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CPG Trends Unveiled at the Natural Products Expo East 2022

In October of last year, Natural Products Expo East 2021 returned on the heels of the pandemic and during the Delta variant surge, leaving many booths empty. This year’s show, however, was filled with suppliers and buyers. Our team was in the middle of all the action, happy to see many familiar faces, including several of our RangeMe Verified™ suppliers.

Team RangeMe at Natural Products Expo East 2022

Here are some of the natural product trends on display at the show:

Ghee Whiz!

4th & Heart - Ghee4th & Heart – Ghee 4th & Heart - Ghee4th & Heart – Ghee

Did you know that in our Retail Roundup: Q2 2022 report, butter was a trending keyword among buyers on RangeMe? Well, what if you could enjoy the buttery taste without the casein and lactose that butter contains? Ghee has now entered the chat and is putting South Asian cooking at the forefront of innovative ingredient substitutions. Ghee is clarified butter commonly used in India for over 4,000 years. 4th & Heart produces ghee that is grass-fed,  pasture-raised, shelf-stable, has a high smoke point, is a natural source of butyric acid, which your body needs to absorb nutrients, and best of all, has the same great buttery taste. …

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A recession is coming to an economy near you – and it promises to be painful, with spiking inflation adding to the misery. Even before war broke out in Ukraine, inflation rose sharply as the world adjusted to life after the COVID-19 pandemic. The recent crisis has sent food and energy prices even higher. Consumers’ purchasing power is rapidly eroding, with more problems ahead as central banks raise interest rates to fight the price rises.

No wonder the International Monetary Fund has downgraded its forecasts for global economic growth this year – it thinks the world economy will expand by just 3.2% during 2022, down from 6.1% last year. Economists are particularly gloomy about the prospects for developed countries, warning of an outright downturn in countries including the U.S., UK, and Germany.

The impact on the retail sector is inevitable. Cash-strapped consumers spend less money – decreasing revenues for retailers and product providers. This will be even tougher to cope with, given the high input costs the industry currently faces caused by raw material and energy inflation.

However, there are ways for your brand to get ahead of a recession. Here are six strategies that could pay dividends as the …

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Incontinence, better known as a loss of bladder control, affects approximately 13 million Americans – 85% of whom are women. As a practicing physical therapist since 1977, Faye Pryor commonly encountered the consequences of this problem while treating patients with fall-related injuries. While assisting a patient with a bedpan, major spillage occurred on her clothes and bedding. The patient asked why there weren’t urinals for women to use without lying on their backs. In that same moment, a friend of hers walked in holding a baseball cap, sparking Pryor’s idea to create the PottyCap, a portable female urinal under the Blanor Products umbrella.

Blanor Products1981: Faye Pryor and her partners from Willowbrook Blanor ProductsFaye Pryor practicing physical therapy in the 1980’s Blanor ProductsFaye Pryor practicing physical therapy in the 1980’s

Potty talk

Pryor’s retail journey began with the help of her sister-in-law Cynthia Pryor, the Vice President and COO of Blanor Products. The two created their first prototype by working with a local university in Nashville. From there, they worked on refining the urinal with the assistance of engineers all across the country. “I’m the emotional one behind the brand and Cynthia is the analytical one. This balance makes us a great team,” …

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Each day, I hear food founders ask things like, “If we’re headed into a recession, how can I possibly make it work with my CPG brand?” or, “Is anyone having success raising money right now?” or “My products are already expensive – how am I going to navigate price increases on top of this?” Sound familiar? 

I’ve got good news and bad news: the good news is that we’re seeing some CPG founders inside of Retail Ready® have higher sales than ever before, secure funding this quarter (one of our students, Diaspora Spice Co., just raised $ 2.1M in Q3!), and continue to land regional and national placements in natural, conventional, and foodservice channels. You can do this too, despite what you’ve heard about slow sales, shifts in consumer spending, and challenges on the retail shelf.

The bad news: YOU have to take full responsibility for your success – for landing those wholesale accounts and increasing your velocity in your new and existing accounts. It’s not your broker’s, your distributor’s, or the retailer’s responsibility to drive sales for your brand. It’s on you – and this article will help you shift your thinking and increase your velocity regardless of the …

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It’s Hispanic Heritage Month! September 15 to October 15 is a time to honor the history and contributions of Hispanic cultures to American business. While this is a great time to celebrate the significance, we recommend supporting Latino-owned brands all year long—just as we do with LGBTQ-, POC-, and AAPI-owned businesses.

Observation of Hispanic heritage started as a week-long celebration in 1968 under President Lyndon B. Johnson and was later extended to a month-long celebration by President Ronald Reagan in 1988. September 15 is the independence anniversary for Latin American countries El Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Honduras. The independence days of Mexico and Chile fall on September 16 and 18, while Dia de la Raza or Columbus Day also falls within this heritage month, on October 12. 

Hispanic Americans have been an integral part of the U.S., economically and culturally. Their impact and contributions are immeasurable, and they embody the best of American values. Below are three Hispanic-owned businesses to support this month and beyond.

Cerveza Zólupez Beer Company

Zólupez Beer Co. Zólupez Beer Co.Javier Chávez, Jr., JD/MBA , Founder and President Zólupez Beer Co.

Founded in 2017, Cerveza Zólupez Beer Company is a Latino-owned U.S. craft brewery specializing in Mexican-Style artisanal beer.  Founder Javier Chávez, …

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E-Commerce Best Practices for Emerging Brands

Many emerging brands ask, which is better, getting my product in-store or selling online? With only so many available resources, determining where, when, and how to dedicate your time and dollars is crucial to increasing your chances of landing a deal with your dream retailer. 

Earlier this month, industry experts from Walgreens, Allume Group, Market Performance Group, and Omnicom Commerce Group addressed the above question during our What’s Next for E-Commerce? Why Brands and Retailers Need to Rethink Their Strategy panel discussion. They gave us the inside scoop on today’s e-commerce landscape and identified future business opportunities for emerging brands.

Creating an e-commerce strategy is essential for brands and retailers looking to increase sales and thrive in the digital or physical space. Here are a few takeaways from the panel discussion:

Product discovery goes digital

Andrea K. Leigh, Founder & CEO of Allume Group

Most product discovery happens digitally regardless of whether your product is sold in-store or online. Whether it’s on the retailer’s website or social media, “nearly 80-90% of shopping journeys begin online,” says Andrea K. Leigh, Founder & CEO of Allume Group. Having a strong digital presence at the beginning of the shoppers’ journey is super important since this is when consumers discover and educate themselves …

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