Expo West 2017: SPINS Recaps Major Trends and Products
Corporate transparency, restorative agriculture and the rise of nut butters as a snack were among several emerging trends from Natural Products Expo West 2017 that were highlighted in a webinar from market research firm SPINS on Thursday.
Susan Simanski, the vice president of marketing for SPINS, and Brent Coons, the company’s director of natural industry insights, led the online presentation, which focused on identifying broad food and beverage industry trends and the new products exemplifying them as seen during Expo West, which took place in March in Anaheim, Calif.
The webinar began with a short discussion of the major trends that have permeated across all industry categories.
Simanski identified personalized wellness as an area of strong growth, fueled by new research and a movement from manufacturers to target specific functional benefits, helping them in “meeting shoppers where they are.”
Natural brands are also answering consumers’ demands for greater transparency, according to Simanski. That includes “telling the whole story” of the product in various forms, from brands sharing the identity of the farmer growing its crops to integrating a social mission into its messaging. She noted that call-outs to environmental sustainability and consciousness — including compostable packaging, regenerative agriculture, and zero-waste initiatives — are on the rise.