Natural Appeal

I made a quick trip to Natural Products Expo East last week. This show smells good! It was nice to see the folks from Pomega5, whom I had met before at Extracts in New York. A highlight was learning about all the new things going on at Aroma Naturals, Avalon Natural Products, W.S. Badger Company, Bleu Bay, Giovanni Cosmetics, Dr. Hauschka Skin Care, Jason/Zia and more, and hearing the latest thoughts on where the natural/organic side of personal care is headed. Pangea Organics won the personal care category of the New Products Showcase Awards for their Japanese Matcha Tea with Acia & Goji Berry Facial Mask. An additional highlight for me was the free sample of Green & Black’s Maya Gold organic chocolates (personal care of a different kind). Green & Black’s was bought by Cadbury Schweppes last year in a move akin to L’Oreal buying The Body Shop. I ended a long day with a sampling of Badger's survival tools packaged especially for exhausted editors and including Sleep Balm, Sore Muscle Rub and Foot Balm. Aaah!

Hubba Hubba

If you're like me, reading and chatting about innovation gets your wheels turning. Much of the talk today on the Corante innovation hub, a collection of blogs about innovation, is about the goings on at Business Innovation Factory 2. If you like to read about innovation, and what top business minds are saying about innovation, check it out. While you’re there, check out the other Corante sites on marketing, media and technology. If you were lucky enough to attend Business Innovation Factory 2, drop me a line. I’d like to hear about the event from someone in the beauty industry. If you want to share your current thoughts on the state of innovation in the beauty industry, or what your company is doing to engage in innovation, leave a comment.

Au Naturel

I am traveling today to visit Natural Products Expo East in Baltimore. The natural and organic products trade show will take place Oct 5-7 at the Baltimore Convention Center. U.S. sales of natural products across all categories and sales channels reportedly grew by 9.1% in 2005, topping $51 billion. I’m looking forward to a visit to the New Product Pavilion and to speaking with marketers of natural and organic personal care products. I’ll let you know what I find.

Leap Frog

I love to talk and think about innovation. I love the infinite possibilities for creating new from what already exists, perhaps in another field or industry entirely. Talk to me about your favorite sites related to innovation. One of mine is Nussbaum on Design who yesterday posted about a new NYU program called Innovation and Design being taught by frog design. Firms that get ahead often cite innovation as the key. "A frequent manifestation of recent innovation has been breakthrough design," Nussbaum said. What role does attention to design play in your innovation program? Does your company culture support and inspire innovation?