Weekend Edition Hot off the Press #14: 2011 Natural Products Expo West

Natural Products Expo West

This past weekend, I got the opportunity to go down to Anaheim, California for the 2011 Natural Products Expo West held at the Anaheim Convention Center.  It is an annual event, this was the show’s 31^st, put on by New Hope Natural Media.  According to their website, www.expowest.com, it is the largest natural, organic, and healthy products trade show with over 3,000 exhibits and over 58,000 industry members in attendance.  The purpose of the show is to allow industry members to showcase and discover the newest products and latest trends in the industry. 

My first impression of the show was that it was HUGE!  I said the same thing about the Fancy Food Show here in San Francisco, but after seeing this show, I can say that that the Fancy Food Show was small in comparison.  While the Fancy Food Show had over 1,300 exhibitors in 2 halls, the Natural Products Expo West had over 3,000 exhibitors in 5 halls.  The show was split up into 8 sections: Hot Products Pavilion, Health and Beauty, Pet, Natural and Specialty Food, Natural Living, organic, supplements, and the Supply Expo.  It’s safe to say that there was something for everyone at this show.    

At this year’s show, gluten free was definitely a hot topic.  Just walking around the show, I overheard many people talking about the latest gluten free products they saw and making comments about how big of a showing Gluten Free was making at the show.  This is all good news at the show because it is a topic on the minds of many people.  This extra publicity will only help the gluten free product base grow and I can see that the future for gluten free products is bright. 

There were a lot of gluten free products at the show.  There were some familiar companies like Mary’s Gone Crackers, Bob’s Red Mill and WOW bakery, but there were also a lot that were new to me with very innovative and unique ideas.  One of the companies that stood out was Crunchies Natural Snacks who produces freeze dried fruits and vegetables and has these corn snacks that are basically freeze dried corn kernels that are healthy delicious.  Another company is Hodgson Mill who makes brown rice pasta made with flax seeds which is a good source of Omega-3 oils.  After a generation where we saw many unhealthy snacks created and still doing well, it’s nice to see that many companies are producing healthier alternatives.   It’s not to say that unhealthy snacks are going to vanish, but the public is a lot more educated and we are moving in the right direction.

Overall, I thought that the show was a valuable experience.  It allowed me to find a lot of gluten free products that I probably wouldn’t have found otherwise.  After seeing how big of a showing gluten free products had at this large show, I can’t help but be optimistic about the future for the gluten free community. 

Gluten Free Cookies: Nana's Chocolate Munch Cookie Bars - Product Review #24

Gluten Free Cookies: Nana's Chocolate Munch Cookie Bars

PRODUCT NAME:                           Chocolate Munch Cookie Bars

BRAND:                                          Nana’s Cookie Bars

COST:                                            $3.99

SIZE:                                               6.17oz

COST PER OZ:                                $0.65/oz

CERTIFIED GLUTEN FREE:              YES

CERTIFICATION AGENCY:               GFCO

ORGANIC:                                       NO

CERTIFICATION AGENCY:               N/A

VEGAN:                                           YES

WHEAT FREE FACILITY:                  UNKNOWN

LOCATION OF FACILITY:                 California

*These statements are based on the information printed on the product packaging. We cannot verify the accuracy of this information. For verification of the statements above, please contact the manufacturer.

REVIEW:

With Curious George, a fond childhood memory of mine, on the front of the box, eye catching graphics and the promise of chocolate flavored cookies, I was excited to try these cookies.  After taking my first bite, my excitement soon turned to disappointment.  I thought I was eating a cookie, but after biting into it, I had no idea what it was.  It was soft…too soft.  It was also powdery and left a weird feeling in your mouth.  I really wanted to like this cookie, looking at the package, it has so much going for it…no refined sugars, no dairy, no trans fat, no GMO’s, no cholesterol, no casein, no eggs, no wheat, no corn, no soy, no cane or beet products.  It’s a healthy cookie alternative.  I just wished what was inside matched the packaging. 

Bottom line, these cookies are healthy alternatives that would probably be best suited for people who like soft cookies.  Younger kids would also probably love this cooking because the packaging really is eye catching.  The cookie bar is not horrible, but I can safely say that it is not for everyone.  If you are looking for a big crunch, it is probably not for you      


Taste:  Perfect amount of sweetness and flavor, but with a texture that is too soft and powdery.  I have had many cookies that had way too much sugar in it and were overly sweet.  Nana’s does a good job of keeping the sweetness at the right level.  She uses a different approach at sweetening the cookie.  The box claims that it is sweetened with fruit juice.  I thought that was interesting.   

Labeling: The box has a picture of Curious George on the front, I’m not sure if this is always true, but the box that we got did.  I can already see that this is probably a hit with children.  They did a great job with their graphics.  They used nice bright colors that make this stand out on the shelf. 

Packaging: The packaging is printed on 100% recycled paperboard however inside are 5 individually wrapped cookies.  I think that this is a waste of packaging, however I do see that they did that so that these cookies can be eaten on the go.   

Reader’s Reviews: Please share with us your review of this company’s other products + where you purchased the product + how long you have been using this product. Please no review from the family + friends of the company producing the product..

RATING:

Texture:                 2             

Taste:                     2

Value:                     2

OVERALL:              2

Reviewed 11/18/2010 by CC