Natural and Organic Products Show 2015

On Monday, I attended my first ever trade show. Don’t know what a trade show is? Well, it’s a big event attended by lots of brands and distributors where they showcase their existing and new products in the hopes of finding new buyers and distributors – or press coverage. They’re big work events and Monday’s show was the Natural and Organic Product Show, packed full of natural beauty, lifestyle and food and drink brands.

It would be fair to describe my feelings on the way to the trade show as apprehensive. I was a little bit nervous about my place at this kind of event and what sort of interaction I’d have with brands and their representatives. I met Lauren from Britton Loves – who had very kindly invited me to accompany her, courtesy of Fuel PR – at Victoria and then we made our way to the Excel Centre together. I felt a lot more excited about the day once the two of us joined forces and we started to discuss all the gorgeous natural brands we were going to meet throughout the day.

We started off being led around the Show by Robyn from Fuel PR and she introduced us to some her clients. We began by meeting Herbatint, a herbal hair colouring brand that's entirely ammonia free that's suitable for even chemically straightened hair. I loved the range of hair colourants that they offer and I'd definitely consider using Herbatint the next time I dye my hair. They're a particularly good or regular root touch ups as you can reseal Herbatint, keeping whatever product you don't use for later applications.

Lauren and I then went to see Eterno Naturals' stand - which on the day was home to MyChelle Skincare among other gorgeous brands. I finally got to meet Anna in person (who I've been emailing with recently) and I was introduced to some of the other exciting products that Eterno Naturals stocks. I'm already familiar with their Les Fleurs de Bach products but I was introduced to a newly released haircare line from Noah which I'm now trialling for review next month. Eterno Naturals were incredibly generous and also gave me some other samples from Pur and Royal Green to try out for myself.  

After we parted company with Robyn, Lauren and I explored the rest of the show. We made a concerted effort to talk to as many different brand representatives as we could. I was so happy to see Sukin's stall - as they're a brand I've been interested in for quite a while. They actually launched their new Super Green range at the show, and were kind enough to gift me the Super Green Facial Serum which I'm looking forward to trying out! We also stumbled across Konjac Sponge Conpany's stall which I was very excited about as their sponges are an absolute staple in my skincare routine. Lauren hadn't heard of the brand before so she was happy to learn more about their products. We saw so many other gorgeous beauty brands on our wander around the show and one of the last brands that really excited me was Nourish. I haven't ever tried Nourish's products in person so it was an absolute treat to be able to talk through their range with their representative Lydia - who was an absolute pleasure to chat to! 

On top of all the new beauty brands, Lauren and I also had the chance to explore the natural, vegetarian and vegan food section. Some of my favourite discoveries were Chimpanzee & ZooT (natural energy bars), Frill (who make frozen smoothies - essentially healthy ice cream) and Inspiral's new Kale-O kale crisps - especially the pizza flavoured ones which are just incredible. We also had some delicious tea from Pukka and Kromland Farm.

Overall, attending the Natural and Organic Trade Show 2015 was a really valuable experience. I discovered new brands, learnt more about brands I already love and also got a much better insight into the natural and organic product sector. I'll be writing more about the brands who very kindly gifted me products to take home on my blog and also on my instagram and twitter accounts, so if you want to hear more about natural beauty and food products then definitely give me a follow over there. 

I have to say a big thank you to Lauren and Fuel PR for giving me the opportunity to come along - if you also attended then I'd love to know how you found the show?