Natural Products Expo West | Conference Recap

At Export Portal, we know how important it is to stay informed about the international trade world’s latest goings-on. Whatever your industry is, things are constantly changing, and we want to help you stay up-to-date.

We stay true to our mission of supporting SMEs in every aspect of global trade by attending events pertinent to the different industries our users are in. That’s why we attended the Natural Products Expo West last week, and we’ve gathered some of the most relevant information from their talks to share with you!

One of the breakout conferences focused on the importance of incorporating these three necessary elements when creating a Climate Action Plan: justice, consumer advocacy, and supplier engagement. It stressed the necessity of building justice and talked about the Healthy Environment For All Act, which pushes state agencies to address environmental inequities that disproportionately hurt minorities, and the Justice for Black Farmers Act which serves to end discrimination within the USDA and protect the US Black farmers. It also pointed out how manufacturers that went solar led to a 97% diversion rate for waste, and turning food waste into useful products can help eliminate waste. Lastly, supplier engagement is key to tackling supply chain emissions, and maintaining good relations can be highly effective. Suppliers and businesses should therefore partner together to share data and research ways to help each other. 

The next most pertinent breakout conference was about the natural and organic industry. Natural products are a $259 billion industry, with food and beverages making up 70% of its sales. Supporting specialized diets is an emerging trend in consumer sales as keto, paleo, and vegan/vegetarian cuisines become more popular. The main goals of these sustainable companies are to create better outcomes for humans, animals, and the environment, while more and more shoppers are now expecting more than just a transactional purchase. Thus, mission and community-minded companies are experiencing the most sales growth, and natural products are outpacing normal products in growth.

Lastly, in response to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has provided flexibility with its enforcement policies by allowing modification without requiring labels. For example, if onions are hard to find, companies can replace them with green pepper. However, these policies will likely not last once the pandemic subsides. Moreover, regarding the prolific COVID-19 claims made by various companies, the FDA has stated that any unapproved COVID-19 claim will make your product an unapproved new drug or device and its sale federally illegal. On the other hand, under the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), virtually no COVID-19 claim about a product can be substantiated. In fact, the FTC has already sent 500 warning letters regarding COVID claims. Companies should thus never make such unapproved claims.

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