Natural Beauty & Health Show & Nordic Organic Food Fair unite the sustainability industry

Natural Beauty & Health Show and Nordic Organic Food Fair celebrated their 10th anniversary with the most successful fair to date. The largest event in the Nordics for organic and sustainable products opened its doors last week at MalmöMässan, welcoming thousands of buyers, retailers, and industry professionals – attracting a total of 3,858 participants over the two days (a 5% increase since 2021).

With tastings, networking, learning, and idea exchange, the fair was buzzing with important business from start to finish. A completely new look and layout with 3 new theme areas, over 60 speakers, a world-class lecture program, a new event for beauty influencers, and the largest Hosted Buyer program to date for buyers. This resulted in a 20% increase in buyers with a purchasing power of over 5,000,000 Euros.

Poland was named the “Country of the Year” at Nordic Organic Food Fair for its commitment to the organic market. This was celebrated with the opening of the fair by the Polish Ambassador to Sweden, Joanna Hofman, and the CEO of Diversified Communications, Carsten Holm.

Melina Viking, Event Director, comments: “This year’s fair has reflected the true resilience of the organic and sustainable industries. With rising living costs, the importance of creating a sustainable future for upcoming generations is stronger than ever. Organic food and sustainable circular communities are central to this, and our exhibitors and visitors have once again proven to us that this is the future!”

She continues, “Achieving ambitious goals to reduce carbon emissions, produce more organic food, and become healthier should be everyone’s top priority. Nordic Organic Food Fair and Natural Beauty & Health Show are the key fairs to help the industry reach these goals. We look forward to seeing you next year!”

“Buzz, inspiration & innovation”

Leading retailers and grocery stores from across Sweden and Europe – including Denmark, Greece, Italy, Poland, the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Norway, Lithuania, and Finland – came to discover new brands and meet current suppliers.

Participants included buyers from Biofood-Biolivs AB, Coop Danmark, Dagrofa Foodservice, Grøn Fokus, ICA, Life Europe AB, Life Sverige, Magasin DU Nord, Medica Nord, Midsona, Naturskyddsföreningen, Netto DK, Nomeco, Nordic Premium Group, Planet Organic, Salling Group, Sunkost, Svensk Egenvård, Tree of Brands, Vitafood ApS, Willys AB, Wolt Market Denmark, and many more.

“Natural Beauty & Health Show is the event for the industry. It’s the perfect event in the Nordics to discover the latest products. I love the ‘buzz,’ inspiration, and innovation throughout the fair, plus I learn so much from the speakers on the various stages,” says Mats Nilsson, CEO, Svensk Egenvård.

“I love going to Natural Beauty & Health Show and Nordic Organic Food Fair to find ‘outside the box’ products. As a result, we’ve made many great deals! At the fair, I also explore the latest trends to stay ahead for the coming year. It’s an important fair for us as more people are demanding sustainable products in the Irish market. A fair like this allows me to bring versatile and innovative products back to my retailers,” says David Morrin, Commercial Director, Wholefoods Ireland.

“Natural Beauty & Health Show and Nordic Organic Food Fair are the best-coordinated fair and the only fair for the entire Nordic region. It’s fantastic for the industry, and it’s been a wonderful opportunity for us as exporters and traders from Greece,” says Antonis Sioulis, Managing Partner, RECO EXPORTS.

“Thank you for a crazy inspiring event with amazing innovation! We will continue to visit in the future,” says Catherine Rose-Bloom, Senior Product Developer, Holland & Barrett International.

The fair hosted the first annual Little Organic Snack Battle in 2022. The winner of the cooking competition was Malin Olsson from Närbogårdens Preschool in Gävle for her exceptional creativity in organic snacks. This attracted foodservice visitors, chefs, and food bloggers from all over the Nordics.

“As a freelance chef, it has been amazing to find all the plant-based products on offer. Nordic Organic Food Fair is brilliant, and a great way to meet new people, network with people in the culinary world, and find new plant-based suppliers, especially for the Copenhagen market,” says freelance chef Anna Carina Mullins.

EgenVårdDistribution: LIVE Pitch to the Buyer

The extensive lecture program featured key industry names – Organic Denmark, IFOAM Organics Europe, Organic Sweden, Ecovia Intelligence, KRAV, Svensk Egenvård, KOSMETIK magazine, NATRUE, and many more. The first-ever “EgenVårdDistribution: LIVE Pitch to the Buyer” presented a selection of exhibitors eagerly hoping for a listing with the leading health distributor.

The 6 companies that pitched their products to EVD’s buying team – Blooming Blends (plant-based tinctures), Hello Day Ltd (supplements), Les Miraculeux (vitamin gummies), SIA KALE LATVIA (kale chips), and The Good Roll (bamboo toilet paper) – all secured additional conversations with the distributor as they were “so impressed” by all the pitches.

Marc Wallgren, CPO, EgenVårdDistribution, says: “We’ve seen the most amazing innovation at the fair! The companies that pitched to us were top quality, and we are extremely impressed by their high level of professionalism. We’ll be back to find new suppliers in 2023!”

Innovation Awards 2022

At the Innovation Awards, the best new products at the fair were honored. Event Director Melina Viking and Diversified Communications CEO Carsten Holm hosted the award ceremony. The evening began with naming Poland as ‘Country of the Year,’ and representatives from Poland’s National Support Centre for Agriculture and the Polish Trade & Investment Agency received their diplomas.

In 16 categories, visitors voted for their favorite products. The nominated products were then judged by this year’s jury: Mikael Nordlund (WellAware), Diana MalcangI (NATRUE), Cressida Langlands (Free From Food Awards), and Pim Bendt (Naturskyddsföreningen).

Vit2Go (Mad Ventura S.L), Rawnice, Qleantab, Forty Herbs Organic Sparkling Tea, Camelina of Sweden, Casheury AB, Stockeld Dreamery, The Friendly Fat Company, Veg of Lund, Wrappy, Nbb Nordic Beauty Bar AB, Zoya Goes Pretty, Apeiron, and Spa Vivent Vertriebs-GmbH all claimed winning titles.

‘Best New Innovation Product’ (sponsored by Butikstrender) went to Nothing F!SHY AB for their ‘Breaded Vegan F!SH Filé’.