'Trendspotting' at Natural Products Expo West

Drug Store News, June 25, 2001

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- As has become a sort of spring rite of passage here at Drug Store News, this past March our editors made the annual cross-country trek to attend Natural Products Expo West. Because the next wave of hot new products always begins in the specialty/health food channel before splashing down in mass, our position at Drug Store News has traditionally been that the chain pharmacy merchandising executive looking to stay ahead of the competition makes the yearly trip to Anaheim. Over the years that list of chains has included names such as Albertson's, Longs, Walgreens, Shopko and several others.

As natural health has matured beyond the boundaries of the basic dietary supplement department, reaching into more conventional categories of the drug store business, Drug Store News editors traveling to Expo West last year began turning an eye to natural product trends in personal and beauty care. For those who may not have been able to free their calendars to attend the show this past March 8 to 11, Drug Store News has compiled an overview of some relevant new personal and beauty care product offerings unveiled at Natural Products Expo West this year. (For additional coverage see OTC/Natural Health news, page 134.)

Jason Natural Cosmetics was displaying its new line of Dandruff Relief All Natural Hair & Scalp Therapy items, including shampoo, spray gel, and scalp normalizing tonic. All items in the line contain all-natural, FDA-approved dandruff-fighting ingredients, such as salicylic acid and sulfur pyrithione zinc, which work together to fight scaling and itching.

Giovanni's product offerings include a number of items under its Healthful Hair Care Products line, including several shampoos, conditioners, styling gels and lotions. The shampoos and conditioners contain ingredients such as vegetable protein, herbs and minerals. Styling tools include herbal hair thickening gel, an extra-hold non aerosol hair spray and a natural mousse that can also be found in health food stores. Also on display was a product called Whammo--a hair and body cleansing, all-in-one jelly available in lavender, lemon verbena and mint. According to the company, the foaming formula can also double as a close-cropping shaving cream.

For the ever growing 'tween demographic, HairBrain showed attendees a line of all-natural, chamomile-, cal-endula-, green tea-, panthenol- and wheat protein-infused shampoos available in wild fruit, essential melon and twisted berry flavors. In addition, the hip, colorful HairBrain line also includes styling gel in krazed kiwi and a conditioner/detangler called big apple. All HairBrain items are lauryl and laureth sulfate-free and use extra-mild botanical surfactants that gently clean the hair and scalp.

Bath products

With a number of items on display this year, Queen Helene's bath line included the Batherapy Lavender collection of bath salts as well as the Batherapy Liquid collection (available in original formula and lavender formulas). The company was also displaying numerous foot therapy products, including foot scrubs, soaks, lotions, powders and remedies for corns and calluses.

Vita Moor displayed its Skin Spa and Bath Spa Products, which contain a multitude of herbs, organic materials, phytohormones and vitamins.

Items in the Skin Spa collection feature a nutrient-rich moor-water base. According to the company, the use of moor, an organic compound formed from plant matter that has been submerged under water for thousands of years, as a natural skin-healing remedy dates back to Ancient Egyptian medicine. The line includes mask treatment, cleanser, toner, hydrating moisturizer, replenishing cream, clarifier for oily skin, a salve for irritated, damaged skin and revival cream for hands and feet.

Vita Moor Spa Products' offerings include shampoo, bath essence, massage cream and MSM20, a cream for the treatment of scars, bruises and burns, that combines the therapeutic properties of moor water with 20 percent methyl-sulfonylmethane (MSM), a source of organic sulfur. Also indicated for the treatment of muscle and joint pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, MSM is also a common ingredient in arthritis-preventive dietary supplement regimens, particularly combinations that contain glucosamine-chondroitin.

Abra cadabra

Indicated for relief from stress, PMS, lack of sleep and dry skin, among other ailments, Abra's line of hydro therapy bath treatments contain a variety of naturally-based ingredients known for their stress- and discomfort relieving properties, including, artemisia leaves, poppy pods, English ivy leaves, kukui nut oil, hop flowers and echinacea.

The company also showed Nat Expo attendees a line of high-potency cosmeceutical skin care treatments for stressed skin under the Abra Therapeutic Skin Care banner. The line includes items such as collagen support cream, eye elixir and a cellular firming mask for the face.

According to executives at Well-In-Hand Herbals, acne isn't limited to the face, which is why it offers Zero Zitz Cease-the-Grease Kreamy Kleanser, a treatment formulated for the whole body. Cease-the-Grease, the latest addition to its herbal line of skin care treatments, is a combination acne cream/liquid soap product that performs double-duty as a face and body wash. It contains hempseed oil, rosemary, St. John's wort, hibiscus, lavender, witch hazel, plantain, comfrey, calendula and pure essential oils, which combine to nourish skin, according to the company.