From Crickets to Kimchi, Ignite 360 CEO Rob Volpe observed (and tasted) his way through all the offerings at Natural Products Expo West 2016. Here are the top 14 items that inspired him - and why you should be paying attention.

1. INSPIRATIONS & TRENDS
FROM EXPO WEST 2016
14

2. OUR INTENTION
Walk the show to see (and taste) what there was to observe.
Showcases trends and products that inspired us. Tells you
what it is and answers the ‘So What’ along with questions to
apply to your own business.
THIS DOCUMENT
OUR INTENTION & HOW TO USE THIS DOCUMENT

3. Gut health is being recognized by moreandmore
consumers as the vital starting point to overall
wellness. An abundance of fermentedprobiotic
bearing beverages wereavailable for sampling.
WHAT?
FERMENTEDLY
HEALTHY
Beyond Kombucha and Kefir, these drinks are
promising holistic healthby theshot. Can you
help consumers improveor measure their gut
health? How can yourproducts deliver an
enhanced gut biome?
SO WHAT?
11

4. If you had any doubts about the demonization of
sugar, look no further. Steviawas the sweetener
of the show. And if it was going to be sugar, it
was as natural as possible. Or without added
sweetener at all like Wallaby’s new yogurt line.
WHAT?
ADDED
SUGAR IS ON
THE OUTS
Be preparedfor growing consumer resistance
to the sugar in your product. Artificial doesn’t
appeal like it usedto and even Stevia has its
detractors. What’s your product taste like without
added sugar at all? How can youtalk about
naturally occurring sugar andbeconvincing?
SO WHAT?
2

5. Can superfoods remain special if they are
in everything?
WHAT?
OVERDOSING
ON
SUPERFOODS
Make sure your superfood product doesn’t add to
the noise. Call out what the superfood does.Give
it meaning so consumers will giveit a try.
SO WHAT?
3

6. The move toward cleaner and cleaner eating has
led to products namedPure, Truth and Good.
Consumers in this space seek ‘clean’ labels and
ingredient decks. The brand name is onekey
starting point to communicate that purity and
wholesomeness.
WHAT?
THE MOST
VIRTUOUS
DESCRIPTORS
How does your brand name compare?What other
descriptors could you use for your product? How
else can you stand out from the crowd?Flavors?
Form? Price?
SO WHAT?
4

7. Environmentalimpact remains a focalpoint.
Companies are using theby-product of other
manufacturers such as Fatco which uses tallow
sourced from meat snack manufacturer
EPIC Provisions.
WHAT?
WASTE
NOTHING
“SNOUT TO TAIL
MANUFACTURING”
Think about what you cando with the by-product
in your manufacturingprocess to reduce your
brand’s eco footprint. As thesayinggoes… one
man’s trash is another man’s key ingredient.
SO WHAT?
5

8. Leftovers are on trend in a big way. From
fermented pickling juice shots to tallow in beauty
products and cookie dust adhered to popcorn,we
saw a lot of leftovers in use. Sir Kensington’s
created Fabanaise from theaquafaba – viscous
fluid found in cannedbeans.Apparentlyit
behaves like egg whites. Hello eggless, delicious
mayo-like condiment!
WHAT?
2016:
THE YEAR OF
THE LEFTOVER
How can you get outside the box inyour R&D –
what other ingredients andby-products have
properties that could make a healthier version of
your product?
SO WHAT?
6

9. Crickets are consideredone answer to the growing
challenge of making enough food to feed theworld
population. That means more cricket products
coming into the show and believe it or not, they
don’t taste like bugs!
WHAT?
CRICKETS ARE
THE NEW KALE
What’s your cricket contingencyplan when
food resources becomescarce?How would
you introduce to consumers a culturallyforeign
food like crickets?
SO WHAT?
7

10. Cold brew explodedin mainstream cafes last
summer. Its now availablebottledin the natural
and organic section frommanufacturers large
and small.
WHAT?
EXCUSE ME,
THIS COFFEE
IS COLD
Different than iced hot coffee, cold brew is made
cold so you are benefittingfrom peak flavor (and
caffeine presumably). This is a new way to deliver
a favorite beverage with more robust flavors. How
can you alter your manufacturing or consumer
prep to create a new experience?
SO WHAT?
8

11. It was everywhere at the show and it may
just be the miracleingredient consumers are
looking for when it comes to the ever-elusive
‘sustained energy.’
WHAT?
MUCHO
MATCHA!
Matcha offers slow release caffeine becauseits
pulverized green tea plant matter that releases
caffeine as you digest. As a drink it’s a bit bitter
but that can be maskedin bakeditems.This
feels like a ‘silver bullet’ for consumers to solve
the energy problem.How canyou get on the
matcha bandwagon?
SO WHAT?
9

12. Tasty Bite’s new Spice& Simmer kits addelements
of cooking to their line of Indianfoods. Simmer
sauces and whole spices gets you cooking.
Who says it’s intimidating to attempt Indian?
WHAT?
Pre-portioned andpackaged while maintaining
a sense of actually cooking is on trend– look at
Blue Apron and other kits. How can you
deconstruct your product to let consumers
reassemble it themselves?
SO WHAT?
DECONSTRUCTING
DINNER TO
REASSEMBLE
IT AS A MEAL
10

13. This brand has the best tasting bakedgoods at
the show. Why? Theproduct not only individually
packages the ingredients but forces you to assemble
them in scratch bake fashion.
The result is delicious.
WHAT?
GO BEYOND
THE INSIGHT TO
DELIVER MAGIC
The founding insight may havebeen individual
components but the resulting execution – instead
of ‘dump and mix’ - was scratchbaking made
easy. Re-approach theconvenience inyour
products to deliver an experience in a shorter
amount of time.
SO WHAT?
11

14. Savory is showing up in more typicallysweet
products. Noosa’s blackberry serrano delivers a
consistent note of heat while the sweet andtangy
yogurt and fruit flavors harmonize around it.
WHAT?
TURNING UP
THE HEAT TO
GET SAVORY
INTO SWEET
Consumers often need baby steps to accept this
sort of change. The marriage of sweet andheat
makes it more palatable. How can youmigrate
some heat or another flavor profileinto your
product? Andhow canyou manage your
consumer’s fears and expectations?
SO WHAT?
12

15. Consumer palates are expanding andtheyare
open to other flavors. How can you incorporate a
potential ‘stretch’ flavor into your line to create
new news and consumer excitement? Which
flavor would you choose?
Rejoice in the pineapple,watermelonand passion
fruit flavors found at the show! It’s no longer berry
and peach.
SO WHAT?
WHAT?
THERE ARE
OTHER FRUITS
BESIDES
STRAWBERRY
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16. WHAT?
In a world with so much choice, what story can
you offer up to engage prospectiveconsumers?
SO WHAT?
There’s only so many beverages you can try but
Runa won us over with their story of the finder
experiencing a natural sustainedenergy stimulant
found in the rain forests of Latin America. He
brought it back to the US and startedRuna.
The company is focusedon supportingthe
local Ecuadorian farmers too. And its sweetened
with cane sugar insteadof Stevia! GoogleRuna
to see which celebrities have jumpedon the
Runa bandwagon.
THE STORY
STILL MATTERS
14

17. WHAT STOOD OUT FOR YOU AT THE SHOW?
LET'S START A CONVERSATION!
Rob Volpe | CEO | Ignite 360
rob@ignite-360.com