Expo West Sunday: A little more company fodder to wrap things up

Posted on March 8, 2009 by aliciawallace

The company that makes Emergen-C is launching Emergen-C BLUE a vitamin C-rich drink mix that will have a portion of its proceeds benefit the nonprofit Surfrider Foundation, an organization that supports environmental initiatives and conservation efforts involving the world’s beaches.

Local energy drink company Brain Toniq — which has a following by techies — has national distribution and is on the brink of going national with Whole Foods. The products also are expected to hit the shelves off King Soopers’ 200 stores.

Louisville-based Eldorado Natural Spring Water’s products are around the West Coast and in the Rocky Mountain region, but the company also inked some deals to bring the water and vitamin-enhanced spring water products to Hawaii.

Speaking of off-coast, Boulder-based Bobo’s Oat Bars will be sold in Panama. The company also is moving to larger quarters in Gunbarrel to help keep pace with the growing demand for the oat bars.

The Boulder-based loose-leaf tea and steeping products maker Tea Spot closed its downtown tea shop after five years to focus solely on its wholesale efforts. The tea shop was a good place to launch the company and test new initiatives, officials say. But the company has a variety of new products, including a line of fair trade and organic teas and a portable and compact steeper.

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Expo West Sunday: Sights, tastes, sounds

Posted on March 8, 2009 by aliciawallace

Saw: Lots of people getting professional massages outside of Hall D — including key foot and neck massages.

Tasted: Yummi Bears organic gummy vitamins

Heard: “It’s been a huge, huge show.” Mark Loebach of local energy/mind drink Brain Toniq.

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Expo West Sunday: New from Izze and talking with Justin’s, GoodBelly, etc.

Posted on March 8, 2009 by aliciawallace

It’s always a bit slower on the final day of Expo West, but it makes for a great time to quickly hit up the homegrown firms that are here.

Some news out of Izze Beverage Co. — the sparkling fruit juice company is launching a lime flavor (in time for Cinco de Mayo) that should be in Whole Foods starting in April.

Justin’s Nut Butter continues to grow. The company’s sales are up 15 percent week over week because consumers wary of the salmonella scare from other peanut butters are turning to more natural and organic options, said founder Justin Gold. The company, which has raised $800,000 from friends and family, and its nut butter squeeze packs continue to be a huge hit and the company is making connections with more mass-market grocers such as Safeway and Wegmans.

Expo first-timer Two Moms in the Raw was very “warmly received” at the trade show and talked with some distributors and retailers from around the U.S., said Greg Leidich, whose wife started the company.

Boasting a giant inflatable GoodBelly quart, the NextFoods booth has been busy. The economy has been tough, but the company is still hiring and enjoying some success from couponing, said Todd Beckman, CEO. NextFoods is so into couponing that even employees’ business cards have coupons on the back.

Also, Horizon Organic rebranded its push-pop yogurt into Tuberz, with a kid-friendly and sunglass-sporting cow riding the waves.

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Expo West Sunday: Mix1 news

Posted on March 8, 2009 by aliciawallace

So yesterday, the Camera gave a scoop on Third Street Chai and Pixie Mate combining operations.  Click here to see the article.

Here’s some other news to mix up the day. Mix1 Beverage Company, which was founded by James “Dr. James” Rouse, Greg Stroh and Wes Brasher, has a new operational structure. The founders are letting Bob Pinkerton, who is currently the chief financial officer and chief operating officer, take the helm as chief executive officer. Stroh (formerly of Izze) will stay with the company in an advisory role and work closely with new development.

The company has been making strides by getting its functional smoothies into natural and organic and mass market retailers, but also has made some strides in the sports nutrition industry — getting into stores such as EAS and inking deals with a couple of regional universities’ athletic departments (including Denver University and the University of Wyoming).

Especially during this time — when some sports are marred by performance-enhancing products — organizations are looking for all-natural, healthy products, Stroh said.

“There’s a lot of pressure right now to have clean, good-for-you products,” he said.

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Expo West Saturday: A little ‘Entourage’ and ‘Rage’ for your diet

Posted on March 7, 2009 by aliciawallace

It’s not uncommon to see mainstream celebrities stroll the halls of the Natural Products Expo West. Four years ago, Daryl Hannah spoke at the event (I had a brief encounter with her in the press room, which was something to call my mom about).

Then there’s actor Ed Begley Jr. who’s very active in the green movement and a frequent visitor to Louisville-based Gaiam Inc.’s booth. (I have yet to run into him this year … would want to ask him about the new Arrested Development movie).

But this afternoon, I got to spend a little bit of time with Brad Wilk, drummer for such bands as Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave.

He and his wife, Selene (vocalist from 90s punk outfit 7 Year Bitch), were at the Olade Booth. Wilk started the Ola Beverage Co. a couple years ago after he was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. In his personal life, he started using stevia, an herb used as a sugar alternative, to make lemonade — it tasted so good, Vigil says, they decided to make a business out of the herb-sweetened lemons. They also teamed up with Boulder sales and brand management company Organic Food Brokers, to further the products.

Check out the Daily Camera tomorrow for more about Olade and, hopefully (if the video gods are on my side) a short video clip of him talking about the product.

Separately, Adrian Grenier (of HBO’s Entourage) stopped by the booth of Boulder-based Third Street Chai and Pixie Mate. Third Street founder John Simmons was beaming about the visit.

There’s some big news brewing from our Boulder beverage makers … but, I’m gonna have to do the “check out the Daily Camera tomorrow” thing again, for you all to hear about it.

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Expo West Saturday: Sights, tastes, sounds

Posted on March 7, 2009 by aliciawallace

Seen:  Jeff Mendelsohn, father to Simply Boulder Foods founder Seth Mendelsohn. The elder Mendelsohn was wearing a brightly painted apron his son made for him 25 years ago.

Tasted: Brand-spankin’ new Dandies marshmallows, a vegan, air-puffed marshmallow. Said Bo Sharon, owner of Lucky’s Market in Boulder: “That to me, is the innovation of the year.”

Overheard:  From a vendor to a person looking at the food items in the booth: “It’s not gluten-free, sorry.”

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Expo West Saturday: And I shall call him … mini chocolate

Posted on March 7, 2009 by aliciawallace

Boulder’s own Chocolove has gone mini, launching a line of six 1.3-ounce chocolates of its most popular varieties. The single-serve bars, which are a fraction of the size of the 3.2-ounce normal bars, already are in Natural Grocers By Vitamin Cottage and should be hitting the shelves of Whole Foods soon.

Speaking of mini, Phil’s Fresh Foods‘ 3-ounces burritos make for a crowded booth as people get in some breakfast snacking. During the past four months, the company has scaled away from its other offerings to focus on burritos, said founder Phil Anson. The company had 35 percent growth last year and is anticipating growth in the “several hundreds” percent range, he said.

Phil’s Fresh is expanding into a variety of grocery store chains including Kroger and some in the midwest and continues to further its schools efforts, landing in the Douglas County School District and the vast District 11 in Colorado Springs.

Not mini: Cocio, a chocolate milk drink (a 100 percent natural drink with no preservatives) that’s a well-known drink in Denmark. The yellow label on the chocolate liquid-bearing bottle brings to mind Yoo-Hoo, a well-known drink in America.We’ll see how the company plans to increase its reach here on U.S. soil.

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Expo West Saturday: What do you want to see?

Posted on March 7, 2009 by aliciawallace

The beauty of blogs can be the interactivity.

So for those of you who are reading this blog, I want to ask you:  What do you want to see? What do you want to hear about at Expo? Are there certain types of products you’re interested in? The questions can go on.

Now, you’ll get a taste of a lot of that today in the blog and tomorrow in the paper and at www.dailycamera.com, but, per a request, I’m already going to find out more about the meatless pepperoni I had yesterday. Figure there might be other burning questions as well.

So as I ready for the walk to the convention center, think about it. Post a comment or send me a message.

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Expo West Friday: Sights, tastes and sounds

Posted on March 6, 2009 by aliciawallace

Seen: A 20-person-long line at the table of integrative medicine bigshot Dr. Andrew Weil (the booth was on the third floor, two floors up from the main trade show hall).

Tasted: Meatless pepperoni

Sounds: “It’s just purified water infused with herbs. That’s it.”

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Expo West Friday: Hanging tough in tough times

Posted on March 6, 2009 by aliciawallace

Mix1′s growing up and growing while times are tough.

The company is making some operational changes and has an additional direction: the sports beverage industry. The company’s site is: http://www.mix1life.com.

While things appear to be a little thinner here, one thing hasn’t changed … seating space outside the trade show area. The convention center is huge and the treks through all of the aisles and floors make one’s feet, legs and back weary.

When the phrase “What did you think about the Whole Foods news today:” Rickard Werner, a veteran of Wild Oats and now executive at spread and food company Earth Balance, asked what stores in Boulder were put up for sale. When told of the Basemar location (original Wild Oats) and the Broadway location (an original Alfalfa’s), his eyes grew wide and he clasped his hand to his mouth.

He didn’t expect that one to be on the list.

But he does hope this will be the end to a long and complicated battle.

“I hope for everybody’s sake in the industry, they can move past it.”

Off to go visit MyChelle Dermaceuticals, which recently relocated to Louisville.

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