Showcasing a range of incredibly diverse products, the fifth edition of Naturally Good took place at the International Convention Centre in Sydney from 2-3 June and was one of the biggest and most innovative ever. Thousands of people including retailers, suppliers and media attended the event which featured more than 370 exhibitors from around the nation and world.

This year, some of the most unusual Australian products ever seen in food, beauty, health and homewares were front and centre. Everything from washing agents made from soap nuts from That Red House, lipsticks derived from fruit at Luk Beautifood, Unreal’s burger patties made from peas, Lakanto’s monkfruit sweeteners and Hemp Oz’s hemp kombucha made a huge impression on the crowds attending.

Sustainable Protein

One of 2019’s biggest draws was edible insect, and there were three exhibitors – The Edible Bug Company, Grilo Protein and The Cricket Bakery.

“Crickets have been pegged to be one of the world’s next big superfoods – no other food in the market contains as much natural vitamin B12 and they’re very sustainable so we had a huge amount of interest this year in our products,” said Lucas Becker from Grilo Protein which produce 25,000 Organic Cricket Energy bars and are now stocked in select IGA stores. Many of the cricket products, which have an earthy flavour, were sampled with retailers declaring them to be delicious!

Also creating a lot of interest this year were camel milk producers Q Camel and The Camel Milk Co. With its sweet, mild taste, camel milk is the closest milk to human milk. It also does not contain beta-casein or and beta-lactoglobulin, the whey proteins in cow’s milk which contribute to dairy allergies. Megan Williams from The Camel Milk Co. said the possibilities for camel milk products are endless. “Aside from consumables such as milk and cheese, we also produce camel milk moisturiser which really generated a lot of interest this year,” she said. “The show was a fantastic opportunity to introduce our exciting new products to retailers which is why it’s always so worthwhile attending.”

Gaining Insights

Additionally, the speaker sessions featuring international and national experts, once again provided invaluable insights. Popular topics included 7 Powerful Ways to Increase Retail Profits, How to Rank Number 1 on Google and Making Sense of New Retail, which generated jam-packed theatres. Crowd favourites Bob Burke and Tim Sperry also returned from the US to speak.

The dizzying array of Australian products in the natural space is currently creating such a buzz world wise that other countries are now looking more closely at importing our wares. Another keynote speaker, Australia China SME president David Thomas, said China in particular is interested in Australian products deeming them to be safe and healthy.

“This was my first time speaking at the Naturally Good Expo and I was incredibly impressed,” Thomas said. “This is the kind of expo that would go gangbusters in China. The market there is incredibly interested in these types of products and I see the demand continuing to grow exponentially.”

Naturally Good will return next year on Monday 1st to Tuesday 2nd June 2020 at the ICC Sydney.