Expo, education and events

As veteran natural products retailers know, there’s a certain finesse to approaching sampling at Expo West. For some, this translates to a flat-out refusal to eat on the show floor. For others, successful sampling requires a well-honed strategy: “I’ve suffered through one too many cases of Expo Belly in my time; now I just start downing kimchi at 6 a.m. to build up the good bacteria before I hit the show floor,” says longtime natural retailer Maya Gutishurting. 

My personal strategy comes down to training, a process that kicks off every year in late January when I sample my way through hundreds of NEXTY Awards nominations. This year, there were nearly a record-breaking 1,500(!) products, a number that was painstakingly narrowed down to 154 finalists in 35 categories—including 15 brand new ones this year!

Why should I look for branded ingredients in supplements?

Many of the high-quality supplements lining natural products retailers’ shelves feature one or more branded ingredients. Also called trademarked ingredients, these proprietary versions of botanical extracts, key nutrients and other health-promoting compounds are typically standardized and tested for safety, purity, potency and efficacy. These characteristics make them attractive choices for supplement formulators and, increasingly, for shoppers seeking trustworthy products. Here’s how one retailer explained branded ingredients to our inquiring Secret Shopper.