Ahhhh.
I'm slouched on a large cotton-covered couch, head back, feet nestled in a Brookstone foot massager. A young woman so fresh-faced she could pass for a woodland nymph motions to a new line of botanic waters angled in a clear display case like Rolexes in a jewelry store.
"Would you care for a bottle?" she asks softly.
Don't mind if I do.
As I sip Carpe Diem's "harmonizing" blend complete with nine plant extracts including acai, birch leaf and elder flower -- naturally sweetened with fruit, of course -- all is peaceful, all is Zen. As Zen as is possible, that is, for a booth in a convention hall surrounded by the cacophony of 3,391 other exhibitors busy hawking their wares.
This year's Natural Products Expo West 2008, held March 13 through 16 at the Anaheim Convention Center, attracted more than 52,000 retailers, manufacturers and industry professionals, an increase of 11% over last year.
The gathering -- part product-hunting safari, part food orgy -- is the country's largest natural and organic products trade show. Now in its 28th year, it's a four-day grip-and-grin exercise for manufacturers seeking exposure for their products and retail buyers looking for cutting-edge trends.
If a food or personal-care product is new, or semi-new, or even so-last-year, there's a good chance it's here and available for tasting, sniffing or slathering on. And as natural foods filter steadily into large and midsize grocery store chains, the character of the crowd is changing, says Fred Linder, president of New Hope Natural Media, which has produced the event since its inception.
"The scales have tipped, and we're seeing less tie-dye and more suits," he says. "The ratio has changed."
Trends ebb and flow, as well. Good old kiwi fruits are "so three seasons ago," jokes Sylvia Tawse of the Fresh Ideas Group, a marketer for natural and organic foods. Other stars are rising. One of the biggest trends this year is the emergence of gluten-free foods, adds Tawse, who's been following natural products for more than 20 years. "Gluten-free is just exploding," she says.
Other trends include just about anything organic -- organic cosmetics, organic pet food, organic meats, organic beer. The omega-3 craze continues unabated, with aisles stuffed with energy bars, cereal and eggs enhanced with the healthful fatty acids. Probiotics are on full display, and much is now made of a delicate subject once reserved for only the most intimate of conversations: elimination issues. "I don't know quite how to say this," Tawse says, "but people are really talking about their gut."
