New Hope Network staff favorites of 2016
Editors share their favorite natural products they discovered this year.
December 21, 2016
I'm in love with the Badger Damascus Rose Face Cleansing Oil set. I use the cleansing oil in the shower and then finish with the face oil, leaving my skin ultra moisturized. Based on ancient wisdom's concepts of "like dissolves like" and "balance is everything," this cleansing technique uses castor and apricot oils to pull impurities from the skin and essential vitamins, fatty acids and lipids from olive, sunflower and jojoba oils to support a more vibrant complexion.--Jessie Shafer
I haven't kept up with which of these were introduced this year, but each of these Four Sigmatic mushroom mixes is a fave of mine. Four Sigmatic makes medicinal mushrooms easy and tasty to add to your daily diet with its instant mushroom coffee and cacao drinks. I often make my own mushroom blends at home, but these are super when traveling or on-the-go. --Christine Kapperman
There are two things that keep me from giving up meat: an occasional steak and a good burger. So I call myself a "less-a-tarian" because I eat less meat but I'm not meatless. And then comes the Beyond Burger to knock Excuse No. 2 off the counter. It's not the greatest burger I have ever had, but it's satisfying enough that if somebody handed me one without telling me, I wouldn't necessarily know or care. Now all they have to do is come up with the meatless steak and I'm doomed. --Rick Polito
There's no better way to taste the difference of single-origin sourced commodities than to do a side-by-side tasting. Choctal makes it easy and fun to do so by selling pints of ice cream in four-packs that feature the world's best origins of cacao and vanilla: Kalimantan Chocolate, Ghana Chocolate, Dominican Chocolate, Costa Rican Chocolate, Madagascar Vanilla, Indonesian Vanilla, Papua New Guinea Vanilla and Mexican Vanilla. They come with tasting notes about each region. --Jessie Shafer
The citrusy scent of this repellent took me by surprise the first time I used it--it's much more pleasant than your traditional bug spray because it lacks the harsh chemicals. And most surprisingly, as long as I reapply as directed, it works! Perfect for summer evening softball games. --Deanna Pogorelc
One of my favorite beauty products of ALL TIME. Uses the research-backed form of vitamin C for skin care (L-ascorbic acid) and is so light but also nourishing. I use it twice daily, every single day. I think this is a next-level product for natural retailers' HABA departments. --Jessica Rubino
Brain-health supplements have really taken off this past year, and Nordic leads the way with an omega-rich formulation that starts with an impressive 560 mg DHA and 280 mg EPA. Then they add in a special, high-absorption form of curcumin at a solid dose of 400 mg. A proper 100 mg dose of phosphatidylcholine is both a choline precursor (important neuroprotector) and also helps with absorption of the entire product's nutrients. It's topped off with huperzine-A, a botanical known for preventing the breakdown of choline and is a memory-enhancer in its own right. --Todd Runestad
Suavva smoothies are themselves a sustainability story as they use the generally wasted pulp of the cacao pod to fuel these beverages. Suavva has been working to get off the ground for a few years. It launched in retail in the southeast recently and, if all goes according to company plan, this is the year it will expand beyond the southeast. It is a tasty product with a food-waste story to be appreciated. --Christine Kapperman
I love this concept of foraging for beauty. It takes local to the next level and represents our powerful instinct to (re)connect with nature! I also admire the company's commitment to fragrance transparency and their passion for products that come from the earth. --Jessica Rubino
Everybody can use the omega-3s DHA and EPA, and a half-teaspoon provides 400 mg EPA and 250 mg DHA. But a little-known fact is that one's chances of succumbing to osteoporosis as an elderly person is predicated on peak bone mineral density as a late adolescent. We've been screaming to the rafters for a couple years that supplement companies need to put vitamin K2 in children's formulations for just this reason, and Wiley's finally did it. Who's next? --Todd Runestad
This exfoliating mask is gentle yet effective. The coconut oil leaves my skin feeling soft and hydrated. And the light pumpkin scent is lovely! --Hannah Esper
Yea, yea, we know too much sugar is bad for us. But let's take a moment to laud Wholesome! for launching a Demeter USA Biodynamic cane sugar! It's grown in Paraguay, where farmers are also a part of the Fair Trade collective--premiums go to community improvements such as schools or medical facilities. While it's currently being sold exclusively at Whole Foods, we dig this brand's push for holistic land management in a commodity crop. --Jenna Blumenfeld
A staple in my cupboard--peanut butter--has some new competition for shelf space. This uber-coconutty spread goes great on apples, graham crackers and in oatmeal. Binnie's Coconut Butter delivers healthy fats in a snack that tastes like dessert. --Hannah Esper
I'm typically a whole-grain, heavily seeded kinda gal when it comes to choosing sliced bread. But here's a secret: white bread is freakin' delicious! Its soft, fluffy texture makes an unparalleled grilled cheese, and sometimes you just want the kind of club sandwich that your fave downtown diner would make. This USDA Organic SKU somehow bakes hard-core natural grains such as cracked wheat, barley, rye, spelt, millet and quinoa into a pillow-y, cloud-like bread with 10 grams of whole grains. Yowza! --Jenna Blumenfeld
Blame it on the meteoric rise of thick, creamy Greek yogurt--Americans have been transformed into yogurt snobs. Few would argue that the thin, artificially tinted snack of yore does very well in today's discerning market. Until recently, nondairy yogurt alternatives have not kept up. But this vegan, USDA Organic option from Forager is a delightfully thick, cashew-based yogurt with live active cultures, just 2 grams sugar and a thick texture that will assuage the snobs. --Jenna Blumenfeld
If you really want to get your nutrient-dense greens on, try seaweed. Blue Evolution is finding ways to grow seaweeds, which advances a sustainable crop and grows new economies, and make them more accessible to customers in tasty pastas, marinara spice packs and even mac and cheese. --Christine Kapperman
If you really want to get your nutrient-dense greens on, try seaweed. Blue Evolution is finding ways to grow seaweeds, which advances a sustainable crop and grows new economies, and make them more accessible to customers in tasty pastas, marinara spice packs and even mac and cheese. --Christine Kapperman
New Hope Network editors peruse trade show floors, specialty and health food store aisles, food and health data and so much more to track down the newest products and trends driving the natural products industry. Their notebooks overflow. Their taste buds are often spent. So asking them to identify their favorite products of the year is a challenge. But we attempted, here, to highlight a few of their favorite things as we turn the calendar from 2016 to next.
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