New Hope Natural Media and Sterling-Rice Group Celebrated the 2014 NEXTY Awards Winners at Natural Products Expo East

BOULDER, Colo., Sept. 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- New Hope Natural Media and Sterling-Rice Group celebrated the NEXTY award winners at an awards ceremony at Natural Products Expo East.  The NEXTY award winners are chosen in the Food & Beverage, Supplements and Ingredients, and Beauty and Natural Living categories.

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"We were thrilled to bring all of the NEXTY award winners together at Natural Products Expo East.  We believe that these companies will continue to influence our industry," said Carlotta Mast, Senior Director of Content & Insights, New Hope Natural Media. "They've created innovative products that are delighting customers.  We congratulate all of these companies on their accomplishments." 

"Each year we continue to be amazed at all of the innovative new products that are brought to market.  We are very pleased to honor these companies with a NEXTY award. We look forward to watching their growth and continued success," said John Grubb, Managing Partner, Sterling-Rice Group.  

NEXTY Editors' Choice Awards Winners
The Editors' Choice winners are chosen by the NEXT Forecast research team, based on their deep understanding of the market. The winners represent companies believed to be making a positive impact in the industry.

The NEXTY Editors' Choice award winners:

Natural, Organic and Functional Food and Beverage

• Salt Lake City, UT-based Chapul: The world is hungry for protein and Chapul is helping to meet this growing demand with a line of innovative and delicious nutrition bars packed with cricket protein.

Supplements and Ingredients

• Brevard, NC-based Gaia Herbs: Consumers are increasingly turning to curcumin for help with chronic pain, joint support, cognitive function, and more. Gaia Herbs stands at the forefront of this exploding market with its Turmeric Supreme line of curcumin extracts.

Beauty and Natural Living

• Alexandria, VA-based Soapbox Soaps: SoapBox Soaps not only makes great natural soaps and other personal care products, the company is raising the bar for purpose-driven business with its buy-one-give-one model, which provides soap, fresh water and vitamin supplements to children across the globe. 

NEXTY Popular Vote Award Winners
During Natural Products Expo West 2014, New Hope Natural Media's editors and trend spotters selected a group of 105 stellar NEXTY nominees who they thought best represent the future of the natural products industry.  They then turned to the consumers, manufacturers and retailers who make up the natural products industry, to identify which brands should rise to the top.

The NEXTY Popular Vote winners include:

Natural, Organic and Functional Food and Beverage

• Winner: New York, NY-based Bitsy's Brainfood: Bitsy's Brainfood hides fruits and vegetables in a palatable package for picky eaters. The playful alphabet cookies include a rainbow of produce: organic broccoli, sweet potato, beets, zucchini and carrots and are fortified with omega-3 DHA and calcium to support growing bones and brains. 
• Runner up: Santa Monica, CA-based Botan: Plant-based protein is on the cutting edge of carbohydrate-averse, paleo-style eating trends. Vegan, Non-GMO Project Verified and low-calorie, Botan's colorful drinks get their punch from pea protein. 

Supplements and Ingredients

• Winner: Tustin, CA-based youtheory:  youtheory strives to bring customers the highest quality products to Age Beautifully™ while also making the world a better place.
• Runner up: Irvine, CA-based Neocell: NeoCell is a collagen finished-product company.  Its collagen comes in fruity beauty beverage shots: orange, blueberry, apple, pomegranate and more.
• Runner up: Vancouver, BC-based Zend: Zend is an intriguing flip on the energy shot category—a calming shot. With 500mg of the soothing botanical kava kava in a 2-ounce shot, Zend shows promise as the brand that puts kava back on the map as a go-to relaxation ingredient.

Beauty and Natural Living

• Award Winner: Bayside, CA-based Ohana Organics: Ohana Organics' tattoo butter is certified organic, vegan and contains organic healing herbs that is infused into oils and then blends into clean, healthy shea butter. It's a soothing non-toxic cream that can be applied during and after tattoo application and to brighten colors. 
• Runner up: Sussex, WI-based Flaska: Flaska combines two trends in drinkware: using glass or steel instead of plastic and on-the-go, integrated water purification systems. Flaska's reusable glass bottles also purify water through "vibrational restructuring"-- meaning silicone's inherent "remembering" properties restructure water to a purified form when the water molecules contact the glass. Just as natural spring water is restructured as it cascades down rocks, this bottle purifies water as you walk, shake or twist, using zero added material. 

The NEXTY Awards and NEXT Forecast are part of New Hope Natural Media's NEXT suite of products, which were created to support and accelerate innovation within the natural products industry.  The NEXT Forecast is the premier insider's guide to where the natural products market is now—and where it's headed.   For additional information about the NEXT Forecast, visit www.nextforecast.com.  For more information about the full NEXT product portfolio, visit www.nextknows.com.

For additional information on the NEXTY awards, visit www.nextforecast.com/nexty. 

About New Hope Natural Media
New Hope Natural Media is the leading media resource and information provider for the natural, organic and healthy products industry, with print, in-person/event, and e-business products and services.

About Sterling-Rice Group
Headquartered in Boulder, CO., Sterling-Rice Group (SRG) is a nationally recognized brand-building firm specializing in consumer insights, business strategy, innovation, advertising and design. SRG promotes the growth of living well brands that make people's lives healthier and happier, and has been creating positive impact for 30 years. SRG is a recent AdAge Small Agency of the Year, and has been named by Outside Magazine as one of the Best Places to Work for the last three years in a row. Visit www.srg.com for more information. 

CONTACT:
Heather Smith
Public Relations
New Hope Natural Media
Phone: (303) 998-9232
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE New Hope Natural Media