, changes in nutrients required and actual amounts shown, and a new footnote. Manufacturers must adopt the label by July 26, 2018. Companies with less than $10 million in sales have an additional year.

6. Defining "healthy"

With food packaging often boasting the word "healthy," the Food and Drug Administration is now looking to define the term. In September, the FDA issued temporary guidance on how it defines "healthy" as the agency pursues public input on a permanent definition.

7. Sugar taxes

Sugar is rising as the latest food villain. Added sugars will get their own line on the Nutrition Facts panel. And cities across the country are adopting taxes on sugary beverages. In the November election, four cities—Albany, New York; Oakland and San Francisco, California; and Boulder, Colorado—passed soda taxes. Preliminary research suggests Mexico’s 2013 soda tax has cut the country’s consumption of sugary beverages.

8. Cleaning up their acts

From better treatment of animals to cleaner food options to behavior improvements, conventional food brands and restaurants took steps to clean it up this year. Before the national labeling act became law, Campbell’s committed to voluntarily labeling GMOs. Major poultry producer Perdue Farms eliminated routine antibiotic use. McDonald’s and Panera Bread announced menu cleanups. Grocers and restaurants made commitments to cage-free eggs. Natural Grocers, which has always held higher food standards, went further with a free-range standard.

Meanwhile, we saw CPGs investing in the very companies that have been disrupting them. The year started with the big buy: General Mills purchasing Epic Provisions. And Tyson invested in Beyond Meat. Watch for our roundup of the mergers and acquisitions of the year.

9. Agri-chem mergers

Not long after Monsanto’s failure to secure its bid to purchase Syngenta, Bayer bid to buy Monsanto with a final $66 billion buyout agreement. Meanwhile, Dupont and Dow are in the final negotiations of their merger, and Syngenta found a new suitor in ChemChina. What is boils down to is that five of the big six seed companies (Syngenta, Bayer, BASF, DuPont, Monsanto and Dow Chemical) were in negotiations in 2016. If these mergers go through, three companies will own 69 percent of the world’s seeds.

10. Syn bio’s coming out

The CRISPR gene-editing tool got a major go-ahead in August when the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it did not have the authority to regulate crops using the "clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats" technology. The non-browning mushroom uses the technique as does the tomato that promises to remain firm for 14 days after harvest. Some fear this is just the first wave of GMOs 2.0.

 

How a new owner brings energy to a legacy health food store

Every independent natural products retailer has an interesting backstory, but Bryan Tayara’s is especially unique. After culinary school, he followed in his parents’ footsteps and started his own seafood business in his native South Carolina. Soon Tayara began selling his fresh catches in the parking lot of Rosewood Market and Deli in Columbia, South Carolina, and amassed a huge following. Then in June 2015, Rosewood founder Basil Garzia handed Tayara the keys to his store. Now the sole owner of a community market beloved for decades, he is committed to carrying on the store’s legacy while also strengthening the business with his unique personality, enthusiasm and visions for the future.

Your journey to becoming a store owner is far from conventional. What got you here?
Bryan Tayara: Part of my culinary school curriculum was to complete an internship at a restaurant, so I went to Beverly Hills and worked at Wolfgang Puck’s Spago. The staff parking lot was several blocks from the restaurant, so every day I’d walk by this store called Whole Foods Market. Back then, I had no idea what it was or what it was about. I’m from a small town in South Carolina, so natural foods hadn’t hit quite yet. I popped into Whole Foods one day and just went down a rabbit hole. I’d always been interested in foods and flavors, so this store was a feast for my eyes—completely different and so exciting. Then I became consumed with studying natural foods. I started walking around other small natural products stores around Los Angeles, reading labels, learning about products and then going home and researching organic, gluten free and so on.

And you took this new knowledge and passion back home with you?
BT: Next, I moved to Asheville, North Carolina, grew my beard down to my belly and became a hippie. I worked at a co-op as the deli coordinator and then started my own seafood company. I’d drive to the coast and look for the best shrimp, oysters, crawfish and everything I could find and buy it straight from the producers.

How did you connect with Rosewood Market?
BT: Out of the blue, Basil called me and said he’d just lost his seafood supplier and asked if I wanted to sell in his parking lot once a week. Soon we bumped that up to twice a week. Over the course of three years, I formed relationships with his regular customers and staff. Then one day, Basil came up to me looking tired. I asked him if he was planning on running his business forever. Oh no, he said, but it’s not officially for sale. I asked if he wanted to sell it to me. A year later, after talking about it a lot, I bought his store.

How has this endeavor been for you—scary, exciting, challenging, fun?
BT: All of the above. It’s been so much fun. The biggest challenge has been that I went from just one employee—me—to having 35, so it’s been a learning experience to navigate everyone’s personalities and keep a cohesive team. This whole thing has been one big—but very fun—learning experience.

Have you changed much about the store since taking over?
BT: Our mission is the same and won’t change. We’re still all about natural foods. But the store hadn’t been updated in a decade, so I’ve revitalized it a lot. I painted the walls, brought in pictures of farmers, expanded our produce. I also go to trade shows, conventions and INFRA group meetings to stay on top of trends, so I’ve brought in a lot of new products. We didn’t even have almond milk! Our deli still really sets us apart. It’s about 90 percent vegetarian, and year after year, we win the award for the best vegetarian menu in Columbia from a local newspaper.

Do you have more changes planned for the future?
BT: I always have ideas! For instance, our store has a porch and I want to put a permanent awning over it so we can host groups and have bands for customers to enjoy. There’s also a lot of competition moving into town, and while I don’t want to open a second full-size store, I’d like to open a smaller satellite location.

Is Basil still involved in the business?
BT: He has a consultant role and owns the building, so he’s my landlord. He’s extremely energetic, so if I want anything fixed, like refrigeration, he is more than happy to do it. He likes poking around the store and fixing things while I take care of the daily operations and staff.

Do you still maintain your seafood business?
BT: I can’t set up outside anymore, but when we buy seafood, we cut it here, vacuum-seal it, label as it our local catch and sell it in the frozen section. It’s exclusive to my store. I can no longer source seafood myself, so I have a retired fisherman who goes down to the coast, gets the report of what’s available and does the footwork. I’ve trained staff members to cut fish, so I can pay attention to the whole store.

You mentioned INFRA. Has membership been helpful to you as a newbie?
BT: The most obvious benefit is cost savings—reduced pricing from UNFI and KeHE. But the main reason I joined was I’m new to this industry and need as many mentors as possible. I always leave this group feeling energized, like I really have a finger on the pulse. Anything I ever have a question about—like if I’m looking for new fixtures or equipment—I have a huge network of stores all over the country eager to tell me what they did, what didn’t work for them and what to look out for.

I’ve also heard you have a local TV gig?
BT: Yeah, once I bought the store, I began putting myself out into the community as much as possible and made friends with a local news anchor. She always had questions about the natural lifestyle, so she asked if I’d come onto her show to do a cooking demo. Once I even administered a neti pot on live TV! This is one of the biggest things that makes our store stick out: You’re probably not going to see someone from Whole Foods on the local 5 o’clock news, but you’ll see that guy from the local natural products store. I can be our own mascot, shout “Here we are!” from the rooftops and become part of our city’s culture. As an independent, you have to be bolder and get yourself in front of as many people as possible. With these segments, I reach 40,000 people within just a few minutes, and the payoff is incredible.

How else do you get involved in the community?
BT: Our street has a crawfish fest, so we cook crawfish gumbo and sell shrimp burgers. It’s huge for the community. We have a farmers market every Friday and offer free yoga. I consider myself a mentor to companies just starting out because I was in their shoes not too long ago. I literally started in the parking lot of this store, so now I want to send the elevator down to others in that position, so to speak.

Do you have any free time? If so, how do you spend it?
BT: I have a good amount of free time. It’s important to be able to delegate the tasks I’m not so great at. I like to travel, eat and go to expos and conventions. I also love yoga. With this work comes a lot of stress and moving parts, so if I can take an hour to recharge my batteries, that is such a great thing. Plus, it allows me to meet customers. All those yogis are gonna come in and buy some almond milk, ya know?

Would you change anything about your life now?
BT: I’m so happy doing what I do. I feel like Willy Wonka.

Rosewood Market details:
Store sizes: 6,000 square feet
Employees: 35
Open since: 1973
Address: 2803 Rosewood Drive
Columbia, SC 29205
Phone: 803.765.1083
Website: rosewoodmarket.com

 

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5@5: Higher prices make consumers think 'healthier' | FDA OKs genetically modified pink pineapple

Food costs can sway perception of 'healthy' eating

Healthy food is expensive—at least in the minds of many consumers, and according to new set of psychology studies, that assumption has significant impact on people's food choices. In a series of five experiments, researchers found that people consistently associated healthy food with high prices, and higher prices with healthier food. "The findings suggest that price of food alone can impact our perceptions of what is healthy and even what health issues we should be concerned about," said Rebecca Reczek, coauthor of the study and professor of marketing at Ohio State University. Read more at Psych Central...

 

Genetically engineered pink pineapple is safe to sell, FDA says

Fresh Del Monte Produce's new pink pineapple, which has been engineered to produce lower amounts of the enzymes that convert lycopene (pink pigment) into beta carotene (yellow pigment), is designed to be sweeter than a conventional pineapple. The FDA said earlier this month that Del Monte provided it with enough information to demonstrate that it's "as safe and nutritious as its conventional counterparts." Read more at NBC News...

 

Something's fishy in the faux-meat aisle

There's a big hole in the $5 billion plant-based food economy, and companies are rushing to fill it. It's vegan alternatives to seafoods like shrimp, tuna fish and fish sauce. Read more at The Seattle Times...

 

New study raises questions about the safety of eating GMO corn

A study published last week in Nature calls to question the notion that corn from genetically modified seeds is "substantially equivalent" to non-GM corn. Researchers used in-depth molecular profiling methods to look at corn and found significant compositional difference between GMO and non-GMO varieties. "Our results call for a more thorough evaluation of the safety of NK603 corn consumption on a long-term basis," the lead author said. Read more at AlterNet...

 

Hawaii counties can't regulate GMOs and pesticides according to new ruling

A U.S. Court of Appeals decided earlier this month that federal law doesn't prevent state or local governments from passing laws regulating the commercial growing of GM crops. But it also ruled that in the case of Hawaii, the state has ultimate authority because it has existing legislation on the matter, so counties and municipalities can't ban GMOs. Read more at Fortune...

Conscious consumption and the values connection [NEXT Forecast 2017]

The following is an excerpt from the NEXT Forecast, an insider’s guide to where the natural products market is now—and where it’s headed. Drawing from proprietary data sets, expert interviews, in-market case studies and the Natural Products Expos, the NEXT Forecast is the industry’s leading source of forward-looking insights. Learn about this and many other in-market trends laddering up to dominant macro forces in this report.

In this age of conscious consumption, it’s important not just to identify your customer’s values, but to become aware of what we call a values cascade—an intricately connected network of philosophies and beliefs.

• Fringe groups of passionate consumers provoke re-evaluation and behavior change well beyond their own clans. For instance, fringe groups such as dumpster-diving "freegans" motivate more mainstream consumers to challenge habitual decisions, even without pushing them all the way into the dumpster. In a recent survey of 600 general population consumers, 34 percent said they are upset by the amount of food that is wasted.
• We see this in mainstream consumer attitudes toward issues beyond waste, such as food provenance, local production, eating at home, and overall dietary and lifestyle simplification. For example, in the same survey, 19 percent of mainstream consumers said they were concerned about the impact of what they buy on the planet.

NEXT Forecast 2017 opportunity

The classic definition of value—where quality and price optimally overlap—remains true today. But the simple shift is that quality now reaches well beyond what’s inside of the package to the far corners of the social and ecological universe impacted by companies and their products.

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Get the full NEXT Forecast to see how 14 macro forces will shape the future of the natural products industry.
nextforecast.com | Order now

From controversial ingredients to category innovations: Top long reads of 2016

The following are five of the most-read stories on newhope.com in 2016 that explore popular topics and issues in the natural products industry this year.

Meat—the unlikely climate hero?

In a world that touts the climate-friendliness of plant-based foods, The Savory Institute is propagating a different message: that it's changes to livestock production, actually, and holistic land management that hold the key to carbon sequestration.

 

5 food trends on the rise

New special diets, sustainability awareness and emerging nutrition research are shaping consumer behavior, product innovation and sales opportunities.

 

Did FDA just kill off the CBD market?

In February, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued warning letters to eight companies selling cannabis-derived CBD products, saying they were in violation of federal law because a pharmaceutical company had been issued Investigational New Drug authorization for a CBD-based drug, making it a drug ingredient, not a supplement ingredient. More recent moves by the FDA and DEA indicate that the future for CBD remains uncertain.

 

Supplement trendspotting

Inside these trusty bottles sitting on the shelf, there’s a quiet revolution going on. A seismic shift is happening in the supplements aisle, powered by significant recent innovation. Here’s a look at five to have on your radar.

 

Best new natural beauty trends of Natural Products Expo East 2016

Sales growth for health and beauty products surpassed that of both food and supplements in the natural channel last year, signalling that it just might be the next frontier for growth in natural. Brands are focused on reshaping consumer perception, formulating higher-performing products and supporting global missions and sustainability. 

5@5: Funding for food safety tech firm Clear Labs | Grains reign

Google Ventures-backed Clear Labs gets $13 million in Series B to nip food recalls in the bud

Food tech's funding streak continues. Clear Labs, which says it's prepared to enter an "aggressive" commercialization stage, has developed a portfolio of genome sequencing tests to help food brands identify pathogens and ensure quality in their supply chains. Michael Taylor, former FDA deputy commissioner for foods who led the implementation of FSMA, also joined the board of directors. Read more at Tech Crunch...

 

Grains maintain food intake share in 2000s

Grains continue to be the largest source of calories in the American diet, according to new data from the USDA's Economic Research Service, but fats are slowly creeping up on them—driven at least partially by an increased caloric intake of nuts and added animal fats. Daily intake of grains fell slightly between 2000 and 2010, but so did overall calorie consumption. Read more at World-Grain.com...

 

Amazon's newest brand, Wickedly Prime, brings its private label food business out of stealth mode

The online retailer's push into private label continues with Wickedly Prime, a brand that features gourmet popcorn, tortilla chips and almonds. Earlier this year, Amazon rolled out its own baby food and coffee. Read more at Geek Wire...

 

USDA rushing to finish organic livestock welfare rule

With less than a month to go until the Obama administration leaves office, the Department of Agriculture says it's "doing everything" it can to push its revised organic livestock welfare rule forward. Read more at Southeast Ag Net...

 

Russia proposes clear GMO labeling for Eurasian Economic Union

Russia has already banned the growth of genetically modified crops in the country (except for research purposes), but now its Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Protection and Welfare and the Eurasian Economic Commission proposed an amendment that all food manufacturers in the EAEC use a GMO icon on food products that contain genetically modified ingredients. Read more at Sustainable Pulse...

5@5: Why investors are betting on food tech | Ex-Whole Foods managers file lawsuit over bonuses

How fake food is finding real money--and lots of it

Growing meat in labs. Replacing meals with drinks. Why are investors pouring money into food tech ventures? They're betting on consumer demand for foods that are convenient, safe and better for the environment, according to Steve Blank, who says that "as long as they believe that there are a large number of customers who want the product - and ultimately larger food companies who will acquire these startups," investors will continue putting money into them. Read more at Inc...

 

Lawsuit: Whole Foods managers were fired for whistleblowing

Nine former managers of Whole Foods Market locations on the East Coast filed a class-action lawsuit against the retailer, saying they were fired for calling out its practice of not paying bonuses earned by staff. The retailer, however, says the managers were dismissed after an investigation determined they were wrongly benefiting from a profit-sharing program at the expense of store employees. Read more at SF Gate...

 

Minnesota leads way on banning anti-germ ingredient in soap

The state banned triclosan back in 2014--two years ahead of the FDA's decision to ban it from anti-bacterial soaps. The federal ban doesn't go into effect until September 2017, but many manufacturers have already phased out the chemical. Read more at StarTribune...

 

Meal-kit mania, unpacked

Investors are hot on meal kits, but what about farmers? For some farmers, they're providing a new way to move their goods. But others find selling to meal kit companies less profitable than selling direct-to-consumer, and they miss the consumer touchpoint. Read more at Modern Farmer...

 

Hot skin-care ingredient: Charcoal

Natural beauty brands have long been incorporating this ingredient, but now it's going mainstream. Clinique has added a charcoal face wash to its men's skin care line, and it's even popping up on menus. Read more at The Seattle Times...