Hey, this is Anne Evanoff, checking in again...The Natural Products Expo show starts in earnest tomorrow morning - my place to see all new things natural and organic. I will be hitting the aisles in the supplement and body care areas, after I check out the perimeter of the show for those newest entrepreneurs just putting their toes in the water. 

This is a great place to network with folks in the industry - retailers, brokers, distributors, and manufacturers. It still is a friendly industry - lots of health nuts in the trenches, working on furthering the organic agenda with support of local farmers, organic education, and fair trade practices around the world. Lots of idealists get to work out their dreams in this industry of natural and organic products. That is a wonderful thing. ... And there still seem to be plenty of venture capitalists out here to support the dreams.

Today I went to a great lecture by Tim Blakely of Aura Cacia. He has to find reliable sources of spices and essential oils around the world. Tough job. His presentation had lots of pictures of him in lavender fields in the Ukraine, and watching sandalwood harvesting in Australia. Did you know that Sandalwood essential oils, a couple of drops on each toe, will help get rid of athletes foot? It is mild enough to put directly on the skin and is a powerful antifungal...and it smells great too. I love learning something new. Most of our Central market stores carry a nice variety of Aura Cacia essential oils. This company is fanatical about testing every single batch of oil and raw ingredients they source- using gas chromatography. Apparently there is a LOT of adulteration of essential oils going on out there, with cheaper synthetic chemicals, since it is cheaper to produce a fake than the real deal.

Tomorrow night i'll let you know what I found in the aisles of the show that you NEED to know about! 

Till Then....Take care. Anne (Healthy Living Business Development Manager, Central Market Division office, Dallas)