ShareKitchen attended the 34th Natural Food Expo West 2014 last weekend. Held at the Anaheim Convention Center, the Expo is the largest of its kind in the world with over 2,600 exhibitors and more than 67,000 attendees. Natural products have become a $200 billion a year industry with no slowdown in growth anticipated looking forward.
The expo highlighted a societal trend that has emerged and is growing – consumers want foods, beverages, household and pet products that are not harmful to themselves, their pets or the environment. Adam Anderson, show director stated that, “(t)he macro trend and shift toward healthier lifestyles (is) creating explosive growth.”
Natural foods are finding rapid increases in accessibility and convenience as people move away from junk food and toward quick, healthy snacks. As it is proving difficult to pass labeling laws requiring the disclosure of genetically modified (GMO) or engineered products, the natural food industry is creating their own certifications that show their products as GMO-free and/or organic. Additionally, numerous “food tribes” such as gluten-free, vegan or other specialty diets are driving many of the changes that you see in grocery stores. People are finding that food can be one’s “medicine” or “poison”.
Of the 2,600 exhibitors, 635 were new exhibitors with many being entrepreneurial start-ups.
Here at ShareKitchen, we are helping to grow the natural food movement by assisting local entrepreneurs in making, developing, selling and distributing their natural products. As examples, Sylvia Garza of Que Mami Organics organic sauces and salsas can be found at the Certified Farmer’s Markets each week. Patrick Evans’ 100% natural Fulvio’s Homemade Italian Sausages are at more than one dozen local restaurants and the Real Italian Deli in Palm Desert while Hot Lips All Natural Sodas can be found at numerous restaurants as well as Nature’s Health Food & Cafe in Palm Springs.
Do you have a product idea? Let us help you with our ShareKitchen Concept-to-Consumer incubation program. For more information, visit us at www.ShareKitchen.org.
