Jessica Gay is FoodBev Media’s social media executive. This is a personal blog and views expressed are her own.
Today was certainly a busier day for companies exhibiting at Vitafoods. Most stands had a constant flow of visitors and everyone we spoke to told us how much busier today had felt.
Despite this we managed to conduct some really engaging interviews with new and innovative companies – some of whom we found and arranged to speak to through Twitter!
One of these that really stood out were Vitastiq – a Croatian company which has just launched the “world’s first personal device for vitamin and mineral status check”. With a pen-like tool, which uses EAV methodology, connected to a smartphone app, Vitastiq is an innovative device that provides insight into one’s personal vitamin and mineral levels. You can track your progress daily and the app gives advice on how to improve health and vitamin intake. “A great digital companion for a healthy lifestyle,” some may say! The CEO, Damir Ciglar, also name-dropped some of the big companies interested in the device, so stay tuned for that interview up on foodbev.com soon.
Two other products that grabbed my interest were moringa tea from Naturinga and OxySport from Hungarian company Nanna.
Moringa is a plant already used in India and Mozambique that is relatively new to Europe. Not only used for its high antioxidant properties, Moringa’s vitamin and mineral properties seemingly far outweigh any of its natural competitors! Comparing gram for gram, Moringa contains 20 times more calcium than milk, four times more fibre than oatmeal, 25 times more iron than spinach and the list continues. Naturinga sells the product in its raw form and also in a tea, child beverage format and a capsule. I have a feeling it could be the next matcha green tea!
OxySport stood out for me, first and foremost, because of its interesting packaging. The bottle is shaped as a dumbbell which emphasises the functionality of the water drink, a sports recovery drink, or a Redox Power Water as it says on its label. Although oxygenated water is not new to the market, people are looking for more natural solutions when it comes to staying hydrated during sport, as seen in the rise of beetroot sports drinks. So could this mean a revival for oxygenated water, was it introduced too early but now will have its time to shine? The drink comes in a variety of different oxygen concentrates and I’d be interested to find out if any other companies are exploring this sector. More importantly I’d like to see the effectiveness of this drink, how does it compare to the in-vogue beetroot juice or even the turmeric sport drink we featured on foodbev.com last month?
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