by Joan McDougall, Co-op Grocery Manager, This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

Peg Kingery, Co-op Chill/Frozen Buyer, This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

Amy Lucker, Co-op Wellness Manager, This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

Melinda Schab, Co-op Supplements Buyer, This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

Natural Products Expo West is the premier trade show for the natural, organic, and healthy products industry, attended by industry professionals across the globe. And we were there! Each year, the Co-op sends staff to scour the show and indentify current bestsellers and the trends of tomorrow. Four of us traveled to the show this year, the 29th year for the Expo: Joan and Peg from the grocery department and Amy and Melinda from the wellness department. As always, it was exhausting and productive. Held in the 300,000 square foot Anaheim Convention Center, it was daunting to navigate the 1900 exhibitor booths as well as the 53,000 attendees, but with teamwork we accomplished a lot at this show.

We started our experience in the Organic Tent, the prelude to the show opening, where new vendors bring their products for sampling and feedback. On Friday the show floor opened and our two grocery folks went to explore the food aisles while the two wellness folks visited the body care, supplements, and mercantile booths. Before Joan was even inside the door she had eaten two yogurts and consumed a guava-coconut water. Yummy! New drinks, many containing superfruits such as acai and goji; a frozen dessert made from hemp milk; refrigerated biscuit and scone dough; and delicious vegan cheese were exciting finds. We are eager to bring in these and other new products debuted at the show, but many won’t be available until later in the year. The Wellness department discovered new jewelry, candles, clothing, body care products, and exciting new supplements. We also had the opportunity to hear about the latest health and wellness research.

Besides sampling products and making and renewing vendor relationships, we had the option of attending a plethora of educational seminars. We went together to hear Vandana Shiva, physicist, environmental activist and author. She spoke of the wisdom of traditional practices; she champions people taking their power back from large corporations. She recounted her experience of the Indian people practicing satyagraha, the philosophy of nonviolent resistance developed by Mahatma Gandhi, in response to an unjust governmental law that was rescinded as a result of their protest. She expects to realize in her lifetime an era when the likes of Monsanto will no longer control the world’s food supplies.

Sunday we left the red azaleas and sunshine of Anaheim, and flew back home to snow and cold. As we return to our desks, we begin the process of following up on the connections we made at the show. Our goal is always to offer our customers the best products at the best prices.