18 Apr 2008


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Natural selection: health foods move on

Simon Dunn

Product Chain

Natural Products Show

Fairtrade

Product Chain's Simon Dunn on natural products' innovation and trade shows

Simon Dunn: where were the supermarket buyers?

Sunday 13 April 2008, the first day of the Natural Products Show at Olympia and a chance for the health food and allied trades to talk to an ever dwindling customer base.

I have been attending this event at the same time every year since the mid-1970s.

The name and format has changed and so have the people.

The old brigade has gradually disappeared: they have either banked their millions from trade sales, gone bankrupt or are now too old to man the stand for two days.

Alternatively, they employ the younger generation to do their hard work. Any exhibition is hard work – standing for hours on end, seeing what is new and how the market is developing, and catching up with trade gossip.

The health trade is tiny because it has been largely restricted by its own vegetarian membership.

However, there are big shoots of change. There were meat suppliers at this year’s show because the platform has moved on from ‘old health foods’ to more ‘natural products’, as the exhibition name implies.

There were some interesting products, mostly in non-food, including bamboo cooking utensils and household goods.

There was also a raft of clothes suppliers with Fairtrade and organic offerings. Some of the organic and Fairtrade bags, towels and T shirts were superb and made me want to buy them there and then. What I would have done with them is another matter.

It was disappointing that we did not see many supermarket personnel with named badges, however.

This is difficult to believe as the natural products industry has, over the years, provided the spring board for most of the new developments and trends they have eventually listed to add value to their proposition.

It is fairly obvious how the thought process works: why should they bother giving up a Sunday when eventually the supplier will get to the retailer to show his wares?

Or they attend on the Monday. This attitude does reflect a lack of interest by buyers for moving on and looking to support new ideas and concepts.

There were plenty on show too, really exciting innovation across the board.

This criticism is not just aimed at supermarket buyers, however. The department stores and non-food retailers were also conspicuous by their absence.

Despite these comments, there is one retailer who never ceases to amaze me.

He attends every show, speaks at conferences and advises suppliers and travels extensively to find new and developing ideas. He is Nigel Sharp from Waitrose.

Nigel introduced smoothies to supermarkets along with organic fruit juices, and chilled apple juice, not from concentrate.

He sold the first hemp seeds in a supermarket and bought allergy-friendly foods into the public domain before anybody else could even spell the word.

"Sharpie", as he is affectionately known, never tires in his determination to find new stuff.

As he says, "a lot may not work but at least let’s give it a go".

The man has a real eye for novel and creative ideas and is not quiet about making his passion happen.

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