Natural Products #ExpoEast

I don’t remember if I mentioned it here on the blog before, but if you’ve been following me on social media, you know that I was away this weekend at the Natural Products Expo East.  The Natural Products Expo East is a huge trade show for the natural products industry (there’s also an Expo West in the spring, in California, that’s about twice as large).  This is the first time I’ve been, and it was an amazing experience.  To quote New Hope Network (the organization that puts on the Expos):

“The 31st Annual Natural Products Expo East, held September 21-24, hosted more than 1,450 brands including 450 first-time exhibitors. This year, the exhibit space was expanded to both the third and fourth levels of the convention center to accommodate increasing demand. This was the largest show on record and grew by 10%, gathering over 28,000 community members to the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore.”

My photos only give you a little glimpse, but here’s that glimpse:

The Expo is held at Baltimore Convention Center in downtown Baltimore, near the Inner Harbor.  This is a really beautiful area, with lots to see and do (although I didn’t, because I was busy with the Expo!).

And it is huge.  The 300 and 400 levels hosted “hot products,”  while the 100 level was so vast as to resemble its own mini-city.

There were so many exhibitors here I kept getting turned around!  I was introduced to a lot of fabulous new products and trends, many of which you’ll be seeing over the coming days, weeks, and months.  One of the most exciting “trends” I noticed was that so many companies told me their products are, or are about to be, available in major mainstream retailers, so natural products are getting easier to find!

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HI Baltimore

In this post, I want to highlight some new and upcoming products from major brands you’re already familiar with, but first a little side note to shout out to the HI (Hostelling International) hostel in Baltimore.  This is where I stayed, and it was a fabulous experience.  I look forward to staying there again next year.

New Products from “Old” Companies

A lot of the products I learned about are so new and different they warrant their own posts.  But a lot of the tried-and-trusted brands are simply expanding their products lines.  Those individual products may not be so remarkable in their newness that they each need their own posts, but they’re worth being aware of!  So let’s hit some highlights, shall we?

Carlson

Carlson is best-known to most people for their fish oils, but they do more than just fish oils.  A couple of their newest products are melatonin gummies (5 mg per 2-gummy serving) and MCT oil capsules.  In case you’re not familiar with MCT oil, MCT stands for “medium-chain triglycerides,” and when you find them as supplements, they typically (as in this case) are essentially the liquid portions of coconut oil.  They’re very nourishing.  Some of us, though, don’t like the mouth feel of a mouthful of oil, so it’s really handy to have this product available as capsules.

Nordic Naturals

Nordic Naturals is also pretty well-known for fish oils, but also sells a broader line of supplements.  They have several new products.  The classic Nordic Berries (gummy multivitamins for children) are now available in a second flavor option, cherry berry.  Several different omega 3 products are now part of the lineup: Omega Curcumin, which includes antioxidants, Ultimate Omega + CoQ10, and Omega Memory, with omega-3s, curcumin, phosphatidyl choline, and huperzine A.  And the much-loved Prenatal DHA is now available in fish gelatin capsules (rather than beef gelatin), for pescatarian mamas.

American Health (Ester-C)

You’re probably not familiar with the name American Health, but they are the makers of Ester-C, which you may know.  These guys make powdered vitamin C supplements designed to be mixed into water as a drink.  They also have Kidstiks, a kids’ version of multivitamins with vitamin C.  And they have a new product coming soon that I’m pretty excited about, although it isn’t here yet.  Early next year, they’re coming out with Kidstiks probiotics.  This is a flavorless powdered probiotic that can be mixed into drinks, applesauce, etc.  I had an opportunity to taste it, and there is no grit or chalky aftertaste.

Boiron

Boiron is a producer of homeopathic remedies.  They’re best-known for their arnica gel and for oscillococcinum (for flu-like symptoms).  However, they also have a wide range of other remedies.  To my knowledge it isn’t new, but I just learned that they have a teething liquid.  This seems like it would be easier to use than the little tablets.

Hyland’s

Hyland’s is also a homeopathic company, and you may know them from their teething tablets.  They have new nighttime teething tablets, to help with sleep as well as teething.  They also have new nighttime versions of their cold & mucus formulas, and a whole new DEFEND line of products for more severe cold/flu.

Dr. Bronner’s

Okay, so this is also not new, but maybe I’m not the only one who didn’t realize Dr. Bronner’s does more than just soap?  Not only do they have bar, liquid, and pump soap, and Sals Suds, they make toothpaste, lip balm, hand sanitizer, and hair products.

Piggy Paint

I’ve written about Piggy Paint before, as well as their adult line, SOPHi.  The company has a new product, the Flusher Husher, which is a disposable cover for the sensors on those obnoxious self-flushing public toilets that always seem to want to flush before your preschooler is ready (and scare the stuffing out of him).  Flusher Hushers dissolve in water, so when you’re done with one you can flush it!  Their Rock the Locks line has a handful of products that look good, but their Curl Boost Spray especially stands out, because that’s a hard product to find “clean.”  Soon they’ll have a texture paste, as well, which is also difficult to find junk-free.

Enjoy Life

Enjoy Life’s popular allergy-friendly chocolate chips have been regularly eaten as snacks in addition to their intended used in baked goods.  In acknowledgement of that fact, the company has just introduced them in portable snack packs.  Mini versions of several of their cookie varieties are also now available.

Food for Life

Food for Life produces Ezekiel 4:9 sprouted breads.  And now several of these products are available in gluten-free versions!  I’ll leave it at that, because we will be reviewing these soon (along with a couple other new Food for Life products).

Grab Green

Grab Green is a producer of natural cleaning products.  One of their classic products is 3-in-1 laundry pods.  (You know those little detergent “tabs” you just toss in the wash, no measuring required?)  A new line of these laundry pods is being introduced, called Stoneworks.  Stoneworks is targeted to millennials, and has a whole new set of packaging (very classy!) and fragrances.

Jarrow

Jarrow is a supplement company.  This may not sound super-exciting, but I’ve been pretty impressed with what I’ve seen on their site.  They have a new drinkable supplement called Beyond Bone Broth.  It is not bone broth, but is based primarily on collagen peptides, the protein found in bone broth.  They also have a “Golden Milk” (with whey protein) and a “Golden Tea” (without), based on turmeric and spices.  I didn’t see this at the Expo, but they also have a pretty new methyl-B12/methylfolate/P5P lozenge that might be worth looking into if you have MTHFR.

Justin’s

Justin’s — you know, the peanut butter people — have these super-cool new snack packs.  Instead of containing junk, they consist of a little single serving of peanut butter, and a handful of banana chips to scoop it up with.

Liberte

Liberte (there’s an accent mark in there, but I can’t seem to type it) has a new organic line of yogurts.  They are, in my opinion, a bit pricey, but they are A-MA-zing.

Stonyfield

Meanwhile, Stonyfield has come out with new grassfed yogurts.  They’ve apparently been available at Whole Foods for a little while now (we don’t have a Whole Foods here), but are launching soon in a wider range of stores.

Nature’s Plus

Nature’s Plus has a few new supplements.  A couple that jumped out at me are their new protein powders, and a change to the Source of Life Gold (at least in the liquid formula).  There are three new vegetarian protein powders: chia, pea, and sunflower.  And the Source of Life Gold liquid is now using methylcobalamin and methylfolate!  That is fabulous news for those with MTHFR mutations.  Really, though, it’s good for everyone.  Those are considerably more bioavailable (cyanocobalamin and folic acid are synthetic), which is critical for the MTHFR folks, but really good for everybody.

NuNaturals

NuNaturals came out a few months ago with syrups.  Like, for instance, a chocolate syrup that my daughter has been using to make & drink chocolate milk like crazy.  There are a few other recent introductions, as well.  I don’t think there are any super-new products, but the packaging is getting a makeover!  Everything I’m seeing online is still the old packaging, so it seems they haven’t rolled out the new yet, but watch for it and don’t panic that your favorite products have disappeared when you stop seeing the current labels.

Viki’s

In addition to their fantastic granola, Viki’s has granola bark coming soon.