New Trade Show for Natural Products Makes Its Big Debut

Newtopia Now Whole Food Market Pitch Session Main Image

Company representatives pose with Whole Foods execs after pitching their products at a Newtopia Now session detailing how to get their items on the shelves at the retailer.

COLUMN: AHEAD OF WHAT'S NEXT

Newtopia Now, the trade show created to succeed Natural Products Expo East, made its much awaited debut Aug. 25-28 in Denver at the Mile High City’s convention center. Designed to help retail buyers and brands get to know one another better in a more intimate setting, the event featured plenty of small-scale sessions across its color-coded “neighborhoods” – Glow (beauty and lifestyle), Regenerate (sustainability), Represent (diversity), and Thrive (health and wellness) – providing plenty of content for up-and-coming brands.

These included panels in which top grocers Whole Foods Market, Sprouts Farmers Market, PCC Community Markets, Bristol Farms and online-only Thrive Market explained what they look for in new products, and how they work with emerging companies to develop their business. Hint: Good candidates will be able to adhere to these grocers’ standards in regard to eco-friendliness, ethical sourcing and approved ingredients, as well as offer a strong brand story, have well-established business goals, and be willing to do the hard work when it comes to promoting their products, be it on social media, via in-store demos, through pricing and packaging, and beyond.

Ready, Set, Pitch!

The Whole Foods session, moderated by Daniel Scharff of Startup CPG, “the world’s biggest CPG community,” and featuring Scott Collier, Casey Gaston and Charlie New from the natural food grocer, even gave emerging brands the opportunity to pitch their products – albeit in 15-second micro-presentations, which, as time grew short, shrank to a mere 10 seconds. Despite the frenetic pace and high-pressure atmosphere, the pitchers were rewarded with warm applause by a supportive audience, and the Whole Foods executives were welcoming and receptive to those brave enough to offer their products.

Turning product pitches into a spectator sport at Newtopia Now perhaps reached its apogee at another event, the Earth Fare Mic Drop Olympics, powered by Startup CPG, GFI and Riverboat CO. At this gleefully unhinged competition, hosted by Scharff and Earth Fare’s Mitch Orland, several brand hopefuls engaged in a friendly rap battle, in which the virtues of their products are highlighted, to determine which would end up on the healthy food retailer’s shelves.

Once the top three brands were chosen, with the judges assigning ratings on a scale of one to 10, the “winner” was chosen by seeing which contestant could jump rope the longest without missing. All three finalists can expect to work with Earth Fare, however. Again, the audience was solidly behind the competing brands, heartily engaging in call and response when requested, clapping their hands to the rhythms, and cheering for everyone, regardless of rapping talent.

If these two sessions are any indication, Newtopia Now is off to a brilliant start of bringing retail buyers and brands closer together in a spirit of fun and mutual support. Of course, there was plenty more, from booths dishing up samples, to quieter areas enabling participants to make “conscious connections,” to cooking demos, to information on investing, to “Stoop Talks” where business owners could discuss the benefits of their brands, along with various off-site events to enable the networking to continue away from the show floor. It will be fascinating to see how the show develops in future iterations.