Hundreds of new products will be launched at the forthcoming Natural Food Show.
Part of Natural & Organic Products Europe, which features some 700 exhibitors in total, the Natural Food Show is the UK’s only dedicated trade event for natural and organic food and drink.
Product trends to look out for include plant-based foods, according to Jim Manson, editor-in-chief at Diversified Communications, publisher of Natural Products News, who is speaking at the show. “Perhaps the biggest story is in plant-based foods – and I think we can expect plant-based to be a big feature of new product development in 2017,” says Manson.
“‘Healthy convenience’ is also a phrase that we’ll be hearing more of as consumers demand on-the-go foods made from healthier ingredients. Fermented foods are still firmly on-trend, and ‘slow release energy’ is an increasingly seen claim. Low-sugar products are also still on the rise,” he says.
Some new products that visitors can expect to see at the show include: Cofresh Snack Foods’ first certified organic range of Eat Real lentil chips, hummus chips and veggie straws; Easy Bean’s Seaweed & Sesame Chickpea Crispbread; Eat Grub bars which contains cricket powder; new vegan brand, Pep & Lekker’s, gluten free soup with accompanying hand-baked nutty seed bites; and Vegus Foods’ ambient Broccoli Sprout Juice, grown on its farm in Ireland, available in 30ml single serving tubes.
“One of the most striking features of recent shows, and 2017 confirms the trend, is the way we’ve been moving rapidly away from having one dominant ‘big idea’ about natural food – organic or wholefoods, for example – to something more pluralistic. So we have seen an explosion of food and nutrition trends and ideas – think ‘clean’, raw, gluten-free, Paleo, alkaline, vegan and so on,” comments Manson.
It is this broad mix of new products that attracts buyers to the show – over 10,200 retail buyers and foodservice operators attended the show in 2016. “Newness is crucial to our business, and nowhere in the UK is there more innovation that is relevant to my business than this show,” says Al Overton, head of buying at Planet Organic.
The show will also see a return of the Natural Food Kitchen with additions to the line-up including nutritionists Christine Bailey, Oliver McCabe, and Nicky Clinch, Icelandic chef Solla Eiríksdóttir, Dr Rupy Aujla from The Doctor’s Kitchen (the show’s first GP chef), Gill Meller, head chef at River Cottage, and celebrated Italian chefs and restaurateurs Francesco Mazzei and Aldo Zilli.
While, the Natural Products Talk Theatre will see sessions from Ella Woodward, founder of the popular food blog ‘Deliciously Ella’ and Dale Pinnock (the Medicinal Chef).
There will also be two New Product Showcases, international pavilions from Italy, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Turkey, Greece, France, and the USA, plus a new Vegan World area (in association with the Vegan Society). The returning Growing Organic Together pavilion – hosted by the Soil Association & Organic Trade Board, will also be 65% bigger.
“The Natural Food Show is an exciting event that Pret’s food team always looks forward to attending. It’s always brimming with ideas and inspiration,” says Caroline Cromar, group director of food at Pret A Manger.
For a free pass for the Natural Food Show at Natural & Organic Products Europe which takes place in London’s ExCeL on 2-3 April 2017 please visit www.naturalproducts.co.uk
