We love participating in New Hope Media’s Natural Expo West because we interact with storeowners and operators who carry our products, meet some of our loyal supporters and fans and learn. This year we also had a chance to celebrate! Hail Merry won Best of Show for our new 
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Macaroon. Our newest gluten-free and vegan cookie is a gem and we were thrilled to see from the smiles that it delivers on both taste and happiness in one melt-in-your-mouth bite. Our new Lemon Macaroon was also introduced at the show!
Retailers will find both new products rolling into distribution now through DOVE, UNFI and Lemon with Kehe. They can also be purchased on line!
With thousands of products on display and multiple sessions to learn from the show is an exceptional place to source the latest in natural foods and food philosophies.For those who weren’t there we want to share some of what we took away-trends as well our favorite finds.
New Hope Natural Media identified five key trends for the coming year that fall right into Hail Merry’s sweet spot and food philosophy:
• The healthy eating movement, spread across all demographic groups.
(There are five distinct consumer segments, differentiated by lifestyles, behaviors, attitudes and beliefs about health and wellness that have been identified)
• The importance of making nutritious, clean food more accessible and convenient across all demographic groups.
• Consumer demand for transparency with regard to food/product labels, claims and certifications, including non-GMO and organic.
• Special dietary tribes including the growing gluten-free, vegan, paleo and special diet communities are fueling the healthy eating movement and changing the way people view food and community.
• With nutrigenomic advances and the rise of food intolerances and autoimmune diseases, we are learning that one person’s "medicine" is another’s "poison."
Our Top Finds!
1. Baagua Tisane: Teas in glass bottles that have herbs and fruits settled in the bottom to 
create “Botanical Beverages”. We loved not only the taste but also the look and feel of the bottle and the fact that the ingredients are based on Chinese medicine.
2.Tanka- Native American Natural Foods: we liked the flavor of these buffalo bars and jerky, as buffalo is naturally lean meat and one of the best choices, if you are going to eat meat. We love that this brand from the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota because they use only prairie-fed buffalo and sustainably grown ingredients by Native American producers. We feel that supporting this brand means supporting people with ideals and values based on the circle of life and cherishing mother earth, values that are becoming more and more rare these days, but needed more than ever.
3. Just Pure Foods: Their Seasoned Zucchini Strips and Tomato Chips were “Insanely Delicious”, just as promised. The founder, Justin Feldman, shares the same food philosophy as our founders: the best way to improve people’s lives is by helping to make the world a healthier place.
4. Soapbox: where soap=hope. One of the winners of Sherbrook Capital Entrepreneurship Award for Innovation, their mission is to donate a bar of soap, water or vitamins to a child in need for every bar sold. Plus, the soap is great!
5. Farmhouse Culture: a little gem of a company that puts the fun into eating healthy probiotics. With six flavors of raw fermented cabbage packaged in convenient colorful pouches, we could not decide our favorite one. Power to the cabbage!
6. Revitin: working with the natural ecology and bacteria of the mouth, this natural bioeffective oral therapy makes you rethink toothpaste. After one week of using the toothpaste, our morning breath was really fresher. Plus, it is safe and soothing for people who have had radiation or chemotherapy.
7. Wtrmln Water- hydration and health in one delicious bottle. This new product is strongly recommended in Dr Mark Hyman’s bestselling book, The Blood Sugar Solution 10-Day Detox Diet!