FoodTrients Team Tracks Trends from the 2015 Natural Products Expo
New Flavors – spicier, more international dishes
More Exotic Ingredients (Moringa, Ashwagandha, Baobab, Crickets, Hemp)
More Superfood ingredients
Earth- and Cause-conscious
Simpler, Cleaner, Fresh Ingredients. Even the labels have clean, simple designs.
Coconuts are everywhere – in waters, fruit drinks, snack bars, jams and sauces. This superfood is multiplying like crazy and being reimagined in lots of new ways.
Protein bars just keep coming – with more exotic flavors and ingredients
Kale may not be the “darling” of the food industry but it is now a hugely featured ingredient in many products.
Turmeric is popping up everywhere, too, and Apple Cider Vinegar is having its day in the sun.
Ginger is kicking up flavors in more meals, snacks and drinks. www.GingerPeople.com
Raw foods are continuing to grow.
Yogurt Re-invented – more international varieties (Japan, Iceland) and lots more flavors (tomato, garlic, lavender), textures (creamier, more European in nature). Greek yogurt is too sour for some consumers and these newbies want to knock it (and more traditional yogurts) off the shelves.
SNACKS (Some of these are Trends in main dishes, too):
- Mini, small portions, measured servings – Bite-sized treats continue to grow. We even saw Popsicle bites that were in a package that looks like a small ice tray.
- Lots of nutrients in “treats” in an effort to make them healthier –
- Moringa (is a new ingredient in foods and snacks – Grace has been writing about moringa for years and loves the immune-boosting benefits of the plant leaves) —
- Crickets (adding protein –we saw 3 new cricket bar companies this year)
- Ashwaganda (another plant that Grace eats fresh every day)
- Sprouted nuts and seeds in treats
- Chocolate & cacoa in just about everything
- Trail mixes with new superfoods (golden berries, chia seeds, mulberries, goji berries, dragon fruit, sacha inchi seeds, and much more.)
- Baobob expanding beyond powder into treats, drinks
- Hemp was a main ingredient in many new snack products
- Coconut is a huge centerpiece in snacks this year
- More gluten-free
- More Paleo
- More GMO-free labeling
- More raw foods
- More vegan snacks
OILS/ SAUCES/DRESSINGS
- More Artisan and Organic oils –
- Pumpkin Seed, Avacado and Sunflower from www.Bgreenfood.com
- Meyer Lemon, Fresh Basil, Tahitian Lime, Blood Orange, Jalapeno-Lime, and Jalapeno-Garlic from www.ooliveoil.com
- Infused Avocado Oils from New Zealnd –Lime, Garlic, Lemon Pepper, Chilli, Horopito Pepper – from www.avocado-oil.co.nz
- More infused Avocado oils from Chosen Foods – Spicy and roasted Sesame, Roasted Peanut – www.ChosenFoods.com
- Coconut Oils are everywhere
- Dressings are spicing it up
- Red Palm Oil – singing the praises of a nutrient-rich (Vitamin A & E) that can withstand high heat (302 degrees), nutty-flavored (goes great with rice, grain dishes, spreads, sauces, soups and even popcorn). Aunt Patty’s Organic Red Palm Oil www.AuntPattys.com
- More International flavors – Korean, Vietnamese, Indian, Japanese, Latin America and more.
- Saucier Sauces – Cordon Blue- trained Chef Kelis has kicked up the taste and added a lot of class to her sauces, which include Ginger Sesame Glaze, Wild Cherry BBQ, and Jerk Sauce (ar www.bountyandfull.com ); Southern Style barbeque (Smokey, Hot Smoky, Carolina Gold, E.N.C. – a Carolina inspired vinegar sauce, Ivory – a sweet and tangy Alabama original, a Hot Pepper Vinegar Sauce, and Hot Mess, which are from www.lilliesq.com )
- Dressing UP! – Old favorites like Ranch Dressing are getting healthy and hearty makeovers. Cosmos Spicy Ranch now has an Extra Spicy dressing and a Dairy-Free Spicy Ranch ( www.CosmosSpicyRanch.com ); Green Garden has added plant-based ingredients to their organic extra virgin olive oil salad dressings – pomegranate, lime, rosemary, orange, cumin, miso, onion (from www.greengardendressing.com ); Tru Table has created salad dressings with whey protein and combined with delicious all-natural ingredients – Orange Blossom Honey & Balsamic, Orange Citrus & Black Chia Seed, Key Lime Caesar with Asiago, Asian Sweet Chilli & Tamari (from www.TruTable.com )’ Lemonaise has added six new flavors – Wasabi, Latin, Garlic Herb, Chipotle, Bite Back Tartar Sauce, and a Lemonaise Light ( from www.qbfoods.com )
- Organic Maple Syrups are being bottled like fine wines – 29 Février offers Clear, Amber or Dark Organic syrups www.29fevrier.ca — (Maple Syrup has 54 antioxidants that help protect against free radicals, it has high levels of zinc and manganese for heart health and immunity, it’s a great sugar substitute.
- Artisan Syrups are the new cocktails – Sonoma Syrup Co. has infused simple syrups with the great flavors — vanilla beans, mint, pomegranates, strawberry, black currant, lavender, almond, hazelnut, cinnamon and other spices – so you can make your own sodas, lemonades, coffee drinks and more (from www.sonomasyrup.com ); Torani Signature Syrups come in 3 flavors – Caramel, Hazenut and Vanilla (from http://www.torani.com/products/vanilla-signature-syrup ).
- Killer kechups are also on the food scene – Sriracha is in more ketchup brands this year. Traina Foods has a new spicy version of their award-winning Sun Dried Tomato Ketchup (from www.TrainaFoods.com ).
- Ghee Takes On New Flavors – just a little better than butter, ghee now has some flavorful cousins in the market – Pink Himalayan Salted Ghee, Serrano Chili Ghee, and Madagascar Vanilla Bean Ghee (from www.Tavalife.com ).
DRINKS:
Juices & the NEW ‘Sodas’:
- Yoga Veda has created some unique ‘juice’ blends (70-80 calories) based on yoga principles and blended with Ayervedic herbs – Soma (for Peace and Balance), which incorporates pomegranate with Jujube (Grace makes jujube tea and has a dessert recipe for Jujube Crumble in her next cookbook) one of Grace’s ingredients for tea), Rhodiola Root, and Azadirachta Indica (Neem) Bark; Prana (for Energy and Mental Focus), which infuses Mango and Lychee juice with Turmeric Root, Ginger Root, Terminalia Arjuna Bark and others; Kama (for Vitality and Vigor) is a mix of Guava and Passion Fruit juice with Ashwagandha Root, Ginseng Root, Saffron Flower and others; and Amrita (Cleansing and General Well Being), which is blueberry and Coconut Water blended with Indian Gooseberry (Amla) Fruit, Asparagus Racemosus Root, Hibiscus Flower and others. They also have 5 “sodas” or lightly carbonated drinks formulated with Ayervedic ingredients and exotic fruits – Jala (0 calories), Kama (70 calories), Soma (80), Amrita (80), Prana (70). www.yogaveda-beverage.com
- It Tastes Raaw has some interesting pure fruit and vegetable juice combinations – Raspberry Lemongrass, Strawberry Purple Carrot, Very Berry Wheatgrass, Mango Guarana, and others. www.ittastesraaw.com
- Wholly Oats was born in Ecuador 150 years ago in a grandmother’s kitchen. It contains oats, spices and juice blends (Apple Mango Peach blend [150 calories] and Pineapple [140 calories]) –- rich in antioxidants, potassium and Vitamin C and good hot or cold. www.whollyoats.com
- Harvest Soul Organic Chewable Juices – Vegetable and fruit juices with seeds, nuts and berries. www.harvestsoul.com
- Healthier Sodas: Búcha is a probiotic-rich kombucha drink made with yuzu fruit (42 – 47 calories) www.mybucha.com ;
- Honest Fizz (from Honest Tea folks) is an organic, zero-calorie soda that offers a healthy alternative to sodas and in great flavors, too – Lemon Limey, Orange Pop, Professor Fizz, Root Beer, and Golden Ginger Ale – www.honesttea.com; With half the calories of regular sodas, Organic Fair Soda Syrups lets you make your own sodas with their tasty collection of flavors – Lavendar, Kola, Root Beer, Ginger Ale, Orange, Cherry Cola – www.OrganicFair.com
- More Energy Drinks: EnerBee (80 calories) is an organic energy drink made with honey, bee pollen, royal jelly, green tea, yerba mate, ginseng and B vitamins – www.enerbee.com ; Canna Energy drink is infused with hemp oil and comes in three flavors – Original, Blueberry Pomegranate and Mango — www.CannaGetSome.com; Marley’s One Drop Iced Coffee drinks want you to “wake up and live.” Made with Jamaican coffee, the drink comes in three flavors – Mocha, Coffee and Vanilla – www.drinkmarley.com
- Marley’s Mellow Mood Relaxation Drinks can help calm you down if you have too many energy drinks. The drinks contain hops, chamomile, lemon balm, passion flower and Valerian Root, and come in three flavors — Citrus, Berry and Mango – www.drinkmarley.com
- Electrolytes: Golazo is an organic drink made from coconut water, a natural way to replace your electrolytes and rehydrate. It comes in four flavors—Mango Lime, Mandarin, Hibiscus and Lemon Lime (130 calories) – www.DrinkGolazo.com; GoodOnYa is another newcomer to the organic electrolyte drink market. It’s infused with juices (and lower in calories than most (10 -25 calories) and comes in 3 flavors – Lemons, Berries, and Oranges & Pineapples – www.GoodOnYa.com
- Spice It Up! Drinks are pumping up the flavor, too, and two that we saw were not only delicious, they were refreshingly different. Honey Drop introduced two new honey-based cold-pressed juices – Raw SoCal Honey Lemon Cayenne Cleanse and Raw Manuka Honey Ginger Apple. Their other juices include turmeric, matcha, and kale and contain 90-100 calories – www.honeydrop.com; Rebbl Superherb Elixir is an adaptogen powered drink that will de-stress and re-energize depending on what you need. The three tasty flavors are Maca Mocha, Reishi Chocolate and Ashwagandha Chai – www.rebbltonic.com
COFFEES:
This year coffee comes in a variety of formats and flavors. While it’s still more organic, cold brewed, sustainable and fair trade friendly, along with other food and drink, coffee is stepping up its game with more nutrients and health benefits. It’s also show up in more foods as an ingredient.
- Teeccino – It’s really tea that tastes like coffee, but without the acidity and caffeine. The “roasts,” made with organic chicory and other natural ingredients like Spanish Carob, Barley, Ramon Seeds and Dandelion Root, deliver a natural energy boost from nutrients not stimulants, heart-healthy potassium, antioxidants and soluble fiber that supports beneficial intestinal flora that improve digestion and elimination. You can brew it like coffee or with Tee Bags. Flavors include Mocha, Chocolate, French Roast, Vanilla Nut, Dandelion Dark Roast and Dandelion Caramel Nut. www.teeccino.com
- Coffee with Benefits: Ulivjava from Martha Stewart is an iced coffee drink blended with green tea, yerba mate (antioxidans), astragalus (an adaptogen). It comes in 2 flavors – Mocha and Vanilla www.UlivJava.com: Coffee-King has two new coffees: Ginseng 4 in 1 coffee helps relieve stress, tiredness and gives you a boost of energy. Ganoderma (also known as Reishi) improves vitality.
- Marley’s One Drop Iced Coffees—want you to “wake up and live.” Made with Jamaican coffee, Marley’s (as in Bob Marley) brew comes in 3 flavors—mocha, coffee and vanilla. www.drinkmarley.com
- Counting Sheep Coffee—is a gourmet decaffeinated blend with a natural herbal sedative—valerian, which is used for treating sleep disorders, restlessness and anxiety. www.countingsheepcoffee.com
- Counter Culture Coffee—offers year-round organic coffee meticulously developed and playfully named. There’s Apollo, Fast Forward, Hologram, Big Trouble, Forty-Six, and Slow Motion.
TEAS:
Teas have long been herbal elixirs, but now you can find teas infused with some pretty unique ingredients:
- Blu-dot Protein Teas have upped the benefit of green tea with whey protein. The company launched 5 teas, 3 sweetened with Stevia, two with cane sugar. www.bludotbeverages.com
- Rooibee Red Tea is “wellbeing in a bottle” according to its creators. The full line of Rooibes teas are natural decaffeinated and loaded with antioxidants. South Africans have been using Rooibees medicinally for centuries. Flavors include watermelon mint, peach, cranberry pomegranate, vanilla chai, and unsweetened. www.rooibeeredtea.com
- Do-Matcha’s New Matcha Green Tea, all green tea matchas, contain the highest concentration of antioxidants compared to all natural fruits and vegetables. www.domatcha.com
- Lettuce Tea is a new organic brew which is an excellent source of vitamin C, vitamin A, iron, potassium, vitamin K, manganese, thiamin, folate acid and chlorophyll, and a good source of calcium, riboflavin, copper, magnesium, and vitamin B6. The tea reinforces metabolism and strengthens your immune system. Flavors include strawberry, exotic apricot, pomegranate, and mango. www.complexbeverage.com
- Teas to help your blood pressure or blood sugar levels are here. Longreen Corporation has introduced their pressure free and gluco blocker teas. Learn more at www.lgreenhealth.com
Waters:
(See #10 in Trends story below)
No one should go thirsty with the incredible variety of “flavored” waters on the market. This year we saw:
- TuMe has 3 turmeric infused waters—citrus, mango and berries (5 to 10 calories). Turmeric is one of nature’s top anti-inflammatories. www.drinktume.com
- Coconut waters are everywhere but now they come in lots of flavors. Zico has launched a watermelon raspberry flavored coconut water. www.zico.com, Harmless Harvest added cinnamon and clove and dark cacao flavors to their original coconut water. www.harmlessharvest.com
- Arty Water is a plant-based superfood beverage containing 18 distinct antioxidants. The artichoke-infused water’s anti-inflammatory properties can also help reduce joint pain and muscle soreness. www.artywater.com
- Seva’s new Maple Water (20 calories) is loaded with minerals, antioxidants, amino and organic acids, phytonutrients and electrolytes. www.drinkseva.com
- True Nopal’s Cactus Water helps reduce inflammation and is jammed packed with all 24 nutritious betalains (antioxidants). www.truenopal.com
- Xiomega’s Chia Water has 9 times the Omega-3s of salmon, twice the fiber of bran flakes, more protein than soy, 3 times the iron of spinach, 6 times the calcium of milk, and 15 times the magnesium in broccoli. Comes in 4 flavors—lemon lime, mixed berries, mango passion and lemon tea (60 calories each). www.xiomega.com/
- Bumbleroot has added the African superfruit baobob to coconut water and created a superfood drink mix. 3 flavors—pineapple mint, lemongrass and blueberry (45 calories). www.bumblerootfoods.com
- Blossom Water is pure water infused with natural fruit and flower essences. 4 flavors—grapefruit lilac, lemon rose, plum jasmine, and pomegranate geranium (45 calories). www.drinkblossomwater.com
YOGURTS:
Yogurt has been re-invented with more international varieties (Japan, Iceland) and lots more flavors (tomato, garlic, lavender), textures (creamier, more European in nature). Greek yogurt may be too sour for some consumers, so these newbies want to knock it (and more traditional yogurts) off the shelves.
- Fru Zinga is a 90-calorie drinkable probiotic yogurt that is made with real fruit and 0% milk fat. Flavors include Strawberry, Black Cherry and Honey Vanilla – www.fruzinga.com
- Two new Australian yogurts offer smooth, creamy textures and a goal of turning Brekkie (breakfast) upside down. Nosa Yoghurt (they spell it like this) has 13 different flavors including pumpkin, honey and coconut 9240 – 320 calories) – www.noosayoghurt.com; Yulu, another creamy offering from the land down under, comes in five flavors – Strawberry, Raspberry, Vanilla Bean, Blueberry and Honey (170 – 180 calories) – www.yuluyogurt.com
- New creamy yogurts with roots in faraway lands also arrived from Asia (via Santa Monica, CA) and Iceland. Tarté is an a French-Vietnamese style yogurt that offers the same amount of protein as Greek yogurt but with a smoother, lighter taste and twice the calcium and 25% less sugar. The 5 flavors include Mango & Coconut, Strawberry & Guanabana, Original, Green Tea & Honey, and Acai & Blueberry (110 calories) www.tarteyogurt.com; Smari Organic Icelandic Yogurt is higher in protein and calcium than most yogurts and lower in sugars. According to Smari marketers, this yogurt formula kept their Viking ancestors strong and healthy through cold, dark winters. Smari offers 6 flavors – Vanilla, Peach, Blueberry, Coconut, Strawberry and Pure (100 – 153 calories) www.SmariOrganics.com
- Slingshot wants you to “carpe a.m.” with their drinkable (and chewable) yogurt protein drink, which contains as much protein as 3 eggs, the same amount of fiber as a bowl of oatmeal, and 600-mg of Omega 3s. The yogurt comes with granola, chia and almonds in a packet wrapped around the bottle’s neck, and you have a choice of 5 flavors – Plain, Peach, Strawberry, Blueberry and Vanilla Bean (196 – 257 calories) www.slingshotfoods.com
- Misha offers a new American culture called quark, a culinary tradition in Europe for centuries. It has none of the tang and more protein than Greek yogurt and comes in 5 flavors – Original, Peach Mango, Strawberry, Blueberry and Vanilla Bean Coconut (120 – 170 calories) www.mishadairy.com
- More savory yogurt flavors are offered from two yogurt companies. Blue Hill Yogurt was conceived in Blue Hill kitchens where Dan Barber and his chefs have been making their own grass-fed milk yogurt from the Blue Hill Farm cows. Their fun flavors include Beet, Carrot, Sweet Potato, Butternut Squash, Tomato and Parsnip (90 – 110 calories) www.bluehillyogurt.com; Labni Mediterranean Kefir Yogurt Snack introduced their all-natural, creamy yogurts in 3 delicious flavors – Sundried Tomato & Basil, Mint & Garlic, and Lavender & Honey (45 calories) www.kronfli.com
- Dreaming Cow Yogurt offers some more exotic fruit and spice flavors to their grass-fed yogurts. Their 10 flavors include Maple Ginger, Dark Cherry Chai, Honey Pear, Vanilla Agave, and Blueberry Cardamom (122 calories) www.DreamingCow.com