Last week, on 20 April 2015, we changed our office in Highgate for the futuristic looking exhibition centre ExCeL to visit Natural & Organic Products Europe. Excited to walk the busy aisles of the show and planning to not miss out one single stand, we entered the show to start our expedition for the latest trends on the natural and organic market. Ready, set, go!
A ‘company outing’ to our taste – in the truest sense of the word
Equipped with the empty canvas bags we were given by the lovely hostesses at the entrance of the show, we were looking forward to getting to know and try new products from all around the world. Soon we found ourselves sniffing beautiful soaps, creams, and lotions, ‘aha’-ing over menstrual cups, and feasting on organic fruit and raw chocolate bars, cool coconut water, frozen smoothies, and freshly brewed teas.
One of the biggest trends we spotted in both the beauty and foods sections, was definitely the omnipresence of coconut. Whether it was praised for its many nourishing characteristics in personal care products or added to foods for its taste and dietary superpowers, coconut seems to deliver many answers about beauty and lifestyle questions this year.
After having got a good overview of the exhibiting brands and their products, our next destination was the big stand (or should I say pavilion?) of Kinetic, which very much reminded us of a garden arcade with its grass-green floor, see-through product shelves and airy roofing. It was great to see many of the brands we work with daily and write about in their natural habitat, and to experience how well-received they were by the other visitors.
All in all we enjoyed our day at ExCeL and talking to many founders and exhibitors about their novelties. Apart from this, we like that the show was very well organised and that the different brands’ stands were nicely done up. As most of us walked the long aisles of Natural & Organic Products Europe for the first time, to echo the words of Hello! Magazine’s Cath Tyldesley, all we can say is: “How have I not been before?! It’s like my mecca! Gwyneth Paltrow would have a field day!”.