Total Access: Expo East

Well, what can we say? The last day of the show is always a strange experience. The floor traffic is down, there are no real special events or educational seminars, vendors have more time to talk, and the general mood is more mellow. Kind of of like dropping by the local store to pick up a paper on Sunday morning.

Without exception, everyone loved the venue. The folks at the Boston Convention and Exposition Center were polite, helpful and professional. The award-winning facilities are a pleasant change, and the city itself was alive this week with the shouts of Red Sox fans (a collective roar — literally — rocked the city at the end of game 5 of the ALCS on Thursday night). Then there were the Madonna fans who vogued their way over to TD Banknorth Garden, where the pop princess performed over two nights. The weather cooperated and everyone experienced a bit of classic New England autumn.

The show’s organizer, New Hope Natural Media, has signed a multi-year contract with the city, so everyone will be back next year — and for a few more years after that. In 2009, the show will be held in late September. If we don’t see you at Expo West in March, we’ll see you here next year. And in the meantime, rejoin Jeff and I on our regular blog, WHRefresh.

Now, time to catch that cab.

A seminar led by two former retail veterans revealed to me just how changable gourmet/specialty foods are, and how they’re often able to boost natural sales simply by changing their color. Gourmet can be ethnic, or natural or be camouflaged as premium private label.

This is good, because the ability to sell a gourmet product in a natural/organic context usually brings higher margins than selling an item that’s just “gourmet” or just “natural.” Graham Mitchell, president of Sustainable Innovations, and Kim Greenfeld (pictured), president of Campo Verde Solutions, profiled a number of mainstream retailers who’ve been successful in blending the specialty mystique into their natural/organic selections. Examples are abundant in private label, and aren’t limited to Trader Joe’s: Albertsons’ Essenza line (”better-than” products, according to Mitchell); Harris Teeter’s HT Trader label (around the world in 250 SKUs, says Greenfeld); or Ahold’s Simply Enjoy line of everyday luxury, indulgent items (which Mitchell helped develop for the retail giant).

Of course, gourmet brands have just as much potential. Take olive oil, for instance. It doesn’t matter whose name is on the label, as long as consumers see it as imported, natural and healthful. With one product, you’ve captured the attention of the wellness shopper, the armchair traveler and the artisan connoisseur. As Greenfeld (who worked 14 years with Trader Joe’s) told the audience, “Items that were once thought as unapproachable, limited to the world of hard-core foodies, are now everyday.”

The economy being what it is, there are real questions how to sell gourmet these days. Is the category relevant? Certainly, according to Mitchell and Greenfeld. Consumers aren’t eager to give up the good life, so if anything, they’re looking for deals. And that’s where retailers come to the rescue. Crafting your selection of gourmet items based on perceived value (quality + fair price) means shoppers will be able to take heart that they’re still eating pretty well.

In the World of Wellness, beverages are the new black. Lifestyle consumers are wearing the latest style in tonics, infusions and botanicals from the inside out. Most are all-natural, and some have specific functions, but they are all highly sophisticated and have a good dose of science behind them (of course, sleek packaging and savy marketing are part of the effort, too).

Here’s a few examples of what we’re seeing this year:

— Tizane, what’s being billed as the nation’s first line of premium botanical infusions. Offered in Hibiscus, Lemongrass and Jasmine, the drinks are sweetened with blue agave and weigh in at 60-80 calories per 12-ounce bottle.

— Mix1 is extending its line of all-natural protein and antioxidant drinks with a new high-antioxidant fiber drink, offering the equivalent of nine servings of fruits and veggies,complemented with eight grams of soluble fiber and nine grams of whey protein isolate in one 11-ounce container.

— NuVitae Fiberceutical Drink, a sparkling citrus beverage that combines the health benefits of 50% of your recommended daily value of fiber with the added benefit of vitamins and minerals.

— Cell-nique, an all-natural beverage containing 31 “super foods,” 400% of your daily Vitamin C and 330% of your daily Vitamin E with no sugar added and ingredients that promise to increase energy and speed metabolism.

— LightFull Satiety Smoothies, another fiber- and protein-loaded drink that helps promote and prolong the release of CCK – the hormone that tells your brain you feel full. Each smoothie packs 5 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber with no artificial sweeteners or preservatives.

And this is only a sip of what’s on the floor! In the interest of balance, I’ll leave off with one of the simplest concoctions we found today: Deluxe Honeydrop, honey-infused beverages made with water, a bit of organic honey, and organic fruit. Ahhh….

From in-store clinics to expanded pharmacy services, healthcare programs have become a popular way for supermarkets to build loyalty and increase their sales. It’s a tricky proposition, however, especially in terms of marketing. You can’t promote prescriptions and over-the-counter medication the same way you would produce.

To shed some light on this subject, representatives from two natural health stores shared their strategies. Kathleen Boehning of Honest Weight Food Coop in Albany, New York, talked about the importance of interacting with customers and employing a knowledgeable staff. The natural and homeopathic remedies Honest Weight sells in particular require close consultation. After all, not everyone knows how or when to use fish oils and ginseng root.

Boehning said her store also takes special orders for medications or supplements that she doesn’t stock. “You spend a lot of time on these orders, but it really helps people feel like they’re taken care of,” she said. It’s also part of what’s helped her section garner a phenomenal $1.1 million in sales so far this year.

Jon Fiume, vice presidents of retail operations for Ritzman Natural Health Pharmacies, a nine-store chain based in Wadsworth, Ohio, also stressed the importance of customer service and interaction. He explained that his pharmacists are expected to be knowledgeable about not only what’s behind the counter, but what’s out in the aisles as well. In addition, his stores, through marketing and staff training, strive to keep an ongoing dialogue going about current medical and wellness issues.

Asked about the future of pharmacy in retail, Fiume predicted that there will be more disease management programs in integrative pharmacy. A medical plan for someone with diabetes, for example, would draw doctors as well as pharmacists together and could end up saving a person money on insurance premiums.

I’ll be honest: I’m experiencing a bit of gluten-free fatigue right now. It feels like everywhere I turn here I see another food product and another company that’s hitched on to the trend. For many celiac sufferers and others trying to cut gluten out of their diet, the increase in choice is great. But what do retailers think? They’re the ones who stick their necks out and stock this stuff. Is there enough demand out there to justify this sort of supply?

Like me, Jim and Mellicha Ferrier are feeling the fatigue. Co-owners of the one-store Wild Farm Foods in Burton, Michigan, the Ferrier’s have been to all the major natural trade shows this year and say they’ve seen all the gluten-free foods they can stand. The two are looking to build a second store and came to Expo East looking for products to help expand their foodservice offerings. Rather than take on more gluten-free items, said Jim, they’ll probably stock more local foods in this and other departments.

“It just feels like the whole gluten-free thing is getting beat to death,” he said.

On the other side of the coin there’s Andrew Shober, a manager at Sunflower Natural Food Market in Woodstock, New York. He thinks the widening variety of gluten-free offerings is interesting, especially since innovations continue to close the taste gap between these foods and their conventional counterparts. Shober said his store has integrated gluten-free products in with the rest of the store, and uses shelf tags to differentiate these items and attract customer attention.

“It’s gotten to the point where gluten-free foods are almost the same quality as other foods in the store,” said Shober.

When the Expo East folks say they want to cut down on waste at the show, they mean it. I went to pitch my mini pizza box from lunch (I know, I know), and was soundly reprimanded when I threw it in the trash receptacle. A prim-looking woman, who was apparently overseeing the area, reached in, grabbed my pizza box from what was nearly the bottom of the bin, and tossed it in a box labeled for compost. “Sorry, I didn’t catch you in time,” she said. We chatted for a minute, and then I left, making sure to avoid shaking her hand.

Know the name? Like Rachel Carson, I’m sure it rings a bell in your head, even if you can’t pinpoint why. Lappe wrote the landmark bestseller Diet for a Small Planet, a book that, like Carson’s Silent Spring, opened the eyes of a young generation in the 1960s and helped shaped the subsequent movement.

It’s been more than 30 years since the author penned her thoughts on the food shortages afflicting the world at that time. Her great insight was that our modern-day production processes actually generated scarcity. She found out that it took 16 pounds of wheat and grains to produce a single pound of finished meat. No wonder why people were starving.

Lappe’s observations are just as valid today as the day more than 30 years ago when she experienced her epiphany in the library of UC Berkeley where she was a student. Yet, Lappe’s remarks this morning projected an insistent optimism, a spiritual call-to-arms that change is still possible. It was refreshing to think there’s still time. Referring to the current economic, political and ecological environment in which we’re living, Lappe showed us all opportunity.

“In this moment of dissonance, we can see things we couldn’t see before,” she told the audience. “It’s far too late, and the situation much too bad, to feel pessimism.”

Lappe outlined a bold plan she called the Ecology of Democracy, a way of sharing and re-directing resources that realigns ourselves and our collective activities with “the natural flow” of the world.

“We can shed these disempowering messages in order to take steps to develop a bold humility,” she continued.

Heady stuff, but far from ethereal. Look at the sustainable measures companies and consumers are taking. Sure, we’re in the stumbling, early stages, and there’s still plenty of sham. But whether you’re a corporate mogul, a small food manufacturer, a single-store retailer… or a reporter, you can’t walk away from hearing Frances Moore Lappe without thinking that “this profoundly discombobulating time” - as she put it - is not to be feared, but to be embraced. It’s the world giving all of us yet one more chance to get things right.

Brenda Boynton has a problem. She oversees the produce department at Spice of Life, her brother’s small natural foods store in Skowhegan, Maine. For those of you familiar with the state, you know that Skowhegan is on the rural side. The nearest college town is Waterville, home to Colby College, about 40 miles away.

The town has a Hannaford supermarket nearby, but until the economy soured, the little Spice of Life store was pulling its own. Now that things have turned, the retailer is trying to develop strategies to keep its core consumers and bring back the occasional wellness buyers. I’m not going to disclose what they’re planning, but suffice to say the relationship she and her brother Bryce have with their customers will get them through this recession, or whatever the pundits are calling this Wall Street roller coaster ride the entire nation is on.

Here is what Brenda is seeing in her neck of the woods, though:

— More bulk buying. The store has gravity bins and a large selection of loose spices and herbs. Customers can also order “bulk” by placing direct orders for cases through the retailer.

— Many customers are growing their own produce this year, so the store compensates by acting as a source of information and advice.

— Pressing vendors for better deals. This is easier than it sounds. While Spice of Life can’t beat larger, more mainstream comptitors on items, the price differentials are within customers’ comfort zones.

— Thinking ahead and stocking items that wil be in demand for the holidays and winter months.

Sure, Spice of Life is a small retailer in a rural area. But the challenges are the same for all retailers, regardless of location or size. What’s your strategy?

That’s how one retailer I overheard summed up today’s show. And from a broad perspective that’s pretty accurate. Tea and chocolate companies especially (I would also add bars to the list) were out in force today, as they often are at shows like this one. In the absence of any really distinct trends, which we didn’t find, they seem to dominate.

Walk a bit more slowly through the aisles, though, and you’d catch some pretty interesting products. I’d like to share a few of these with you:

- Teeccino is a tea drink made to taste like coffee. That sounds weird, but it’s actually really good, and a great alternative for the audience it’s marketed toward: People who don’t want to give up coffee, but could do without the caffeine and acidity. It’s made using herbal and food ingredients like chicory, dates, almonds and orange peel.

- It’s always fun to see the different ways that companies are cutting down on packaging and raw materials. Radius caught my eye today with its line of replaceable toothbrush heads and handles. Rather than throw out a whole toothbrush after six months, you can instead use Radius’s base handle (made from recycled materials) and just snap on a new set of bristles.

- Go Appetit has a line of chilled soups like gazpacho and carrot bisque available in grab-and-go-bottles. Apparently these types of drinks (soups?) are all the rage in Europe, where chilled soups are more a part of the culture.

- And for those who want to take water filtration to the max, Aquasana offers a whole house filter. It’s called The Rhino, and it certainly looked imposing. At nearly $1,000, the price is also pretty hefty.

We took a few minutes from touring the floor to meet the one and only Burt Shavitz, co-founder of Burt’s Bees, who was making an appearance at the show. Burt was good-naturedly signing hats, which you can afford to do after you’ve sold your company for a reported $925 million! Not bad for a company founded 25 years ago in a one-room abandoned schoolhouse in rural Maine.

If nothing else, Burt’s Bees shows just how much large corporations are abuzz with health, wellness and sustainability.