EXCLUSIVE: Tracking Natural Product Trends at Newtopia Now and Beyond
At the first-ever Newtopia Now show, held Aug. 25-28 in Denver, brands and retail buyers were encouraged to connect in a more intimate setting. On site to help them do so was Chicago-based SPINS, the leading provider of retail consumer insights, analytics and consulting for the natural, organic and specialty products industry. As the trade show kicked off, Progressive Grocer spoke with Scott Dicker, SPINS’ senior director, market insights, on what retailers can expect in the rapidly growing segment.
Progressive Grocer: Obviously, you guys cover the natural foods segment of the business, so what trends have you been noticing in particular?
Scott Dicker: We’ve been seeing a few different, what we call kind of mega-trends that are really pushing the industry forward. Health and wellness is not new, but there’s this extra push around increasing your healthspan [a concept that SPINS defines as the act of trying to live better longer]. We’re seeing people of all different age brackets really turning to both nutrient-dense foods as well as functional ingredients. I would say that that is the biggest trend moving the industry forward. You see that in added functional ingredients, [as in the case of] soda, [when] they add probiotics to it. Now it’s a health food, as well as nutrient dense.
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We’re also seeing things like indulgence. Not everything is going to be a functional product. People are still looking for reasons to indulge. Like, “I’m looking to treat myself” as kind of a little treat culture, and that’s both for food and beverage, also body care products – that expensive face cream people are looking to [treat] themselves to. And so there’s that idea that it’s going premium as well.
Sustainability is another [trend,] and then international and global flavors are really driving. They used to be just stuck in what they used to call the “ethnic aisle,” and now you’re seeing different global flavors in every single aisle in the store, and people are comfortable with it. You see that blending of formats and flavors, and it’s just a ton of innovation around there.
PG: Of the of the trends that you’ve been tracking, have you seen any surprises, anything unexpected?
SD: I don’t know if we’d say unexpected, because we track these things so closely. But sometimes the level of things – there’s some big categories that continue to grow really well, something like hydration, sports drinks and energy drinks, categories that have been around for a while [that] are massive categories still seeing large growth over the past couple of years. Also things like sustainable grains – it’s nice to see, it’s something that we’ve hoped that [segment] would be doing, and we’re starting to see that come to fruition in the data in different areas.
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PG: Is there anything that of the trends that you’ve been tracking that you find particularly exciting?
SD: I’m very excited about a couple of things. One of the things that I’ve been on the lookout for the past couple of years that I think is really ready is this idea of the non-energy functional beverages. For so long, the functional beverage space is just really dominated by energy drinks. There are even ready-to-drink coffee [energy drinks]. But there’s an opportunity – people are drinking less alcohol, but they’re still looking for that relaxation feeling and that nightcap that’s special, that drink that kind of makes them feel special. So you see that proliferating [with] nonalcoholic beers, for example, also nonalcoholic spirits and other things like that.
Then the other side of that equation is these euphoric drinks that still give you that [kind of] feeling that might use magnesium or ashwagandha or THC – those beverages are entering the market. There’s this whole market for these non-energy functional beverages that we’ve been talking about for a couple of years as innovative, and I think it’s ready to be disruptive.
PG: Interesting, interesting. What do you think retailers should be doing to best capitalize on these kinds of trends?
SD: I think they need to understand the types of things that are on their consumers’ minds without neglecting what they’re good at. Each retailer has their own ethos, and so understanding their specific customer is very important, understanding the types of brands and the attributes that our private intelligence is tracking all the time that are important to their channel, to their area, is really important. It’s just really meeting consumers where they are, knowing that this is kind of where consumers are in general, and we will help you keep an eye on the future.
PG: What are you hoping to get out of Newtopia Now, a brand-new show in a new location, new everything. What is your goal here?
SD: Newtopia Now is something we’re very excited about as well. I’m really excited about the the push to make more connections. I think everyone’s favorite part of the industry is the people that they meet, so that extra push on it, it’s making it accessible for smaller brands and emerging brands, as well to really make the deep connections that could drive their business forward.
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The [natural] industry has a lot of the innovation, and, really, the love and passion for the industry starts in those brands. So having everyone get together, share, understand that everyone’s success is together – I think it’s going to be a really special event, and we’re excited to be here.
