Video: Expo West 2016 Roundup – Telling the Story to Consumers
It’s not enough anymore to simply be a great tasting product. Consumers, especially millennials, want brands and products that tell a story about who made them, where they came from, what their relevance is, and why are they special. For natural, organic or healthy products, this also expands to encompass narratives around how a product can uniquely help consumers have a healthy diet.
Although Natural Products Expo West, which ended on Sunday, has swelled to an amazing 3,000 exhibitors, Project NOSH spotted three trends around products seeking to satisfy this desire for storytelling about products and their benefits.
Interest in single-origin products and ingredients spanned all categories From honey to to ice cream, this trend embodies consumers’ desire to have not just clean product labels, but those that give insight into the product’s history. The assumption is that a transparent product, with clear origins, is made from cleaner ingredients with less troublesome side effects.
Two trends that link together are the emergence of full-fat dairy and high protein products. As consumers continue to explore ways to stay full longer, loading up on protein (either meat based, plant-based or, as was readily available at the show, insect-based) is a popular trend. Full-fat dairy products, meanwhile, are growing more popular on claims that they provide more energy than their low-fat brethren. As for insect-based products, the idea is that they are high in protein and have more environmentally friendly ingredients. As a result, both trends tell narratives about products that will keep consumers performing better than ever.
In the following video, Project NOSH Editor Carol Ortenberg and BevNET Editor-in-Chief Jeff Klineman discuss these macro trends — and the brands and products that embody them.
