Healthy Foods International Conference and Expo Recap

We recently attended the Healthy Foods International (first ever) conference and expo in Dallas. While we are waiting for conference materials to get posted to their website to deep dive on a few topics, we wanted to provide a top line summary of a few interesting things that were discussed between the manufacturers, retailers, distributors and marketers in attendance.

From the consumer side of things, a few interesting topics that arose were around mindsets and understanding. Going into this year's economic slump, consumer wallets are often a consideration. But, as stated at the conference, healthy living and sustainability are a "state of mind not state of wallet." Advocates that are committed to the lifestyle will prioritize spending and rationalize price in the category. What marketers and manufacturers should be concerned about is the average consumer's confusion around organic, natural, lean and enhanced foods. Only around a 5th of the general population really understand healthy and sustainable living, and they're the ones that will cause true growth and profit. Simple education and communication needs to be clearer, including store signage and placement.

To the general population, brands in the healthy/organic/natural category matter less than the industry would like to believe. We tend to think that smaller, local companies are the valued leaders, and big business are merely followers. While this maybe true for the opinion-leading 5th of the population, the general market just notices whether its says organic or not. And when it comes to price, where larger brands oftentimes offer lower prices, they can win.

On the manufacturer end of the spectrum, it was interesting to see the mix of home grown companies to huge corporate entities. Kraft, PepsiCo and Clorox were all there showcasing their latest healthy or green or natural products. On the smaller end of things were companies like Four Sisters and a Brother - Natural Bread Crumbs , a company started literally by four sisters and a brother from their own homes. There were a great many of these companies who were looking for their big break at this show to get distribution in new, larger retailers.