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Expo West Shows Herbs, Grains and Goo in our Future

Expo West Natural Products show is a whirlwind of all things organic, natural and somehow good for you. Gone are the days that it's as simple as "an apple a day". These thousands of products are dizzying in the grocery stores, much less in a hall the size of mulitple football fields. Never the less, there are always a few trends that rise to the top.

--Herbs: They're in water, chocolate, teas and other random products. The interesting thing is that they seem to be in style not only for their flavors, but for medicinal properties as well. While New Tree chocolate offers "relaxing" lavendar bars, while Ayala's Herbal water comes in Lemon Verbena Geranium flavor just because it tastes really good.

--Grains: Finally our country is catching up with the rest of the world, figuring out that the grains family extends beyone Uncle Ben's. Crackers and granola categories are exploding with the additional power packed crunch of quinoa, flax and other whole grains. From grain "loaf" by Fieldroast (which not only slices like meat, but tastes like it as well) to Quinoa Maple Pecan Meteorbites by Galaxy Granola to simple, delicious whole grain pilafs from Village Harvest Rice grains are finally getting the attention they deserve.

--Goo: It started as an athletic supplement. About a decade ago, Cliff Bar introduced a sqeezable food packet that could be taken on the run (literally) to keep energy up without weighing you down. Now, Plum Organics, among others in the category, introduced a crushed fruit product in this tubelike pacakging that can be squirted into hungry little mouths that never sit down for a full meal. Other companies are hocking the same type of products for older consumers who can't sit still.

Prediction for 2010: Lavendar Oatmeal Squeezers for a relaxing breakfast on the fly!

Expo West Shows Herbs, Grains and Goo in our Future posted by Meryl on March 11, 2009 @ 8:35 AM
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Filed under: Trends

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