In reflecting back on this year’s Natural Products Expo West, I’d like to offer some observations on three of the trends that were everywhere evident. First, there was the pervasiveness of snacks in various forms – chips (ranging from organic mungbean chips to every kind of rice and vegetable chip you can imagine), crackers, pops
Having just gotten back from this year’s Natural Products Expo West, I can honestly say that the event has imbued me with a new sense of optimism for the future of our industry. In my previous blog, I noted that although I have been disappointed with our success thus far in promoting organic products, I
Well, it’s already the beginning of March, which means another Natural Products Expo West is just around the corner. In reflecting back on my more than two decades of having attended this event and visiting the booths of more companies than I can count, the question looms of whether we’ve actually made any progress over
If anything should come to symbolize the revolutions now sweeping away or threatening Arab dictatorships, it might well be a simple grocer’s scale. It was, as we have since learned, the confiscation of such a scale from a 26-year-old fruit and vegetable vendor Mohammed Bouazizi, that proved to be the triggering event that brought about
“Sustainagility” is a new term that’s been coined by Walmart’s Latin American CEO Eduardo Solórzano – one that stands for a combination of innovation and agility in the pursuit of sustainability . On first reading of this brave new word it struck me that Walmart continues to not only be the largest retailer in the
Back in 1948, British author George Orwell, in his final and most famous novel, “1984,” predicted a world in which all-seeing electronic eyes would give authorities the power to spy on everyone, as reflected in the slogan “Big Brother is watching you.” What has actually occurred since the real year 1984, however, has turned
In reflecting on 2010 and what may be in store for business in 2011, I have been struck by a couple of “aha moments” in regard to things I think will help determine which endeavors are most likely to succeed in the coming months. First, social media optimization (SMO) is going to be redefined. Already
Commodities the planet, and the relationship between pricing and the Web — this may seem to be an unlikely grouping, but I believe that taken together it will have a significant impact on consumer product companies this year. Why? Well, for one thing, we’re going to be entering a volatile time for commodities as the