The Natural List

It’s official: NA is here to stay. No longer relegated to sugary artificial sippers, wellness-oriented consumers can access far more diverse and sophisticated non-alcoholic beverages through a range of retail and food service outlets. Whether they’re going totally “dry” or opting for the more moderate “damp” approach, consumers everywhere (especially “sober curious” Gen Zers) are seeking delicious options that support a more present, healthier lifestyle. 

The options available to support this cultural shift have become so prolific that serial entrepreneur Marcos Salazar launched the Adult Non-Alcoholic Beverage Association (ANBA) to educate on and responsibly grow the non-alcoholic beverage ecosystem. “This category is growing rapidly, but there needed to be some infrastructure in bringing all the different stakeholders together,” Salazar said. Take one look the association’s membership and it’s clear that ANBA is helping to elevate some of the most innovative beverage brands in the retail and food service market today.

Got (green, plant-based) milk? While generative A.I. holds great promise for the future of CPG product formulation and marketing, tech-derived innovations also come with unique challenges. In this episode of the Natural List, Jessica and Adrienne talk with Aadit Patel, vice president product engineering at NotCo, about finding the right balance of technology and humanity to scale high-performing plant-based products. Jessica and Adrienne also share which companies are using A.I. as a force for good by focusing on climate-friendly agriculture methods, novel botanical identification and next-level plant-based product development.

Thrive Market's Jason Bidart and Christine McNerney reveal the ins-and-outs of a highly curated product catalogue and what emerging brands can do to stand out.

Thrive Market, a B Corp certified online retailer, is on a mission to make healthy living easy and affordable for everyone. In today’s episode of The Natural List, New Hope Network’s Director of Content Adrienne Smith joins Jason Bidart and Christine McNerney—both VPs of merchandising at Thrive Market—to discuss consumer education, building community, and what they’ll be looking for in new brands at Natural Products Expo East this September.

The conversation around women’s health has shifted, not only to a place where stigmas are finally dissolving around topics such as menstruation, menopause, hormones and reproductive health, but also where women can talk frankly about their sexual health, libido and other formerly “off-limits” physiological functions that affect over half of the U.S. population.

Natural products brands are rising to meet this demand and fill this massive gap in the marketplace for women’s health solutions. One such brand is Winged Wellness. Its women-centric supplement and personal care products offer women clinically studied formulations for a variety of women’s health needs, messaging that celebrates women and gorgeous, stigma-free branding. Today on The Natural List, hosts Jessica Rubino and Adrienne Smith bare all with this brand’s delightful co-founder and CEO, Jessica Mulligan.

Will Ozempic and other new pharmaceuticals make weight-management supplements a thing of the past?

A recent New Hope consumer survey yields surprising results about natural channel shoppers and their willingness to turn to Big Pharma for weight loss's new "silver bullets." Don't miss this week's edition of The Natural List, when hosts Jesica Rubino and Adrienne Smith talk to New Hope's Nutrition Business Journal Editor-In-Chief Rick Polito about what natural consumers are saying about weight management and how supplement companies can stay in the game.

Consumers care about what brands are doing to engage in sustainable practices. In fact, more than 30% of natural channel shoppers in a recent survey conducted by New Hope Network have purchased a new product based on its sustainability claims within the past year. At the same time, consumers are wary of greenwashing and want to know the specific steps a brand is taking toward sustainability.

But when, where and how should brands share this information with consumers? How much should brands tell consumers about both successes and failures along the way? How much information is too much, and when is it not enough?

These are a few of the questions explored in this week’s episode of The Natural List, when hosts Jessica Rubino and Adrienne Smith sit down with New Hope Network’s Senior Manager Data and Insights Amanda Hartt to talk about some of the takeaways from the recently published Sustainability Marketing Report.

The beauty industry is rife with plastic packaging and excess water, issues that until recently even brands focused on nontoxic formulations did little to address. But thanks to the tireless work of key beauty innovators, including this week's interviewee HiBar Co-Founder and President Nora Schaper, the future of the beauty industry is looking a whole lot different than its wasteful past. In this week's episode of The Natural List, we unpack what goes into removing plastic from the equation. 

Guest host Jenna Fitch joins The Natural List to talk about the sustainable tinned seafood trend featuring highlights from a recent panel of natural CPG founders. 

Over three billion people in the world get the majority of their protein sources and nutrition from oceans and waterways. Yet in America, oceans are often overlooked as a part of the food system despite being the most internationally traded food commodity on earth. 

In this episode of The Natural List, host Jessica Rubino and guest host Jenna Fitch introduce the Seafood Collab and several of the brands working hard to increase sustainable seafood in the natural products industry. Hear from Scout, Neptune Snacks, Fishwife, Sea Monsters and Atlantic Sea Farms about sustainable seafood ingredients, products and ocean systems in this excerpt from the Natural Products Expo West 2023 panel "Making Waves: Emerging Brands Driving Innovation in Seafood CPG."

In this episode, we take a behind-the-scenes look at the expansion and marketing of the age-old practice now known as "upcycling"—and how it’s motivating brands and consumers to take climate into their own hands (and mouths).

We open our conversation with a definition of upcycling, look at SPINS data reflecting this growing trend and examine consumer research on the movement’s reach and importance. The hosts are then joined by Upcycled Food Association Board President and Renewal Mill Co-Founder and COO Caroline Cotto and Regrained Co-founder and Chief Grain Officer Daniel Kurzrock, to discuss developing an upcycling lexicon and supply chain, the challenges of scaling upcycled products and what exciting innovations are on the upcycling horizon.   

Brands featured in this episode’s segment of The List: 

Renewal Mill, Regrained, Ugly’s Kettle Chips, Spare Tonic, Cajú Love, UNLIMEAT, and the winners of the Upcycled Food Challenge Event (led by Misfits Market): Atoria’s Family Bakery, Chomps and Petit Pot.

In the third episode of The Natural List, we continue the conversation around sustainable innovations. But this time around we are scrapping the usual format and turning the whole episode into an extended segment of "The List" to talk about our favorite brands and products from the NEXTY Awards. We are joined by members of the New Hope Network team and judging committee for a behind-the-scenes look at evaluating some of this year’s most exciting and impactful NEXTY winners.