What’s New in Natural?
Plantlife just exhibited at the largest natural show in the world, Natural Products Expo. This Expo caters to the natural, organic and eco industries. All the products you find at your local health food store are sourced at this Expo. 2011 was a banner year with 3533 exhibitors from 35 countries and over 58,000 attendees!
Plantlife has exhibited at this Expo for years. In the early days, the majority of visitors were of the super health conscious, environmentally aware or hippie varieties. Now however, as one brilliant blogger put it “The exotic is now mainstream. Guatemalan hats, hippie skirts, and copper bracelets of yesteryear were replaced by business suits, briefcases, and Bluetooth ear pieces”.
Hot Topics
The usual buzz words like natural, vegan and organic were floating from booth to booth. Topics like these are standard fare and are discussed with the studied air of people who know and care about the subjects, like Plantlife.
The verbalistic trends of this super energized show were terms like “Local and Sustainable”, “gluten-free” and “transparency”.
Transparency
Transparency means “truth in labeling” and has long been an issue but has not been so inflamed a topic, as it was this year. Many companies have been busted for hiding certain ingredients from the public on their labels. Educated consumers are now requesting to know everything in the product and rightly so.
From the beginning, Plantlife has maintained truth and transparency in labeling. We’ve held our firm belief that the customer should be aware of the ingredients and we have nothing to hide. All our ingredients are fresh, healthy, whole and good for the body and skin!
Gluten-Free
There is a huge interest in “Gluten-Free” food and personal care. Consumers are requesting products that are gluten free because of hyper sensitivity to wheat and health issues. This growing trend causes store buyers to look for products to meet the demand.
Did you know Plantlife products have always been gluten free? The only exception to this is our Body Wash which contains a trace amount of wheat protein (a moisturizing ingredient).
Local and Sustainable
For good reason there is a growing trend towards utilizing locally grown ingredients in food and personal care manufacturing. You see it in everything from Domino's commercials to the resurgence in popularity of local farmer’s markets.
It seems now more than ever, we want to know who grows, picks and washes our produce or raw ingredients. We yearn for those personal relationships because it creates that sense of trust we’ve lacked for so long.
Plantlife is a local vendor to Whole Foods Southern California (we are located here), Mothers Markets, Jimbo's and other local health food stores. These stores believe in the local and sustainable supply chain.
The Plantlife Experience
This year at the Expo, we debuted our eco-friendly packaging for our soap and scrub combo which is available through our website! This great set contains 12 ounces of soap and a exfoliating soap bag in an ultra-cool reusable, natural jute bag.
As exhibitors, we have the opportunity to meet a plethora of amazing people who are truly making a difference in the natural industry. We always come back energized and ready to make more amazing products the are good for both people and planet.
