The Natural Foods Expo West 2016!

This was our first time at this enormous event. It is not open to the public. You must be in the natural food industry or press to enter the expo floor. It was overwhelming to say the least. We were heading in. Trench coats-check, fedoras-check, press badges-check. We were on the case!

Over 77,000 people were at the event with over 5000 Exhibitors! It’s the worlds largest Natural Products event. Since the Healthy Lifestyle Industry is a $153 Billion industry there was a ton to investigate!

The biggest thing that stood out to me while there was how many products were only 2% “natural” or mostly natural. It was really hard, even for us, to weed through what was touted as being natural and what was truly natural. Kacy and I zeroed in on certain products that we felt fit into our lifestyle choices. It was a challenge that we were up for and relished!

I have picked several in the Home, Beauty and Food categories that stood out to me. Each company needs more investigating, but so far they are looking pretty good! My favorite part of the expo was meeting the founders or inventors of the products and hearing their stories of why they needed to get their products on the market. Inspiring.

Here are my faves!

Home

E-Cloth– This is a cloth that you need no cleaner to clean with and it removes 99% of bacteria! You wash this cloth weekly and you can use it for years (300 wash guarantee)!

Greenshield– This is a laundry detergent, but has other natural cleaner products. I have not tested this nor have I done a thorough investigation, but it is a company that peaked my interest.

Truce Cleaner– I spoke with the inventor and CEO of this product and they are passionate about healing yourself by detoxifying your life.  They even told me their source of essential oils and after checking them out as well, I am pretty happy overall. They do use Isopropyl Alcohol in some products so check the ingredients. You must add water to the concentrated mixture.

Molly’s Suds– Another company passionate about bringing a non-toxic detergent to the masses. I’m pretty excited to try this! They have a few different laundry products. They should be coming out with a liquid detergent this year as well. Super Concentrated Powder is long lasting, with just 1 Tablespoon required per load. No harsh chemicals, no toxins, no preservatives, no GMO ingredients. Safe for septic systems and High Efficiency (HE) washers. Effective in cold and hot water.

BioBag– I’m in the process of trying these out. They have a variety of bags that are compostable. I want to see how long it takes these bags to compost and how it holds up to the food scraps. Whether it rips easily or leaks easily. It is a nice idea if it works and passes a more thorough investigation!

Beauty

100% Pure-
A cosmetics company that uses fruits and other natural ingredients in their products. Most products are gluten free and vegan, but a few aren’t. This company appeals to me in a few areas, I’ll be testing their products very soon.

NatraCare– I already use these tampons, but I had no idea the back story. We spoke with the founder of the company and passionate is an understatement with this wonderfully inspiring woman. She was looking at the environmental impact of feminine hygiene products and found that by making a product more eco-friendly it was much better for the woman as well. Highly recommend checking all their products out.

Fatco, formerly Fat Face– I tried their women’s Stank Stop deodorant and love it. Ingredients that my body is happy with, keeps me drier and a lot less stinky! Check them out.

Duggan sisters Life Stinks– These three sisters are fighting many diseases through detoxifying their lives. They are super passionate about bringing the healthy living message as well as bringing a wonderful product to market. I start testing their Life Stinks deodorant tomorrow and can’t wait. They have an inspiring story.

Liv-Love your skin– This company is also passionate about bring the best product forward. They have now built greenhouses to grow their own herbs so they can guarantee the integrity of their ingredients. Love that!

Redmond- Bath Salts and Earthpaste– These are the makers of Real Salt, Earthpaste, they do bath salts and other products as well. This company has grown a ton and seems like they have kept their passion for healthy, non-toxic ingredients intact.

Food

Rise Bar– We met the Founder and CEO and he is passionate about bringing healthy, clean food to the market. Look for an upcoming post with this company and their tasty bars!

SunButter– This sunflower seed butter is processed in a peanut and tree nut free facility. The seeds are sourced in the USA, processed in the USA.They have very strong views on quality control and providing a (mostly) allergen free product. The seeds are roasted on the same equipment as soy.

Clearly Kombucha– They have some new flavors coming out soon that are delicious. Turmeric and Cardamom and the Ginger ones were my favorites!

Wedderspoon Manuka Honey– My sister knew all about this company, but it was the first time I had heard of them. More investigating is necessary, but my curiosity was definitely peaked.

Suja– There was only one juice that I could taste, ginger-lime, and it tasted like ginger and lime! Again, more investigation is necessary, but I’m excited to dig my heels in and get on this case.

Salt Co– This company delivers on high quality salt. They do many different varieties from Himalayan to Epsom salts. Check them out. I’m a lover of salt, so I’m looking forward to gathering evidence on this company.

These two companies didn’t really fit into the Food, Beauty and Home boxes, but I think they are definitely worth mentioning.

Aculief-Aculief provides pressure to the LI4 acupressure meridian. The LI4 is known to be effective in relieving headaches and pain. After a long day at the expo I wandered by this booth. Once I had this on my hand my headache vanished and my back pain lowered. Pretty cool!

Get Real Nutrition (Supplements)– I am very curious about this product and intrigued by it. I will give you the information I find on this and let you know if it is suitable for me to take and if it is beneficial.

Check out these companies and their products to find out why they’re my fave’s! Let me know what you find out on your investigation. I will be posting more about these companies as my investigation unfolds!

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