Natural Grocers Shares What’s Trending in Food, Health and Personal Care

In addition to the many forecasts released by market research firms, some retailers share their own lists of trends set to affect the grocery space over the next year. Whole Foods Market, for example, released its 2024 predictions in October.

Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage Inc. is out this week with its take on what's next, compiled by its nutrition education team. In this trends report, the natural and organic retailer spotlighted movements across several categories. 

"This year's trends piece incorporates an array of truly unique topics with products and practices we love. Though listed as ‘trends,’ our company has been embracing some of these practices and promoting the brands behind them, for many years," said Raquel Isely, VP of marketing. "We hope this list also encourages folks to pause and consider how intricately our purchases and practices are connected when it comes to shaping our collective ability to thrive and flourish long-term.”

A dozen trends made the list this year, spanning emerging behaviors among consumers to guidance from health experts. Natural Grocers broke down trends by topic, including the following:

Health and Wellness

• Heat Adaption Becomes Necessary: As weather gets warmer, Natural Grocers experts project that people will learn how to use foods and nutrients to keep cool.
• Blood Sugar Balance Is Key to Healthy Weight Maintenance: In addition to diet and exercise, consumers looking to achieve a healthy weight can look at supplements that support normal blood sugar balance.
• Menopause Finally Gets the Attention It Deserves: Moving on from taboos, women can expect more conversations, education and support for this transition. 

Body Care and Beauty

• Skin Barrier Repair Becomes the Holy Grail of Skincare: Fueled by popular TikToks, the idea of making healthy skin barriers has caught on, and consumers will look for ways to keep skin barriers balanced through moisturizers, gentle cleansers and cleansing balms, along with other specific ingredients.
• Skinimalism Clears the Clutter: While skin care is a priority, more people want to streamline their facial care for a manageable routine. 
• Hydroxyapatite Toothpaste Upgrades Our Oral Health: Natural Grocers expects more interest in this alterative toothpaste that contains an ingredient making up more than 97% of tooth enamel’s foundation.  

Food and Beverage 

• We All Get on Board with Boards: Expect another year of popular charcuterie-inspired boards that are beautiful and fairly easy to assemble. 
• The Mediterranean Diet Stands the Test of Time: This stalwart way of eating will remain on consumers’ minds and lists in 2024, with ingredients like veggies, fruit, fish, olive oil, nuts, beans, legumes, spices, along with a moderate amount of red wine, dairy, meat, whole grains and eggs. 
• Replacing High Omega-6 Oils Becomes a Health Priority: More consumers are moving to healthier oils like olive oil, coconut oil, and high-oleic sunflower oil and will focus on consuming more health-promoting omega-3s found in wild salmon, pasture-raised beef, algal oils, fish oils and sardines.

Also in its annual trend report, Natural Grocers pointed to three “ecologically thoughtful” trends for the unfolding calendar year. Those trends include the need to mitigate the health hazards of wildfire smoke as such fires become more common; the pushback against lab-grown meat; and the battle to define regenerative agriculture. 

Family-operated Natural Grocers operates more than 165 stores in 21 states. The Lakewood, Colo.-based natural and organic grocer is No. 95 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2023 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. PG also named Natural Grocers one of its 10 Most Sustainable Grocers.