Agri-Food Trade Service
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Wellness Trends Dominate at
Grocery Showcase West
May 31, 2012
Hello again! We are pleased to present a new blog post on the recent Grocery Showcase West, an annual trade show dedicated to the grocery industry held at the Vancouver Convention Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia. Organized by the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers, Grocery Showcase West is similar to Grocery Innovations Canada but focused predominantly on independent grocers in Western Canada. In addition to the presence of major brands, manufacturers and distributors, this year’s show featured a Small Canadian Processors Pavilion and First Time Exhibitors Pavilion, as well as a Top 10 Most Innovative Products display.
Several key trends were spotted at the show including health and wellness, organic, local, artisan/ gourmet, free-from foods, convenience, and ethnic. The ongoing health and wellness trend was evident throughout the show with many products emphasizing healthy ingredients, such as kale, sweet potato and ancient grains. For example, Canadian company ONEearth functional foods produces baking mixes with selections such as sweet potato and cinnamon muffin mix, banana quinoa granola bar mix, chai chia coconut cookie mix, and creole cornbread mix with kelp.
Coconut was another standout ingredient and was featured in a variety of products. This included organic coconut sugar by ONEearth functional foods and Organika (especially popular with consumers looking for alternatives to artificial sweeteners); SunRype Coco Water, coconut water-based drinks in flavours such as mango and pineapple; Dole dark chocolate coconut bites; Nature’s Path Dark Chocolate Macaroon Crunch crunchy granola bars; Thailand’s Foco coconut juice; and Aroy-D coconut milk.
Organic food and beverages continue to be popular with consumers. Nature’s Path, a Canadian company, had a wide range of organic non-GMO cereals and granola bar products on display at the show. Snacks and bite-sized treats tailored to the health-conscious consumer looking for small indulgences continue to be in demand. For example, Hardbite potato chips by Naturally Homegrown Foods from Maple Ridge, BC are kettle cooked and contain no cholesterol, artificial flavours or additives,
Free-from foods that target consumers with special dietary needs were also featured at Grocery Showcase West. Gluten-free is all the rage nowadays with many food manufacturers offering gluten-free product variants to cater to this demand. Vegan, nut-, soy-, lactose-, and sugar-free foods, such as vegan cheese, and soy whipped cream, are some of the other more common free-from products available to consumers.
Ethnic food products ranging from sauces to condiments and convenient/ready-to-eat packs were also featured prominently at the show. Examples include SnapDragon’s microwaveable noodle bowls, frozen Indian curry mixes from world renowned Indian restaurant Vij’s, VH’s soon-to-launch Korean barbeque sauce, and Maison Le Grand Italian pesto sauces.
Next year’s Grocery Showcase West will be held April 14-15, 2013 in Vancouver, BC at the Vancouver Convention Centre. Grocery Innovations Canada will take place October 1-2, 2012 in Toronto, Ontario at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. You can also read about our previous attendance at Grocery Innovations Canada at Grocery Innovations Canada 2011 boasts health food trend.
Stay tuned!
Lammie Cheng
Market Analyst
infoservice@agr.gc.ca
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