More than 29,000 members of the natural and organic food and beverage industry descended on Baltimore last week to showcase and scout products at the forefront of the health and wellness trend at Natural Products Expo East. Among the products exhibited by more than 1,550 companies, several trends emerged and others were reinforced, including all things keto, fresh twists on shelf stable staples, new uses for eggs and much more.
Industry market analysts at Technavio estimate that the global keto diet market will grow 4.27% this year in part thanks to the increasing availability of the diet-friendly products across distribution formats – a prediction supported by wide variety of products making keto claims showcased at Expo East, including a new Organic Keto-Cauliflower Hummus from Lilly’s Foods, powdered mocha ketogenic creamer from Know Brainer Foods that touts 100g of collagen protein, Keto and Co’s Keto Fudge Brownie baking mix that claims to have 94% less sugar than leading brands, and a trio of keto-friendly protein bars from Keto Krisp creators Jason Dorfman and Adam Bremen.
Following Perfect Bar’s category creating launch of refrigerated protein bars, more companies are taking products that were once limited to center store shelves and moving them to the refrigerated section. Core Foods recently launched a line of refrigerated overnight oat bars packed with probiotics, the creator of Stay’s Pita Chips launched BeBOLD bars that can be eaten frozen, refrigerated or on-the-go within 14 days of being refrigerated, and a line of refrigerated raw cookies and truffles from Pure Batch.
The already versatile egg takes on new forms in many of the products featured at Expo East, including as a tortilla substitute in Egglife’s egg white wraps, the soft filling inside of Bantam Bagels new stuffed bagel Egg Bites, and Les Trois Petits Cochon’s new Sous-Vide Egg Bites.
Forget the standard triangle or oddly shaped oval of many predominate chips, playful new shapes are helping to set apart from the competition several brands showcasing at Expo East. Among them was newcomer Real Food From The Ground Up, which incorporates vegetables into its chips and pretzels. The brand’s Cauliflower Stalks stand out with the long tube shape that the founder says consumers like because they can put them on their fingers and play with them. Cosmos Creations’ puffed corn onion rings also come in fun ‘O’ shaped rings.
Bison popped up in several products featured at Expo East, including Serenity Kid's baby food and as ground meat under Force of Nature's brand.
The popular meat snacks category continues to grow and evolve with the introduction of JIBRO’s Sahi Sukuti air-dried water buffalo jerky. While popular in Napal, the snack is new to most Americans. The company sources its water buffalo from the North Western part of the US in Oregon to make for SKUs: The Original, The Himalayan Heat, Momo and Tikka Masala.
After exploding on the US market several years ago as a plant-based alternative for popular pulled meats, jackfruit can now be found as a sweet dried fruit treat from Mavuno Harvest, as frozen bite-sized pieces to be tossed in smoothies or baked goods from Pitaya, and in a wide range of traditional meat flavors in cans.
Starting a few years ago, popped water lily or lotus seeds began appearing in brightly colored bags as a ready-to-eat alternative to popcorn that promised higher protein and a lighter texture without the pesky hulls that can stick between teeth. At Expo East, several brands were on display – showcasing the snack’s potential staying power.
Plant-based still represented a major theme across categories, but several new brands in the dairy cheese alternative space showcased their takes on dips and spreads made from nuts. These include Blue Moose from Boulder, Plant Perks and Nuttin Ordinary.