The 2021 Natural Products Expo East NEXTY Awards finalists

The NEXTY Awards recognize the pinnacle of excellence in the natural products industry, elevating impactful brands and products that inspire a healthy, sustainable future for people and planet.

With nearly 600 products and over 700 category nominations for the 2021 Natural Products Expo East NEXTY Awards, the New Hope Network team was joined by a panel of expert judges to evaluate the nominated products using the following criteria:

Innovation: The product or company shows truly creative thinking and execution (not a "me too" approach); uses a newly discovered or rediscovered ingredient, flavor profile, technique or process; fills a legitimate (though perhaps not yet recognized) natural products market need or niche; and/or is predicted to have a longer-term impact in the industry. 

Inspiration: The product or company adheres to an unusual or new mission targeting an issue or problem not yet widely addressed; its message/mission is clearly communicated, focused and effective, with real, wide-reaching potential or already proven positive social or environmental impact. 

Integrity: The product or company takes a creative, next-gen approach to clean ingredient(s), sustainability, transparency, traceability and safety/security.

On top of an already rigorous judging criteria, for the first time ever this year’s NEXTY Awards judging process implemented an additional step that provided an extra layer of insight for judges.

The weekend before judging commenced, judges were invited to take home some of the products from each category to which they were assigned. By preparing these products in their own kitchens, trying them with their families and observing and experiencing their real-world applications, judges came prepared for the preliminary round with an even greater familiarity with and sense of the applicants.

Even so, the competition was fierce and the selection process was extremely challenging. In the end, 78 products rose to the top.

These 78 products will be judged during a final round of evaluation that will welcome an experienced panel of guest judges to join the New Hope Network team in selecting a single winner within each of the 23 categories. 

Only one product per category will be awarded a coveted NEXTY, and winners will be announced in a live virtual event on Sept. 15 from 11:00 a.m. to noon EDT on the Natural Products Expo Virtual Platform. To watch the announcement, you can register for free here.

For more information about the NEXTY Awards, head to the NEXTY Awards website.

Click through the gallery to see the finalists for Expo East 2021.