Delicious,
Sustainable
& Gourmet
By Michelle Moran
We headed to Natural Products Expo East in
Baltimore last month, a journey well worth
the time. Trends? Well, coconut water is
not going away and everyone has their own
rendition. My favorite thing to see was really
great translations of comfort food made
with wholesome, sustainable ingredients,
dehydrated snack food with a twist (think
kale and seaweed) and just great ingredients treated with pride.
There truly is a blurred line between natural, organic and simply
gourmet. We gratefully danced over the line, sampling beautiful
artisanal salumi and delightfully salty-sweet chocolates.
And the crowds were pleased with this blurry concoction of
specialty foods, organics and natural products. The strength of
the natural, organic and healthy lifestyle industry proved robust
as ever, as booming business was done on the trade show floor
of Natural Products Expo East. The show attracted over 20,000
industry members, representing 80 countries, and the show
floor comprised of 1,450 exhibits. Natural Products Expo East
co-located with All Things Organic-BioFach America, the Organic
Summit, and Healthy Baking was held Sept. 21-24, 2011. Next
year’s show will be held Sept. 19-22, 2012, at the Baltimore
Convention Center.
First-time exhibitors totaled 355 companies, bringing industry
trends to market such as Snackle Mouth granola clusters,
Zendulgence hemp gelato and Nawgan functional beverages.
Legacy brands such as New Chapter, Late July, White Wave,
Stonyfield and Kiss My Face impressed with innovation, and led
industry initiatives, such as the non-GMO movement, organic
labeling and ingredient sourcing.
The winners of the New Product Showcase Awards as voted
on by attendees were:
• Best Packaging: Tiny Fruits by Little Duck Organics
• Most Innovative: Vampire Killer – Brad’s Raw Leafy Kale
by Brad’s Raw Foods
• Best New Green/Environmentally Friendly: Snack Time
by ChicoBag
• Best New Food: Hibiscus Lemon LunaPops by LunaPops
• Best New Health & Beauty: Fair Trade Ethiopian Coffee
Scrub by Planet Botanicals
• Best New Supplements/Herbs: Vega Sport Electrolyte
Hydrator by Sequel Naturals
• Best of Press: Daily Dose of Dark by NibMor Chocolate,
and Tea Enhancers by Catalyst Gourmet
For all the news, product launches, trends and Natural Products
Expo East coverage, visit
www.NewHope360.com.
Coppa
by Creminelli Fine Meats, LLC
203-570-8484
www.creminelli.com
Coppa comes from the shoulder/
neck of the pig, a unique cut for
its extensive marbling and lack
of tough, inedible elements. The
indications of a good coppa include
likeness in texture of the fat and
lean, and sweetness without unpleasant levels of salt or acidity.
Like prosciutto, coppa should not
have distinctive flavors beyond the
sweet aged meat flavor. Coppa can
replace prosciutto in most applications, particularly the Creminelli
version with Cristiano’s signature
sweet cure.
