Energy-providing green foods are seeing a renaissance. Here’s why this category in your store may benefit from a revival.
A popular TV series, “Nip/Tuck,” saw its key character Dr. Christian Troy regularly cutting fresh wheat grass for juicing. It seemed somewhat odd at the time, as the series ran from 2003-2010. But a lot has changed.
Green foods have been a staple in the diet of the devout clean-living, health-foods follower for decades. But as a boom occurred in natural wellness, this tide lifted the category to new heights of awareness, adoption and demand.
It appears that consumers have begun to associate natural, healthy energy with green foods. At first blush, greens powders and energy may seem to be different categories, and indeed green foods do provide so much more than energy resourcefulness, such as antioxidants. But with the slide of caffeine or central nervous system energy producing products, highlighting this association to customers who “want more, better energy” may be a win-win-win (you, the customer and the manufacturer).
Holly Purgar, supplement manager for The Mustard Seed Natural Market of Watertown, NY, observed, “Greens powders are definitely trending right now. The powders are a convenient and often delicious way for customers to get their greens. The greens powders are easy to add to a smoothie or drink. Customers enjoy the energy, antioxidant and digestive benefits of greens powders.”
Energy Redefined
“Zoom” has a different preferential meaning today—a virtual meeting of the minds rather than feeling as though one is careening around a racecourse with the pedal to the physical and mental metal.
Ron Seibold, co-founder, Kansas-based Pines International, Inc., stated, “No one becomes ‘jittery’ from adding more vegetables to one’s diet. Good nutrition and healthy habits, such as exercise, produce a ‘jittery-free’ body. The calm energy that results from a healthy diet is evidence of a body functioning as it should.”
The key difference that consumers are beginning to understand that is heathy energy is more of a life force than a speed. “Healthy energy should be more of sustained/ongoing situation as opposed to a crashing/burning cycle,” described Adam Goodman vice president of sales of California-based Korea Ginseng Corp.
“Healthy energy is the maintenance of adequate energy levels to deal with the stresses of everyday life,” said Christopher Sundell, research & development, Connecticut-based Vibrant Health. “It is not excess energy fueled by caffeine, but moderated, long-lasting energy that provides stamina and endurance.”
The common vicious circle of energy fueling and energy depletion can be broken. Jay Levy, director of sales, Wakunaga of America, Co., Ltd., California, explained that we all want more energy but our modern lifestyles and global stress can leave us dragging, and to keep up with our daily demands and schedules, many of us chase energy from caffeine, sugar or energy drinks. “While these can provide a quick energy boost, they also lead to a crash just hours later. Add in sleep deprivation and stress and your customers may set the stage for adrenal imbalance and fatigue,” he warned.
Healthy energy, he pointed out, comes from a healthy diet without artificial stimulants. Plant-based nutrients support adrenal function and nourishing mitochondria. “This, in turn, unlocks the native energy within the body and allows us to meet the physical and mental demands we face every day,” he described.
Seibold emphasized that when talking energy with your customers the key word is indeed “healthy.” Herein too lies a confusing explanation, as the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) defines energy as the amount of sugar in a food but sugar is, of course, unhealthy energy, especially because it is so easy to overconsume it.
He explained, “After we introduced Pines Wheat Grass to the natural food marketplace in 1976, we heard from many customers who told us how much more ‘energy’ they experienced. After hearing that from many people for many years, we established a registered trademark nearly 30 years ago with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for the term ‘Green Energy.’ Indeed, all green vegetables can help increase healthy energy, but cereal grasses such as Pines Wheat Grass, when grown correctly, are more naturally concentrated in nutrients than most green vegetables.”
Renowned food scientist, Charles F. Schnabel in the 1930s found that young grasses of cereal grains that he grew on Pines’ farm reach a peak nutritional level at the jointing stage. That’s when the nearly microscopic head of grain begins its journey up from the roots. The grasses are less than a foot tall at that point but have more nutrient density than any other leafy green vegetable.
As with every category, the greens/energy sector has experienced an interesting evolution in the past several years. Levy finds that today’s energy/greens products have become extremely popular among health and fitness enthusiasts as way to naturally step up their nutritional intake without the use of stimulants. They are also gaining popularity among parents looking for easy ways to supplement their children’s intake of vegetables.
Levy, a 30-year-industry veteran, observed, “Compared to 10 years ago it seems to me that the category is more fragmented, with ‘green’ powders adding proteins, probiotics and meal-replacement ingredients. If a consumer is taking a green supplement, they are serious about their health and they shouldn’t need gimmicky flavors and delivery systems to entice them to consume healthy green products.”
Goodman’s viewpoint, consumers are gravitating more to overall clean/natural ingredients for sustained energy and moving away from what he described as “huge energy drinks and shots that are spiked with high caffeine levels.”
Further, he added, the delivery formats in this space also continue to evolve; “you see more portability in terms of delivery formats. For example, Korea Ginseng Corp. specializes in liquid stick packs for easy portability, and increased bioavailability.”
Bountiful Blends
We tend to have a “the more the better” mindset, likely innate from our ancestors who could easily starve when abundance didn’t exist. In the greens category, respondents for this article all noted the rise in launches of greens products that contain a multitude of ingredients.
A key reason for the resurgence is the quest for alternative fuel sources. Sundell said he is seeing quite a few products now focusing on providing energy via adaptogens, vitamins or caffeine-free herbs instead, as an increasing number of consumers are looking for alternatives to the quick boost and resulting burnout provided by caffeine.
These have their place but consumers may need the correct mindset about them, some caution. For example, explained Seibold, some of these greens blends are “entirely inexpensive dehydrated garden fruits and vegetables available fresh in nearly every grocery store.” He related that Schnabel and his research team compared the nutritional components of fresh garden vegetables with his dehydrated whole food cereal grass and showed that garden vegetables had only a fraction of the nutrient-density of Pines’ cereal grass.
He declared, “The hyperbole used for these blends of mostly dehydrated garden vegetables can be ridiculous. The often-implied idea is a scoop of a mixture of dried garden vegetables and fruits is the same as consuming many pounds of produce. An enlightened consumer would know instantly that this is complete nonsense, but many buy into the idea that the more items listed in the ingredients, the better the product. The fact is that the more components in the blend, the less the amount of each element. Unfortunately, the greens category now also consists of dozens of these blends, each with dozens of inexpensive ingredients that provide limited nutrient-density.”
Levy has similar observations, noting that many of the newer greens products now have “extras” such as probiotics or popular herbal extracts like ashwagandha, ginger or turmeric to their formulas. He said, “While these additions may seem like a good idea to consumers looking for a “one and done” product, they may be more of a marketing ploy instead of providing significant health benefits. For instance, the probiotic strains included may not survive the journey through the harsh digestive tract to arrive live when they reach the gut. What’s more, the herbal additions may not confer amounts high enough to provide any significant benefit to the consumer.”
Many consumers may truly believe that by not eating junk or fast foods that they are eating healthy. Of course, they can do so much better, and by incorporating nutrient-dense food supplements, their overall vitality and well-being levels will surge.
Very few individuals continually consume a produce-based and or whole foods diet. Common knowledge is to fill in those gaps with the nutrients—but where you come in is that it is more than just a multivitamin. Ideally, combining a green/energy foods product with a multivitamin would provide the platform of higher and more encompassing nutrition for long-term well-being in a healthy lifestyle.
“Eating a healthy diet can be tricky at times,” underscored Levy. “We can fall short of getting enough nutrients and greens for myriad reasons, such as not having enough time to prepare food at home or not knowing how to cook that broccoli or what to do with those leafy greens.”
This is where retailers can emphasize that drinking your greens really comes into play, he added. Drinking powdered greens is an easy and effective way to include high-quality greens in your daily nutrition routine. It’s also a means to increase your consumption of greens you aren’t likely to have in the fridge, such as chlorella or kelp. These alkalizing superfoods are rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, while offering a host of other benefits.
In today’s COVID-era, where immunity sits squarely in the spotlight, Sundell said that there is a natural tie-in. “I believe that energy and green products need to be marketed along with immune products. We need to help consumers understand that stress, nutrition and immunity are inextricably intertwined. Healthy energy levels can be better achieved through optimizing immunity and managing stress better.”
Seibold asserted that an aversion to green vegetables is common in our society, and it isn’t just children. “Customers who avoid eating greens but know they need them often mix our plant-based, dark green powders in smoothies and other recipes,” he commented.
Another factor introduced by COVID-19 is meal making at home, from elaborate gourmet dishes to the wonderful world of plant-based smoothies. This is an attractive marketing and merchandising angle to include and introduce more customers to the greens/energy category. Garden of Life, for example, on its website, features tantalizing recipes using its various greens and nutraceutical powders. For example, its Organic Plant Protein Smooth Energy, which provides 15 of highly digestible plant proteins, probiotics and enzymes, is a superfood powder that serves as the basis for numerous recipes, as is its Collagen powder line.
At The Mustard Seed Natural Market, several greens/energy products are popular among consumers, according to Prugar. “Barlean’s makes some particularly tasty greens powders (Chocolate Silk and Strawberry Kiwi). My personal favorite is the Kiwi Strawberry. The Kiwi Strawberry tastes like a delicious fruit punch drink. The powder mixes well with water. Amazing Grass also makes a nice line of greens powders. Amazing Grass makes a watermelon energy green powder that tastes great and contains yerba mate for a nice energy boost. The cleanse and detox powders from Amazing Grass have been popular this spring. Customers are interested in taking care of their health, cleansing and keeping their immune systems strong.”
Wakunaga’s original Kyo-Green Energy contains a core blend of barley grass and wheat grass to encourage sustained energy and a healthy immune response, Levy noted. “We also include prebiotics from brown rice and FOS to promote healthy digestion, and chlorella and kelp for cardiovascular support. Our Kyo-Green Harvest Blend builds on our core ingredients with the addition of herbal phytoactives at levels shown to enhance immunity when combined with a healthy diet and lifestyle.”
Wakunaga’s newest addition, Kyo-Green Sprouts Blend, combines its core greens formula with organic sprouted ancient grains, beans and seeds which act as prebiotics to support a healthy microbiome. “As the only young sprouted powdered drink mix on the market it fills a need—added digestive support in green nutrition,” Levy stated. Korea Ginseng Corp.’s latest introduction is its Koreselect Energy liquid stick packs. According to Goodman, they are formulated specifically to help with healthy, sustained energy and are portable.
Tried-and-true also remains strong. For example, said Seibold, plant-based green foods like Pines, grown on its farm since 1931, are neither new nor old. “Promoting the idea of eating more greens is nothing new,” he commented. “It dates back into antiquity. It has always been an essential part of the human diet. The fact is people live longer and healthier lives by consuming enough greens.”
In this category, said Sundell, “we remain strong with classic offerings, such as Green Vibrance and Vibrance. New, exciting products include Vibrance 15-day bottles, at a competitive price point. More new, exciting product developments are on the horizon. Stay tuned,” he promised. Vibrant Health’s website features an abundance of recipes, such as chilled green goddess vibrance soup, luck of the Irish smoothie, and much more.
California-based Amazing Grass specializes in green foods powders. Its Green Superfood powder is offered in original, chocolate and berry flavors, and its Green Superfood Energy powder, which contains yerba mate and matcha green tea, is offered in lemon lime and watermelon, as Prugar noted. Its online recipe department is also bountiful, with foods ranging from smoothies, to breakfast, snacks, meals and desserts.
As mentioned, several companies have quite the recipe collection on their websites. If you have an on-site kitchen, make a different one daily and provide to customers as samples. This is a great way not only to sell the greens/energy powders but other ingredients (eg, coconut oil, monkfruit, stevia, almond flour, organic fruits/veggies, curcumin powder, etc.). VR
For More Information:
• Garden of Life, www.gardenoflife.com
• Korea Ginseng Corp., www.kgcusa.com
• Pines International, Inc., www.wheatgrass.com
• Vibrant Health, www.vibranthealth.com
• Wakunaga of America, Co., Ltd., California, www.wakunaga.com
