Some thoughts and discussions from me.
6 Hot Natural Foods Trends in 2014 at Expo West
Good morning, friends 
As I mentioned earlier this week, last weekend I was worked at ExpoWest in Anaheim, California, with the flapJacked team. Although most of my time there was spent working, I made sure to tackle as much of the expo as I could. To give you an idea of how many vendors were there, I spend a total of 3 days (about 25 hours all together) there, and probably covered 80% of it.
While there, I made mental notes of everything I saw, and definitely noticed some food and ingredient trends this year.
1. Protein everything.
I was there with a protein pancake company, but MAN – there was protein in everything from granola (which I mentioned on Instagram is out of this world) to ice cream to yogurt to coconut water! Seriously – protein everything. And I don’t hate it.
2. Probiotics.
I noticed probiotics as an ingredient in new food products from bars to tea to trail mix. Probiotics are HUGE this year; I don’t think I could have counted the number of different kombucha companies at the expo.
3. Grain-free granola.
I noticed so many new granola companies that featured grain-free granola. The most notable of these goes to larabar, who was featuring its brand-spanking-new renola. It’s so new that it doesn’t even have packaging yet! I tried the cocoa coconut flavor at ExpoWest, and was super impressed with the texture and flavor.
5. Coconut water
Holy crap – I didn’t even know that many coconut water companies existed! Everywhere you looked was a different coconut water brand trying to stick out. Two that did stick out to me, were Harmless Harvest (which made my top 5 ExpoWest products list) as well as Coconut Libre, which featured a protein coconut water variety.
5. Gluten-free everything
This was more of the theme of the actual expo than the amount of gluten-free brands. I think Lauren would agree that 80% of the people who were there simply expected everything to be gluten-free, and they were probably right. There were hardly any companies there that featured wheat as an ingredient. I know for sure that’s the number one question the flapJacked booth got (and for the record, they use gluten-free ingredients, but are not yet certified gluten-free.)
6. Nut butters galore!
Yep, almond (and other nut) butter is still a hot food this year. They’re stepping it up by adding superfoods, flavor, and vitamins, like Kolat does in theirs (which is another fave!) and getting rid of additives like sugar, and unpronounceable ingredients.
I wish I would have taken more pictures to capture the enormity of the event, because it’s unbelievable how huge it was. All I know is that swag was the name of the game, and I’ll be filling up on protein bars, probiotic drinks, granola, chia, coconut, and nut butters for the next few months 
p/c to Lauren for snapping that pic.
And now I’m going to go eat my protein granola breakfast and wash it down with some kombucha
PS – I haven’t posted a workout in a while, but I’ve got a 10 minute kettlebell workout in the works for next week’s post!
What foodie trends have you noticed this year so far?
So exciting to see that Larabar is coming out with a grain-free granola! I love Larabar since they are very affordable and also delicious. Thanks for sharing! I can’t wait until it hits shelves.
I wish I could find more drinks with Probiotics around here. I know they’re very beneficial for the body.
I am not surprised that nut butter everything is a trend. 😉
Natalie Staeckeler recently posted…Thinking Out Loud – Blink of an Eye
I also love that protein is making a splash this year. I know I need to do better about getting more protein into my diet, and it sounds like I’ll have some new products to help with that 🙂
Natalie @ Free Range Human recently posted…Thinking Out Loud
I’m curious what you think about the whole “gluten free” trend going around. What are your thoughts on gluten?
Ashley @ My Food N Fitness Diaries recently posted…03/13/14: Thursday Thoughts
You know, I actually don’t have many thoughts on it. While I don’t think it’s an allergen to everyone and needs to be removed, it’s also not necessarily unhealthy to not eat it. So I guess it doesn’t really matter to me!
I like all those trends. Larabar makes granola!?
Hillary | Nutrition Nut on the Run recently posted…5 No Equipment Travel Workouts
It’s brand new!
I so wish I could have gone to this! I bet it was a health food heaven!
Sarena (The Non Dairy Queen) recently posted…Hazelnut Pate A Choux!
That is funny that everything has protein in it! I’m cool with it too–esp if it’s quality protein. I’m not a huge fan of soy protein.
I think the gluten-free everything is a bit ridic IMO
omg now I just want some almond butter. So flapjacks is technically gluten free? Like they can’t say it because they aren’t certified, but if someone like myself who merely has a gluten sensitivity ate them, it would be fine? (totally understand if you can’t say yes – haha as a lawyer I understand liabilities!)
Man, I wish I had grabbed some of that Larabar granola- I didn’t even see their booth!
It’s funny how many varieties of Coconut water there are- I didn’t even realize it until I read this. Harmless Harvest is my #1 though- especially the cinnamon clove flavor (OMG). That protein coconut water is pretty good too!
I am loving the protein everything too- and can’t wait to see what the trends are next year! I feel like it was still “coconut everything” and “chia everything” this year as well.
Lauren @ Me and the Mountains recently posted…Maximize Your Life [An Evening with Jillian Michaels]
I still have to write my follow up post! 😉 LOVE nutbutters! 🙂
Jody – Fit at 56 recently posted…Comment on Blast the Belly Fat; Healthcare; X2Performance Energy Update