Our Favorite Finds From EXPO West

Last week, I had an opportunity to attend EXPO West, the premier trade show for the natural products industry.  With more than 53,000 attendees decending upon the Anaheim Convention Center, EXPO is usually buzzing with the latest and greatest in healthy, natural, organic and fairly traded products.  This year, did not disappoint.  There were smartly packaged ‘boxes’ of water, probiotics a’ plenty…. and enough snack food to feed ‘a billion’ kids. 

‘Tweeting’ EXPO was an enlightening experience. Having first covered the show as a podcaster (The Radio Mom) I found myself more connected to the people behind the brands this year. At booth after booth, event after event, I met people with whom I had been interacting for the last year and a half on Twitter. In most instances this was a pleasant experience.  Many companies expressed enthusiasm and excitement about the role of socially conscious moms in the social media space.  They talked about how much they appreciated our ‘re-tweets’ and product endorsements…They loved the fact that my kids loved their products. 

There are brands that I am now more inclined to buy after having met the people who work there.  I love, for example, how nice the folks from Earth Friendly Products and Stonyfield Farms were to my girls.  I love Nubian Heritage–their products–their mission.  The folks from Froose were sweet.

At the same time, I met people representing brands that I am now less inclined to buy–simply because I’ve personally interacted their brand representatives.  Let’s just say….I’m not a fan of the ‘Who cares about customers/consumers…We’re in Whole Foods!’ kind of attitude.  Securing a contract with a major retailer is no excuse to discount the value and importance of the people who actually purchase a company’s products.

As an expectant mother of two, I want to feel good about the products that I purchase for my family.  I want to support companies that treat their employees well….that give back to the community…that attempt to make it a little easier for moms to ‘go green.’  I saw lot’s of companies like this at EXPO this year.  I came away from the show appreciative of how far the natural products industry has grown over the years and yet aware of the opportunities for even further growth.

Our slogan at MOMbo Media is ‘connecting moms to brands and causes they can believe in.’ As a ‘mom tweeter’ at EXPO West this year, I was happy to share our favorite natural product finds with more than 10,500 followers on Twitter.  These were good, ethical companies that I felt good about endorsing…brands that I personally believe in.  At MOMbo, we don’t do it any other way.