Till date, the natural, organic and functional food industry is a very small segment, but it is certainly growing at a faster pace compared to total food. This is evident from the fact that natural and organic foods as well as beverages sales increased by 11 percent in the United States in 2015, reach $67.2 billion.
The annual Natural Products Expo West is not only the largest natural, organic and healthy products event in the world, but it set a new record in its 36th year by playing host to over 77,000 visitors and registering a 6.9 percent growth, PR News Wire claimed. More than 3,000 companies, including 600 first-time participators, exhibited their products at the event, produced by New Hope Network.
In fact, the natural, organic and functional food industry has never seen anything, Food Business News quoted New Hope Network executive director (content), Carlotta Mast, as saying.
According to the report, the key theme behind several trends in product development exhibited at the Natural Products Expo West, which was held March 10-13 in Anaheim, is a "back-to-basics" approach to food.
Mast was of the view that an increasing number of consumers are losing their trust in the products they purchase and, hence, they are now become more conscious about the food they buy. They are going through the food labels in details and analyzing their purchases. Mast added that the consumers are now seeking products that are not only simpler and are a pre-industrialized food system focusing on whole nutrient-dense ingredients, but also have a closer-to-nature approach to processing.
According to Mast, about 57 percent sales of natural and organic foods in 2015 took place in the mass market channel. Perhaps, this is not surprising considering the changes witnessed in the retail landscape. Mast said pointed out that this is certainly posing challenges for the independent retailers who are now facing an increasingly competitive retail landscape.
Natural Products Expo West is the greatest show for identifying latest trends in the food as well as CPG industry. The macro forces and consumer trends tracked by New Hope Network's content and research team this year included Ancient Wisdom, Transcendent Transparency, Snackification, Feed Me!, The Rehabilitation of Science and The Value(s) Shopper.
The NEXT Forecast 2016 predicts strong growth for the natural products industry in the United States and the consumer sales of natural, organic and healthy products are estimated to increase 64 percent from $153 billion in 2013 to $252 billion by 2019.
Watch the video on "Expo West & Engredea 2016 - Find Your Spark" below:
