Natural Expo West Takeaways

Our grocery manager Jordan and I had the privilege of attending Natural Expo West March 8th through the 11th. Having gone to Natural Expo West many times in the past, I normally know what to expect but this was going to be interesting. There were still Covid protocols, but this has always been the premier natural organic show of the year. It had been 2 years since there was an in person show. Think of what you were going through in March of 2020 – searching for toilet paper? and when 2021 rolled around things were still not safe enough for a gathering of this size. At peak pre-covid this gathering drew over 86,000 buyers and sellers together from over 136 countries around the world. This year there were a mere 57,000 attendees – two of which were from Ellwood Thompson’s.

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The latest greatest trend?

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It’s a cautionary tale… plant-based foods. I love fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and grains. I wonder about the journey that took place before the piece of cauliflower I tried at Expo got shaped into a chicken nugget, breaded, and drenched in buffalo seasoning sauce? The wonder is why? If we saw one plant based chick’n nugget we saw 50 new companies hitting that comfort food spot along with so many other companies joining the highly processed plant-based surge in products. The best plant-based food still comes from the plant itself – directly from the plant.

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Our local produce season is upon us. The opportunity for highly nutritious plant-based food grown only a few miles from our doorsteps is here – our produce department is stocking up. If you want to try your own hand at plant-based alternatives our locally grown starter plants are arriving as I write, and our seed options are still plentiful. The best plant-based food must come directly from the plant to your plate. My apologies to all those food scientists directing all those ingredients across all those miles to that magical manufacturing plant that turns my once desirable fresh cauliflower, into a less than desirable buffalo nugget.

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The grand take away?

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It was good to see so many people again – did I just say I missed a crowd? because that doesn’t sound like me. I have to say it felt like you could tap into the sort of liberated energy flowing through a crowd that felt rejuvenated by attending again. For us it was great to look at all the new products and trends and meet up with friends in the industry, compare notes, and in some ways commiserate yet glow on about opportunities going forward.