Expo West Recap

This month we ventured to Anaheim, CA for Natural Products Expo West. We navigated our way through more than 80,000 people and 2,700 booths to meet with clients, see friends, and discover what’s new in the natural products industry. With new products on display every year, the Expo is always buzzing with positive energy. Here were our takeaways of the trends at Expo West:

Nut Butters

The rise of nut butter brands shouldn’t be shocking. There’s been a shake-up in the $1.9 billion a year nut butter category, which was once almost completely dominated by peanut butter. At the Expo, you could also see lots of almond, cashew, and sunflower based products. 

Water

Everywhere we turned, there was a new water company. The big players in bottled water were not present, for the most part. Many younger brands, however, were. There were tons of variations on water, all bringing something unique to the table. We saw boxed, alkaline, sparkling, caffeinated, electrolyte infused, and fat water to name a few. 

It will be very interesting to watch this category over the next few years to see if smaller fringe brands can gain market share. 

Natural Energy

Energy has been a trend in the natural space for quite some time. However, this year we noticed even more companies promoting natural energy. This was, perhaps, our favorite trend, since traversing the Expo hall can get tiring. We needed the boost! There was certainly an increase in cold brew coffee companies. Green tea matcha was also featured in a lot of drinks. Unsurprisingly, there were scores of energy drinks. That, however, is not a new trend.

Coconuts

Coconuts had a huge presence in Anaheim. Over the last decade, coconut water sales have grown exponentially.  Now, coconut bites, coconut milk, coconut oil, coconut chips, and even coconut jerky are everywhere. 

There is certainly an opportunity in the coconut category. Those who are able to educate consumers on the benefits of coconut products will succeed. Currently, however, many people are skeptical of the real benefits. 

Meat Alternatives

The meat alternative category has exploded in popularity over the last few years. This category is no longer limited to Boca, MorningStar, and Tofurky. Smaller companies are joining in—and stealing market share. 

This is perhaps the most viable of the health trends we saw at Expo West. These alternatives are a great source of essential nutrients, and fit into many more diets. For example, meatless alternatives are perfect for flexitarians—those who consume mostly plant based foods with the occasional inclusion of meat. Also, meatless alternatives are a great option for the over 375 million vegetarians worldwide. 

Finally, meatless alternatives are a more sustainable option than meat. This is exceptionally important, as sustainability has become the third highest factor driving consumer purchasing in the grocery store. As more people become more conscious of how their decisions impact the planet, meat alternative sales will likely continue to increase. 

The Impact of Health & Wellness on Grocery Stores

Keep an eye out for grocers playing more of a role in health & wellness in the near future, a move fueled by consumer demand. According to Leslie Sarasin, President & CEO of Food Manufacturing Institute, grocery stores are situated perfectly to assist consumers on their health & wellness journey. This comes at a time of high competition for grocery stores—not only competing against themselves, but also online retailers, as we previously wrote about.  

“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it now — as people prefer holistic approaches to health and wellness, food retailers, standing in the nexus position between food and pharmacy, as well as nutrition and provision of medical services, are uniquely positioned as health and wellness resources for their customers.” – Leslie Sarasin, FMI

Health and wellness engagement at grocery is a huge opportunity for healthy brands to pair with health influencers to meet the needs of Americans. Through their concerted efforts from office to shelf, health influencers and brands can influence the decisions of consumers at a much higher level.

The advantage will go to brands that are smart about engaging key influencers geo-targeted to store locations and partnering with key customers to promote their products and offerings. Pairing “near store” influencer and consumer reach with “in store” shopper marketing will certainly help consumers make healthier decisions.

What Makes a Source Credible and Trustworthy?

In a time when trust in traditional advertising is declining, consumers are constantly evaluating the sources from which they get information. With so much fake news and misleading stories, what should people look for in a reliable source?

We’ve found that there are three characteristics that make a source credible and trustworthy. First, they must be knowledgeable on diet and nutrition. Second, they should have interests that are aligned with the consumer—promoting a healthy lifestyle. Finally, this trusted and credible source must be able to provide relevant, actionable advice.

Knowledge and Expertise

Knowledge and expertise are arguably the two most important factors in determining the credibility of a source. Consumers are constantly looking for answers to complicated health & wellness questions—and often these answers vary depending on the person. A quick Google search seeking a solution to nutrition advice can yield “answers” from scores of so-called “experts.” But who are these people? Do they have a nutritional background? Do they know the consumer and their dietary needs? The internet is cluttered with so-called “experts,” making it extremely difficult to understand whose opinions matter, and what advice to act on.

With the media creating this clutter, where can consumers turn for dietary advice? Their hand-picked health professional. Why? This professional has gone through the extensive education required to obtain a degree and are counseling people everyday! The same cannot be said about the blogger or journalist, whose interests are not always in line with consumers’.

Interests That Align With the Consumer

The evolution of internet marketing has led to an enormous number of conflicting voices in the health & wellness conversation. For bloggers and journalists, it is in their interest to promote products or headlines that will attract attention, drive clicks, and increase advertising revenue. Based on their incentive to create traffic, their credibility should immediately be questioned. Are they truly interested in improving consumers’ health, or in gaining clicks?

The main objective of everyday health influencers is exceptionally clear: to help the people they counsel adopt and maintain a healthy lifestyle. These professionals want to share information and findings that are relevant to the people they counsel. Finally, they want to share relevant better-for-you products, because that can lead to change.

Context and Action

How valuable is health advice if it’s not applicable and actionable? Creating relevant and actionable advice is a huge hurdle for online sources. Often times, a problem is highlighted, an argument is made and supported, and the article ends. The reader is left with no actionable advice. Further, that health & wellness monologue might not even apply to them!

Personal healthcare professionals have an advantage that other sources don’t. They have the benefit of a two-way conversation. They can assess the dietary needs, restrictions, or preferences of their patient. These health professionals can then, in turn, make a personal and actionable recommendation.

Personal, everyday, health professionals meet all of these criteria. No other source does. When consumers don’t know where to turn, health professionals can cut through the clutter.

Meeting Consumers Where They Are

Allied health professionals are leaving their offices to meet consumers where they are—both literally and figuratively. This LA Times article describes the efforts of health professionals in California to meet people wherever they can influence purchasing decisions, including the grocery store. 

“It’s become increasingly clear that people’s regular eating and exercise habits have a much bigger effect on their health than the time spent at a doctor’s appointment.”  - Glen Melnick, USC Health Economics Professor

The conversation between health professionals and consumers about the foods they eat is a critical component of a preventive approach to health and wellness. The conversations between health professionals and consumers are exceptionally important to educating consumers, and in turn, preventing diseases. The location of this conversation is no longer limited to an office.

The Real Trends in Health & Wellness for 2017

It’s that time of year again—the time when our email inboxes and web browsers overflow with predictions about the key food trends for the coming year. Will 2017 be the year of sorghum? Will matcha take over the beverage market? Will people start swapping jackfruit for meat? 

While these trends represent exciting innovations in the food world, we don’t believe that they are the trends that will drive health & wellness in America next year. Instead, we encourage people to use this year-end period to take a step back and think about the big picture for 2017.

Americans Want to Be Healthier

A significant—and growing—percentage of Americans want to be healthier, lose weight, and feel better about their physical well being in 2017. So much so that in a recent survey, nearly half of Americans said that they are actively trying to lose weight. The number of Americans who use a gym has reached an all-time high—58 million people! This number has risen steadily since 2000, and we can expect this trend to continue.

Consumers Are Confused

We’ve written about the conflicting reports in the media that have created a cluttered space when it comes to health & wellness. Google any health-related topic and you’ll get dozens of conflicting opinions by self-proclaimed “experts.” People are confused about what to believe—and who to trust. 

Personal healthcare professionals are the most trusted source of health & wellness information, according to IFIC. As fake news, biased content, and questionably credentialed experts continue to proliferate online, consumers will turn to these trusted sources to cut through the clutter.

Trust and Credibility are Hard Won

Building trust and credibility is perhaps the most important “trend” for 2017. Americans have been skeptical of the media. Then came the presidential election, in which fake news garnered more attention on Facebook than the real news. 

While false claims are made by a very small percentage of brands, they have led 77% of consumers to believe that diet products aren’t as healthy as they claim to be. The uncertainty about who or what to trust online will make the role of face-to-face health professionals even more important in 2017.

Wishing you all health and prosperity in 2017!

Improving Consumers’ 200 Food Choices

The current level of uncertainty around healthcare in America brings self-care, and personal responsibility, to the forefront. Americans can combat this uncertainty by taking their health into their own hands. How so? By taking the first line of defense—making better food decisions. But how do consumers learn about new, better-for-you, products? Who can they trust for the information they need to stay healthy and well?

A recent article cited that Americans make over 200 food decisions every day. Yes, you read that correctly... The average consumer makes more than 200 food choices each day. So, as people begin to take charge of their health, there is a huge opportunity for healthy brands to become part of the consideration set. Consumers just need to know about them! 

Beyond brand awareness, consumers need education. They need to know the benefits of a product before they alter one of their 200 food choices. A recent 2016 IFIC study reminds us that consumers trust their health influencers—their own personal health advisors—for nutrition information more than any other source. Together, with full transparency and no financial incentives, healthy brands and influencers can accelerate awareness and make an impactful change on the dietary habits of Americans.

Advice From the Front Lines

One of things we constantly talk about here at Pulse is the power of the personal relationship between health influencer and patient. My friend Rebecca Tobin is a family practice physician with a family, a full patient load and a common-sense approach to helping her patients be healthy and well. On a recent walk through the neighborhood, Becky shared her prescription for becoming—and staying—healthy. I asked her if I could share it here because in the day-to-day bustle of marketing healthy foods—and amid the clutter of conflicting health & wellness messages bombarding consumers daily—it’s important to keep our eyes on the target—straightforward advice from a trusted source that can help the average American consumer live a healthier life.  

 Dr. Tobin’s Prescription for Staying Healthy

Staying healthy is simple. But simple does not always mean easy. Every day   patients come to me for advice and guidance on how to “get healthy.” People want to lose weight, start an exercise program, or break bad habits.  Some do not know what questions to ask.  Others bring me spreadsheets of data, bottles of supplements, and a list of all the diets they have tried.  

Staying healthy requires 5 important considerations:  good nutrition, plenty of exercise, plenty of sleep, good mental health, and avoidance of toxins. 

1. Good nutrition.  Keep it lean and green. Eat plenty of lean meats/proteins and lots of green vegetables. The less-processed the foods you eat, the better they will be for your body. Keep a serving to about the size of your closed fist. No measuring cups needed. And remember—no one is perfect, if you have a bad day and eat lots of cake then make up for it the next day with extra greens. Don’t let the unhealthy pattern become the norm. 

2. Plenty of exercise. No gym membership required. Just move! The classic 10,000 steps per day rule is a great guide. If you are unfortunate enough to have a desk job, get up frequently or do it standing, walking, or pedaling. Most work places are accepting of these accommodations. 

3. Plenty of sleep. Your goal should be 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Few people get this on a regular basis. Bodies and minds need time to rest and repair. You should wake up refreshed and have energy to start the day. If not, you aren’t getting enough sleep—or enough good quality sleep—and the problem should be addressed. 

4. Good mental health. Yes, being happy is very important! Take 10 minutes outside in the sun every day. The sunlight will increase the serotonin in your brain and keep your vitamin D levels up. Find time to think, relax, and enjoy life.  Positive thought has been proven to help healing and to help you stay healthy.

5. Avoidance of toxins. Tobacco, alcohol and harmful fumes to name a few. Obvious but hard to do!

To be healthy it is important to find a routine that is sustainable. Keep it simple. But remember, it will not necessarily be easy. 

Dr. Tobin’s advice is simple, but as she says, not easy. There’s clearly no one thing that’s going to jettison a person to optimal health. Moreover, no patient is going to undertake even one of these recommendations if there is no foundation of trust with the health influencer. Trust and credibility. It doesn’t get any simpler than that. But it’s not easy.

Dr. Rebecca Tobin

Dr. Tobin graduated from UNC Medical School in 1993. She went on to serve as chief resident of UNC Family Medicine.

Rebecca founded Comprehensive Family Medicine in 2005. Lives with her three children in Hillsborough, North Carolina. 

PulseConnect Member In Action: Rachel Chambers, RDN/LD

We’re very excited to share this video about one of our PulseConnect members. Rachel Chambers and Compass One Healthcare have allowed us to share this video that focuses on the great work Rachel does on a daily basis. Rachel is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist in Venice, Florida.

Rachel Chambers Spotlight from Compass One - Healthcare on Vimeo.

Nutrition Marketing: A Brand Perspective

Samantha Cassetty, M.S., R.D.
VP, Nutrition, Luvo

Healthcare professionals agree that eating healthfully and deliciously can and do go hand-in-hand. And certainly there are social media enthusiasts who post beautiful images of kale salads and whole grain quinoa all over their feeds.

Yet marketing nutrition to a broad consumer base, who may view healthy eating as sentence to starvation or deprivation or bland food, is much more challenging.The complex regulatory environment makes it even harder. Words that evoke great nutrition—including the very word nutrition itself—are off limits.

That goes for healthy, and many claims about sodium, sugar, and so on. Claims that can be made are often clunky and clinical—feeding into the general perception about nutrition.

The regulatory environment is likely to change in the near future, but in the meantime, there are some key ways to market healthy eating. And in fact, many healthcare professionals have already discovered them and are using them on their personal platforms.

Building a content strategy that supports a healthy lifestyle is one way to tap into consumers who are looking for easy ways to eat better. People are always searching for recipe inspiration, healthy eating tips, entertaining advice, and so on, and content is a great way for brands to connect with an audience in an authentic way. Great content supports the brand mission and tells the brand story without being so brand-centric.

Developing an influencer platform is another way to reach consumers on a healthy eating journey. People looking for healthy eating advice trust credentialed professionals. Sharing through these advocates represents an opportunity to connect with an audience of people who are looking for great-tasting ways that make it easy to eat well. 

Finally, you can’t overlook great photography when it comes to marketing around healthy eating. Taking a cue from social media, beautiful imagery and hero shots of food and fresh ingredients can go a long way toward amplifying a nutrition message while also conveying freshness and flavor. 

Dietitians and other healthcare professionals have always been in the business of marketing nutrition. It’s no surprise that brands are now using similar strategies reach their consumers.

Samantha Cassetty, M.S., R.D.

Samantha is Vice President of Nutrition at Luvo, a forward-thinking food company creating the next generation of frozen food with a focus on great taste, convenience and most importantly, nutrition. At Luvo, she develops nutrition standards, spearheads nutrition communications and strategy, and acts as a brand ambassador and expert voice, both internally and in the media.

Samantha formerly served as Nutrition Director at Good Housekeeping where she reached millions of people with her healthy eating advice. An author of The Girlfriends Diet and contributor to the New York Times bestseller 7 Years Younger and 7 Years Younger: The Anti-Aging Breakthrough Diet, Samantha’s approachable style has helped empower people with food and lifestyle solutions that make it easier to eat well.

Samantha has appeared as an expert on television and radio shows, including The Today Show, Dr. Oz, and CBS Sunday Morning. She can also been seen on The Cooking Channel’s “Drop 5 Lbs. with Good Housekeeping,” where she served as the Nutrition Correspondent.

Samantha received a Bachelor of Science from Vanderbilt University and a Master of Science from Boston University. She completed her dietetic internship at Boston Medical Center. Samantha resides in New York City with her 13-year-old son.

Eating Healthy is... Rebellious?

Getting kids to eat healthfully has always been a challenge for parents—apparently to the point of “trying anything.” In a new report published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a team from the University of Chicago has analyzed how harnessing teenage rebellion can be used to motivate healthier eating.

According to Food & Wine  the research team educated a a group of eighth graders on strategies that Big Food employs to manipulate consumers into making bad food choices. Namely through the use of addictive seasonings and targeted marketing to young children and people with low-incomes.  

“We framed healthy eating as a way to ‘stick it to the man’—we cast the executives behind food marketing as controlling adult authority figures and framed the avoidance of junk food as a way to rebel against their control.”

— Researcher Christopher J. Bryan of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business

Adolescent rebellion is by definition, temporary. It lasts through - well - adolescence.  What happens once the teen rebellion ends?  Do young adults return to their old eating habits as their anger at “the man” subsides? Do we honestly believe that demonizing food companies will result in sustainable behavior change?  

We can't help but wonder about the effects that basic nutrition education would have on the same group.  Imagine providing middle schoolers with nutrition education that demonstrates the effects that good food choices can have on quality of life and long term health.  That's so much more than rebellion.  That's revolution.