Natural Products Expo West 2017 Kicks Off with Announcement of the Macro Forces & Trends Driving Innovation in Food & Consumer Products

Natural Products Expo West is the preeminent show for spotting trends in food and consumer products with more than 3,000 exhibiting companies, including more than 500 entrepreneurial brands making their Expo West debut. The content and research team at New Hope Network will be tracking the following macro forces and related product trends this year.

Macro Force: An Erosion of Trust
With unprecedented access to information from computers and mobile devices, consumers are researching brands on the fly, and what they are finding is too often making trust a thing of the past. Savvy brands are changing that dynamic by working to build trust through everything they do.

Related trends include: 1) Trust Through Transparency - with instant access to information comes an opportunity to open the door wide with a "we have nothing to hide" message. 2) The Verified Brand - brands with the right certifications from the right organizations have an instant advantage winning trust from consumers. 3) Millennial Trust - new products are tapping into the trust Millennials place in nutrition as a first-choice health strategy.

Macro Force: A Climate of Change
Food enters the climate change discussions as victim, villain and solution—just in time to feed an exponentially growing population and provide consumers with a new way to engage in the climate conversation.

Related trends include: 1) The Plant Revolution - whether for heart health, climate health, ecological efficiency, or animal welfare, plants are fast becoming man's best friend. 2) Feed Me! - feeding more people with less land and water calls for multifaceted innovation. 3) Regeneration - doing no harm is an imperative, but healing the harm that's already occurred is among the richest opportunities for agriculture and the food industry.

Macro Force: Prioritizing Health
Wellness has evolved from prevention to optimization, and brands are developing new products and platforms that can help consumers thrive rather than just survive.

Related trends include: 1) Stress and Sleep Solutions - power up, power down, balance along the way. Can we do all that? Innovative brands are finding a way. 2) Food Allergy Friendly - an allergy epidemic is upon us. Bad news for children, good news for innovators. 3) Sugar Vilified - sugar is the No. 1 bad guy in food and beverages these days, and innovative companies are finding clever ways to cut it out or at least cut it down.

Macro Force: Consciousness Rising
As consumers are faced with seemingly infinite choices, they are looking beyond individual products to the companies behind them. Keeping up with the new conscious consumer calls for agility and creativity and asks brands to deliver a new bottom line: purpose.

Related trends include: 1) The Purposeful Brand - aligning with a social or environmental cause can deepen a company's ethical root, and the closer that cause is to the heart of the business, the more lasting the impression. 2) The B-Corp Revolution - socially and environmentally conscious businesses embrace B Corp certification as a way to formalize and verify their commitment to using business as a force for good. 3) Waste Not, Want Not - when vast food supplies flood landfills while populations go hungry, it's time for innovative solutions that solve both the food waste and food injustice problems.

For examples of exciting new products that support each trend visit the online gallery at newhope.com.

All Natural Products Expo West badge holders can catch an overview of how each natural and organic product category is performing, and dig into the macro forces and trends driving the industry, at The State of the Industry: How We Will Fuel Growth & Change the World session, from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Pacific Time on Friday, March 10.

Industry watchers who are unable to attend Natural Products Expo West may view the State of the Natural Products Industry session for free via livestream and join in the #ExpoWestTrends conversation online. During the livestream, @NatProdExpo and @Mamavation will host a Twitter discussion to bring together the experts on stage with everyone watching online. Follow #ExpoWestTrends during the livestream to join in.

"Product innovation will once again be on display at Natural Products Expo West," said Carlotta Mast, Executive Director of Content and Insights, New Hope Network. "Beyond new products, attendees will be able to see how mission-driven brands both large and small are using product innovation to create positive change in our food system and the world."

Follow @NatProdExpo and #ExpoWest on Twitter and Instagram, and visit us on Facebook for ongoing conversations.

About New Hope Network
New Hope Network is at the forefront of the healthy lifestyle products industry. With solutions for the complete supply chain from manufacturers, retailers/distributors, service providers and ingredient suppliers, the network offers a robust portfolio of content, events, data, research and consultative services. Through its mission of growing healthy markets to bring more health to more people, New Hope Network helps businesses identify the people, products, partnerships and trends that create better opportunities and connections. For more information visit www.newhope.com.

About Informa
New Hope Network is part of Informa, the international business intelligence, academic publishing, knowledge and events group. Informa serves commercial, professional and academic communities, helping them connect and learn, and creating and providing access to content and intelligence that helps people and businesses work smarter and make better decisions faster. Informa has over 7,500 colleagues in more than 20 countries and a presence in all major geographies. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a member of the FTSE 100.

Press Contact
Carrie Kocik
New Hope Network
(617) 694-5971
[email protected]

SOURCE New Hope Network

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