Jon Clinthorne, Ph.D., Manager of scientific affairs and nutrition education, Natural Grocers, 
Lakewood, CO, shared his favorites from a list of trends.
Take vanity. The aspect of collagen helping skin health, hair, and nails is attractive. It’s so multifunctional and it addresses so many concerns. Some use it for detoxification. Someone else looks for digestive health.
The collagen supplement powders seem to be popular. The better it dissolves in liquids, the better we see our customers like them. I like the ones you can stir into a hot beverage and it just dissolves. There are types you can put into smoothies.
I really like the trend oftraditional medicine meeting modern science.Dietary supplements have been a little bit criticized by the media but consumers understand these have been used for thousands of years in Ayurveda and Greek medicine. This gives consumers confidence and now you can back that up with science. We’re seeing turmeric in everything.
I am particularly fond of thedrinking vinegars. People are trying to get away from sweet beverages. There is so much concern about what sugary beverages are doing to our health. People still want something with flavor. They know it’s not just natural, it’s something that’s good for them. They lend themselves really well to using in cocktails or other beverages. You can make it whatever sort of journey you want. People aren’t just looking for something sweet, but want something that has a tang to it.
People are shopping the perimeter of the store a lot. Really looking for products that are super-transparent.Labels are really important. We’re seeing consumers looking up ingredients on their phone as they go through the aisles.
Third-party verification. Grass-fed. People want to know where their food comes from and many know some food companies are taking the words very literally, i.e. cage-free only means no cages rather than chickens having access to the outdoors. There’s the humane aspect and the sourcing aspect. There is a lot of demand for more local and regional foods.
More WholeFoods Magazine 2018 Forecast
What are your favorite trends for the coming year? Comment below or emaileditor@wfcinc.com
