USA: Trends between Raw Food und Super Food

Expo West in Anaheim (California), the biggest trade fair in the world for natural and organic products, was held this year from 10 – 13 March and registered a record of 60,000 professional visitors. Over 2,000 exhibitors, including 500 exhibiting for the first time, presented their new products and set the trends. As a visitor, you got the impression that business is booming. This was confirmed by everybody I asked – the mood was distinctly upbeat. The market is again developing positively. The show area devoted exclusively to organics was clearly set out and bustling with many important players in the market and trendsetters. (Picture: Expo West: Biggest get-together of organic retailers in the USA)
On the fringe of Expo West, management consultant Katherine Di Matteo (picture) said that the organic market is recovering much faster from the recession than the conventional trade and is already producing growth figures of 8 % – 10 % , whereas growth in the traditional retail trade is at the bottom end of the scale. Di Matteo, the President of IFOAM until the autumn of 2011, is anticipating a good year for the industry. Nevertheless, consumers buying less expensive own brands – a trend that increased in 2010 by almost 25 % - is likely to continue in the same way as the demand for “all-natural” products (natural health products without additives but not certified organic). The reason for both trends is primarily the fact that, since the economic crisis, many people have to be careful about how much money they spend. (Picture below on right: To save money, many people are buying natural rather than organic products)

Di Mattteo pointed to another interesting fact, namely that organic quality comes only in ninth place in a current assessment of purchasing motivation. The first things American consumers worry about are are pesticides and hormones. Other important issues are animal welfare and the availability of goods everywhere. So far, the organic industry has clearly not succeeded in communicating the fact that controlled organics have already addressed many of these points. Thus two trends can be seen: manufacturers display a organic logo (USDA) but increasingly they also list what their products don’t contain or what they as manufacturers stand for (for example, animal welfare).

Quite apart from this, many firms are labelling their products “all natural” in addition to displaying the USDA logo. A majority of manufacturers have in any case a two-pronged approach and offer a product portfolio containing both “all-natural” (for which there isn’t a precise definition) and “organic”. She said the challenge is to sort out the confusion this has caused and to adopt a clear approach. “We have to explain to customers that organic is both the best choice and all inclusive.” (Picture on left: A varied mix: organic, all-natural and conventional all together on the same shelf)

Anyway, you got the impression at Expo West that the industry is doing really well. A record number of visitors and loads of new exhibitors (500) were testimony to that. People were tasting stuff for all they were worth, and the exhibitors were very generous with their samples. What struck you too was the friendliness of the exhibitors and the way they tried to persuade you to buy their products – but without being pushy. You had to get used to the arrangement of mini-stands and big exhibition areas, and lack of clear divisions between the halls and theme areas made it difficult to get an overview. Nevertheless, food, cosmetics and food supplements had clearly defined sections.
(Picture: The cosmetics area radiated flair)

The trends in the product groups were in some cases very different from the German market. Raw food and super food were two top themes on the show floor. Raw food (the products must not be heated to more than 46°C ) is a super trend in California in particular: the raw foodies buy masses of fruit and vegetables, but also seeds and nuts of all kinds that are carefully germinated and processed into bars and crackers. Brands like go raw (Freeland Foods) or Raw Revolution (picture on left), both organic, presented their product innovations in Anaheim. Another vegetarian trend in the USA is super food, that includes (dried) fruits (acai, blueberry, goldenberry), cereals (chia, quinoa, etc.) and seeds with high ORAC-values (antioxidants). (Pictures: Raw food is an important trend in the wholefood sector in the USA)

But also good old sauerkraut and other fermented foods and drinks are rated highly. The number of people creating demand for vegetarian and vegan foods is on the increase. For example, in a recent survey in the USA 33 % said they looked for alternatives to meat. Gluten-free and lactose-free products are an important category in the product ranges. Alongside these trends, frozen foods, convenience and ethnic food (especially Mexican) are becoming more important. Savvy consumers continue to look for regional, non-GMO and fairly traded food products.

Genetic engineering was a big political topic at Expo West. The Non-GMO-Project distributed information material and collected signatures. The association has been active for about two years, certifies products and, among other things, organizes the annual Non-GMO-Month in the specialist trade. The initiative Just-Label-It, that is calling on the government to insist that GM food is labelled as such, was represented at the fair and reported that it had collected over a million signatures. Opposition to genetic engineering in agriculture is increasing. (Picture: Genetic engineering was a hot topic)

(Picture on right: More visitors than ever at Expo West)