I’m back home after a whirlwind trip to Natural Products Expo West. Expo West is the biggest healthy food & product show in the country. As a consumer, it’s like a shopping & taste testing mecca. And as an exhibitor, it’s a great chance for us to connect with our grocery store buyers, consumers and industry leaders.
Here’s a picture of our booth. Thanks for stopping by!! It was great to hear all the wonderful & positive feedback on our sauces. We LOVE hearing it – it absolutely never gets old. This Expo was especially exciting for our new flavor, Bien Good Pasta & Enchilada Sauce. We had so many people VERY excited to finally see an ORGANIC, JARRED & VEGAN Enchilada Sauce. It doesn’t exist, till now! We are so happy to fill that void. All Bien Good samplers were impressed by how delicious and authentic it tasted. Such great news as it’s in production now and we can’t wait to have it for sale on our website very soon.
So, onto the rest of the Expo. I thought I’d summarize my favorites by what I actually buy. Everyone always asks me what I buy for my family and I’m a bit particular on what we eat due to my background in R&D and the food industry (A pro and con: sometimes knowing too much about certain foods takes the enjoyment out of eating them) So here are a couple of my top picks for new products and flavors, in no particular order:
Flackers -Flax seed crackers by Doctor in the Kitchen. I love flax seed and I try and make sure the whole family gets their daily omega 3’s from it. My all time favorite flavor is Dill Flackers which is definitely savory. Flackers new flavor – pictured below – Cinnamon & Currant! A twist on Flakers, now sweet! I might try this for my lunchtime dessert.
GoodBelly – Probably my favorite Probiotic dairy-free drink. If you’re interested, please take the time to read about their background (I like how the Swedish hospitals swear by these and it gives you a great tutorial on why you too should be consuming probiotics) These are ALWAYS stocked in my refrigerator. I swear by them to boost my families immunity. My one son and I take the Straight Shot (20 billion CFU and no sugar!) every other day. We’ve been the healthiest in the family this cold season! We also use the Watermelon flavor juice – it’s the best juice I ever tasted and it’s a real treat to get your probiotics in that form. But I was happy to see GoodBelly came out with a traditional citrus juice. Perfect replacement for my husband’s morning glass orange juice. Both new flavors were refreshing plus loaded with 10 billion healthy bacteria. I particularly liked the Pink Grapefruit. It will work perfect in Whole Living’s Cherry Grapefruit Detox Smoothie.
Harmless Harvest Raw Coconut Water. Below is a picture of their booth – extremely creative! I’m very appreciative of their low marketing & PR budget as a small company myself. I also want my products to speak for themselves and believe in consumer and press word of mouth – instead of passing on big marketing expenses to our customers. Enough about that, but take note, this is a truly innovative and responsible company. I have to saw I’m proud to buy their raw & organic coconut water for my occasional rehydration.
Chip’ins by Popcorn Indiana – Sea Salt Flavor. As a product developer, this is one of those genius products that I wish I thought of myself! Popcorn in the form of chips! I am a popcorn lover, it’s good fiber & roughage, right!? So these yummy Chip’ins are a great idea and snack. Only 130 calories, 2.5 grams fat and three simple ingredients. There are other flavors too…White Cheddar is awful good! I would love to see these be organic one day…hint, hint!
Purely Elizabeth- Snack size granola pouches! Great idea, perfect unprocessed snack for kids on the go (no white flour or sugar found here), or even for your travel breakfast. Purely Elizabeth uses ancient grains like amaranth, chia and quinoa. Look forward to stocking up on these for summer and road trips, love the Pumpkin Fig Granola.
See you back at Natural Products Expo East in 6 months!
Mama Jess
Recent Comments