Yes – it’s that time of year where there’s an insane amount of food events. I went to the Toronto Food and Wine show on Friday, took a rest on Saturday and went to two food shows on Sunday. (Toronto Garlic Festival and the Canadian Health Food Association Trade Show).
Todays blog post is going to be dedicated to the CHFA Trade Show as I want to share with you some of the trends I noticed. I walked around the show for almost 3 hours but needed more in order to walk thru the 800 exhibitors that are at this show.
Naturally I picked up some samples to take home plus I sampled plenty while I was walking thru the show. No need for breakfast or lunch.
1. DRINKS – I spotted: cold pressed watermelon , blueberry juice, water infused with a variety of flavours and fruit, and more. This category seems to be exploding!!
2. TUMERIC – There was tumeric tea and a tumeric drink that caught my eye. Something tells me that we are going to see more and more products that contain this spice.
3. PUFFED QUINOA – I’m guessing that this is going to be the new “granola”. I can see myself sprinkling this on top of my yogurt with fruit or integrating it into fruit crisp recipes.
4. BARS – Cricket bars, and sprouted bars and more!! I actually first got introduced to Cricket Bars on a trip to San Francisco last year so I’m delighted to see that they are now in Canada.
5. COCONUT – Not exactly a new trend but it’s certainly continuing to grow. I sampled the Wasabi Coconut Chips and can’t wait to try them in a salad or crushed on top of a piece of salmon.
Hopefully you will see many of these products in local health food stores, and even in the health section of major grocery stores in the near future.
For more information:
Please visit the Canadian Health Food Association Website: www.chfa.ca
bars, blueberry, CHFA, Coconut, Crickets, drinks, quinoa, Trade Show, tumeric, Watermelon
I went to three Food Trade Shows in one week!!. As I walked thru the aisles of the CHFA show, I realized that I’ve mastered the skill of “sampling”. I can now add that to my list of skills on my Linkedin profile. (ha). This is the annual trade show for the Canadian Health Food Association and a great opportunity for me to find more new products to share with my readers (that’s you).
Here’s a few items that I’d like to share with you:
MONKEY TOAST: These are flavour packed fruit crisps that are dairy free, and nut free. Ideal for kids and big kids too (like me). I also adore their packaging and the fact that they are a Canadian company. (B.C. to be exact)
MACKIE’S CRISPS: All their potato crisps are suitable for vegetarians and their line up includes flavours like Haggis & Cracked Black Pepper, Scotch Bonnet Chilli Pepper and Aberdeen Angus steak. On a side note: My mom is from Scotland and I have family there so I have a soft spot for any product that is Scottish.
OHMBARS; This date and seed bar is Dairy free, Gluten free and is made in Ottawa (where I grew up). Naturally this caught my attention too.
CAPLANSKY’S MUSTARD: I read on facebook about this new line of mustard and was delighted to see this new product at the Neal Brothers booth. I sampled all of them (of course). Today I read that there’s a new menu being launched at Caplansky’s which means I really need to visit so I can try the mustard on meat instead on a pretzel!!
(note: stole this photo from Facebook. Hope you don’t mind Peter).
As always, had a great time wandering the aisles of this show. No shortage of new products to try!!
Canadian Health Food Association, Caplansky's, CHFA, Dairy Free, food, Health, Mackie's Crisps, Monkey Toast, Mustard, Neal Brothers, Nut Free, Ohm Bars, Ottawa, Scotland, Trade Show
Food, UncategorizedOctober 23rd, 2011
The Canadian Health Food Association held their annual trade expo last week, and naturally I took the opportunity to visit the show. I walked thru the show for several hours, gazing at new products, sampling, and talking to exhibitors !! (not in that order).
At the end of the show, I made an observation that I kept seeing “COCONUT’ in a lot of new products. Here’s a few products that were introduced at the show that involved the application of coconut.
a) Blue Diamond Almond Milk that is blended with Coconut Milk. Not only is it lactose free and soy free but its ONLY 45 calories. Love it.
Can't wait for this to reach the grocery shelf in Canada!!
Ive been a fan of their plain and chocolate version Almond Milk for years and I’m sure I will be buying this flavor as well.
b) Madhava Organic Coconut Sugar. This is an unrefined sweetener produced from the flower buds of the coconut tree (kinda kewl if you ask me) and is an alternative to processed sugar and artificial sweeteners.
Hopefully you will see this product on the shelves in December!
c) Earth Balance introduced an organic coconut spread. At first I was a bit apprehensive, but after tasting a sample of the coconut spread on a piece of bread, I decided that it was a neat idea. I can really see how this product would introduce some flavor when cooking with it. i.e rice, stir fry vegetables etc.
d) This product at the Neal Brothers Booth also caught my eye… Organic Coconut and Cherry Quinoa Granola from Lotus Fine Foods. It’s 100 % Gluten free and low in sodium too. The ingredient list was impressive: quinoa flakes, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, agave nectar, sunflower oil, apple juice sweetened, cherries and coconut. Not to mention this product is local. Yay Local!!
Local. Local. Local.
The CHFA was a great way to kick off all sorts food adventures. I went to the Delicious Food today but will be also be attending a Food Show featuring foods from Quebec on Monday and on Tuesday I’m attending Grocery Showcase. Have I mentioned before – that I love food shows!!
Almond Breeze, Blue Diamond, CHFA, Coconut, Good Earth, Lotus Fine Foods, Madhava natural Sweeteners, Neal Brothers
I seem to have been attending food shows for as long as I can remember. Its a great chance to discover new products and it’s a great way to notice food trends and meet others in the food industry too.
On Sunday, I attended the Canadian Health Food Expo with an empty stomach so I could enjoy a sample (or two..or three..or four…hee hee).
Here’s a look at a few of the new products I discovered:
love the marketing campaign!!
The product is called POPCORNERS.…The New Shape of Popcorn. It’s actually triangular in shape!! (perfect for scooping).Why do I love it? let’s see…a) it tastes great b) its all natural, gluten free c) its kosher d) only 8 % fat per serving e) available in 3 flavors: butter, sea salt and kettle.
Now here’s an interesting beverage:
The owners with their new product!
It’s called KIKI…and its maple sweet water. Interesting concept – that’s for sure. It’s 100% natural, no additives, no preservatives, and contains over 80 nutrients. What’s really cool is that a 473 ml bottle only has 55 calories. Now that’s sweet!! (sorry – I couldn’t resist)
Finally: A new veggie burger.
Great tasting veggie burger
I’ve met the owner of Sol Cuisine at food shows for the last fifteen years. Now there is an new addition to their line up: A mushroom rice burger – that is indeed very tasty. I’m always looking for new veggie burgers for the family and I certainly will be buying this new flavor.
As for Trends. Here’s what I noticed:
-COCONUT water was EVERYWHERE. I even saw coconut milk (not the canned stuff – this one was in a carton like normal milk)
-GLUTEN FREE products were EVERYWHERE
I had a lot of fun walking thru the aisles and of course, when I got home, the kids loved the samples!!
Happy Grocery Shopping!!!
CHFA, Coconut Wate, Gluten Free, Groceries, Popcorners, Sol Cuisine, Troll Bridge Creek
