Two or three years ago (just like their UK counterparts) America’s biggest retailers started slimming down their inventories and clearing aisles for a cleaner, more appealing store look. Continue Reading

How many scientists does it take to change a climate sceptic’s mind? No, not a joke, a  question posed by New Scientist last week. Continue Reading

Just after Christmas I was in Waterstone’s (I’d use an independent if Tunbridge Wells had any) guiltily adding to the pile of unread books that now totters precariously on my bedside table. Maybe I should buy something short, I thought, something I’d have a realistic chance of finishing. And then I spotted Michael Pollan’s Food Rules. Just 139 pages, big print, lots of pictures, £4.99. Perfect. Continue Reading

I’m not sure if backdated blogging is in the spirit of the thing, but something has been niggling away at me for a little while — so here goes.. Continue Reading

“I’ve been around the block a few times but I’ve learnt a lot to day. I can’t wait to get back into my store and start putting it all into action”.

These words — from a very experienced retailer — seemed to sum up last week’s National Health Store Conference rather well. Continue Reading

It was good to see Conway Hall in London packed to the rafters earlier in the week for this year’s Soil Association Lady Eve Lecture (see story). Continue Reading

If you call yourself Natural Products magazine this is a question you can reasonably expect people to ask from time to time. Usually it comes from ‘outsiders’ — we generally don’t go around asking it ourselves.

But do we, as an industry, actively avoid asking ‘what is natural’? Is it a can of worms we’d rather not open? I wonder. Continue Reading

Several years ago Clive Beddall OBE, who had just retired as editor of The Grocer, gave a keynote talk at Natural & Organic Products Europe. Continue Reading