According to TechSci Research, India’s Ayurvedic product market is predicted to increase 16 per cent through 2021. This growth will be bolstered by the increasing availability of Ayurvedic products—including nutraceu¬ticals, dietary supplements, cosmetics and skin care products—at multi-branded stores.

Ayurveda is one of the world’s oldest holistic medical concepts. Developed 5,000 years ago in the Vedic culture of India, this practice believes that everything in the universe is connected. As such, good health is achieved when your body, mind and soul are in harmony with the universe, while bad health may be caused by a disruption of this balance.

Ayurvedic products have once again gained prominence in India, with 100 government-run Ayurvedic hospitals, 750 dispensaries, 800 registered medicine manufacturing units and some private health centers recently opening their doors in the country. In 2015, Ayurvedic goods comprised the largest revenue share on the Indian personal care market.

“Ayurvedic products are gaining popularity in India and across the globe due to the natural medicinal benefits they offer without any side effects,” said Karan Chechi, a research director at TechSci Research. “Apart from this, the government of India is encouraging and promoting usage of Ayurvedic products through education and national awareness programs. Various manufacturing
companies are focusing on developing innovative Ayurvedic products and investing in marketing strategies in order to generate awareness and increase their brand value as well as sales.”

As this trend undoubtedly catches fire on the global stage, consider learning more about Ayurvedic medicine—and possibly introducing a line of products or services into your brand or store.

Skin Authority, a California-based skincare brand, has launched a new collection based on ancient Ayurvedic practices. The Beauty Infusion line is created with key natural active ingredients from superfoods, inspired by the Ayurvedic technique of using food-based ingredients for medicinal purposes.

Products in the new collection include:

• Turmeric & Blueberry Brightening serum, which illuminates the complexion and diminishes discolouration
• Quinoa & Avocado Hydrating serum, which reduces fine lines and firms skin texture
• Swertia Chirata Anti-Aging serum, which decreases wrinkles and roughness
• Probiotics Clarifying serum, which combats inflammation and clears harmful bacteria from the skin
• Instant Perfection Peel Pads, which improve and enhance makeup application and exfoliate skin

These products capitalize on the up-and-coming Ayurveda (LINK TO PREVIOUS ARTICLE) trend. For more information on this new line, visit www.skinauthority.com.

This year, Natural Products Expo East has revamped its program to surround the recent growth of the natural products industry. Scheduled for Sept. 21-24 at the Baltimore Convention Center, the show is projected to have more than 1,300 exhibiting brands and 25,000 attendees.

The show is expecting more than 400 new exhibitors this year. To accommodate this growth, the show is expanding the Hot Products Pavilion to Level 300 and Level 400.

“As a whole, the natural products industry is experiencing rapid growth of nine per cent per year, which has spurned increased interest in emerging brands and a rise in mergers and acquisitions,” says Adam Andersen, the managing director of New Hope Network, which produces the show. “Expo East is one of the biggest events for spotting new trends and seeing brands in action. Walking the show floor attendees are surrounded products and companies poised for growth.”

The 2016 Education Conference will focus on Supplement Opportunities, Climate Friendly Foods, Mindful Leadership, Natural Storytelling and Nutrition Science. Featured keynote speakers include natural products industry pioneer and New York Times bestselling author Paul Hawken; Maine Congresswoman Chellie Pingree; and Walter Robb, co-CEO of Whole Foods and Chairman of Whole Kids Foundation and Whole Cities Foundation.

To register for the event or to learn more, visit the show’s site here.

Walmart Canada has launched a new shopping app designed to help its customers save time and money.

This announcement comes as many grocers have been working to improve their omnichannel retail strategies. In 2015, Metro made various additions to its mobile app and launched a version for the Apple Watch, while IGA Quebec release an app back in March.

“We’re always looking for ways to enhance our customers’ shopping experience,” says Rick Neuman, executive vice-president of technology and e-commerce. “The Walmart app saves customers time and money and provides better access to products while at home or on the go.”

The app offers the following features:

“Your Favourites:” Allows customers to save time with quick access to weekly shopping items.
Rollback Alerts: Shoppers can save money by being notified when one of their favourite items is on Rollback.
Barcode Scanning: Gives access to ratings and reviews of products while in store.
Flyer Features: Enables browsing for online weekly flyer products.
Grocery PickUp: Users can book a time to pick online grocery orders (Greater Toronto Area and Ottawa Area only).

As big-time retailers like Walmart, Metro and IGA tighten up their e-commerce strategies, take revamping your own into consideration. Without a strong platform for online purchases, you may find yourself unable to compete.

Targeted Skin is set to launch a new product that will allow users to truly personalize their skincare regimen.

The new DNA kit gives consumers the chance to swab themselves and mail in their DNA for analysis. The results will classify skin into one of five aging categories, informing customers which ingredients to use and which to stay away from when shopping for new skincare products.

With this, Targeted Skin hopes to help customers understand exactly what to use when it comes to skincare, rather than playing a guessing game with their health and money. The new product will run for USD $300, and is set to launch sometime this summer.

To see how the kit works, watch this interview.

Walmart has begun to roll out its new ban on Visa cards at its three stores in Ontario’s Thunder Bay Area.

The retail giant’s Canadian unit is threatening to remove Visa services from all 405 of its nationwide stores—unless the network lowers its credit card fees. Thunder Bay is the first location in which this expulsion is being experimented with.

Wal-Mart first warned its Thunder Bay customers about the change in June with a post on its website. There were signs in stores leading up to the shift, and on Monday, employees reminded remind them of the change.

Visa is still “committed to doing everything reasonable to ensure Canadians can use their Visa cards everywhere they wish to shop—including at Wal-Mart stores,” says Carla Hindman, a spokeswoman for the company. Visa ran ads in Thunder Bay’s newspaper Monday offering cardholders a C$25 online gift card for making purchases of C$75 or more at Thunder Bay grocery stores.

While Walmart and Visa continue to duke it out, customers must choose other methods of payment, including different credit card services, debit cards and plain old cash. The retailer still has not released a timeline for rolling out the new policy in its other Canadian stores.

Croda International Plc, a supplier of high performance ingredients and technologies to the health and beauty industries, has announced its acquisition of Inventiva Ltda’s technology portfolio.

Two entrepreneurs, Dr. Renata Raffin and Candice Felippi, MSc, founded Inventiva in 2008 with the aim of developing and manufacturing encapsulated systems for supply to the personal care industry.

“Everyone at Inventiva is very happy to be joining Croda through this acquisition,” says Dr. Raffin. “It will enable our technology and product portfolio to reach many more potential partners and new investment means that the team can focus on developing new products for new application areas.”

This move will add Inventiva’s encapsulation and delivery system technologies to Croda’s wide range of ingredients for the personal care industry. It will also form the basis of a research and technology platform for the encapsulation and delivery of Croda’s products.

“The opportunity to increase the global use of our delivery system technologies is very promising,” says Felippi. “We are excited by the ability to greatly improve the marketing and sales of our products through Croda’s expertise and worldwide network.”

“The capabilities of Inventiva and experience of its team are exciting additions for Croda,” says Marco Carmini, the managing director of Croda Latin America. “They will allow us, in the short term, to expand our product offering within personal care and enable us to develop, in the future, new and exciting ingredients to meet the needs of consumers in this and other market sectors.”

Nancy Croitoru has announced her retirement as president and CEO of Food and Consumer Products of Canada (FCPC), the country’s largest association of companies that manufacture and distribute food, beverage and consumer packaged goods.

Croitoru has worked with FCPC since 2003, before which she led GCI Group Canada, a public affairs agency.

The FCPC board of directors is now searching for a new CEO. Shelley Martin, FCPC board chair and president and CEO of Nestlé Canada Inc., says she is working with FCPC senior staff to continue to meet the needs of its members.

“We will continue to make progress on our key priorities and will address any issues as they arise,” she says. “At times, key FCPC board members who head up our major committees and/or have special roles on the board may step in to address specific needs. While I will be involved in the stewardship over the next few months, FCPC senior staff will take the lead on projects.”

Last weekend, Sprouts Farmers Market was the focus of a “national day of action” to stop selling Nestle Arrowhead Springs bottled water.

Members of the Courage Campaign Institute and Story of Stuff Project delivered petitions to Sprouts stores in several cities, asking the chain to stop selling the water, which they say is being illegally pumped from the San Bernardino National Forest.

A Sprouts representative told Supermarket News that “Nestle Waters has assured us the allegations being made are false. We will continue to monitor the situation and, as always, will listen to our customers’ feedback.”

“Our natural resource managers, engineers and scientists regularly and consistently monitor our spring sources for long-term sustainability, and we only bottle water that naturally flows to the surface, which ensures that our water use is not more than is naturally sustainable,” a spokesman for Nestle Waters told Supermarket News. “We take seriously our responsibility to be a good water and environmental steward, and we are aware of the call for action at Sprouts. We welcome and encourage open dialogue with the communities we serve and with all other interested stakeholders.”

However, Eddie Kurtz, executive director of the Courage Campaign Institute, disagrees. “There’s nothing sustainable about helping Nestle profit off of illegally and irresponsibly sourced public water in drought-stricken California,” he says. “Sprouts must live up to its values of sustainable retailing and stop selling [the product].”

According to a new report from the Organic Trade Association (OTA) and Nielsen, sales of organic fruits and vegetables now total USD $5.5 billion at mainstream retailers —an increase of 16.4 per cent from last year.

The report also noted that on average, the annual household spent USD $25.22 on organic produce, with over half of all American households now going organic. Data also showed that most families chose to make the switch for health- and children-related reasons.

“Data shows that the organic shopper is an extremely health-conscious consumer who is completely dedicated to eating fresh fruits and vegetables,” says Laura Batcha, executive director and CEO of the OTA. “Organic is a top choice because of the confidence in organic as THE choice to avoid foods grown with toxic and persistent pesticides.”

“Because of this health-driven commitment, retailers should not be afraid to differentiate organic produce on their store shelves,” she adds. “Shoppers recognize the USDA Organic seal and respond to positive messaging about what organic delivers, but at the end of the day they want to fill their carts with farm fresh foods—benefiting the entire produce section of the store.”

Keep this in mind when stocking your store with organic goods. Properly advertise the fresh, organic produce or certified organic foods lining your shelves, and clients will flock to you.