Mitch Gould and Nutritional Products International Highlight Three Vital Trends Health and Wellness Brands Need to Understand

Natural Grocers® recently announced its Top 10 Nutrition Trends® for 2022, which included healthspan, emphasis on immunity health, and healthy snacks.

“We always look forward to Natural Grocers®’ annual Top 10 trends for the nutrition sector. Brands need to know that consumers are interested in healthspan, immune health, and healthy snacks,” said Mitch Gould, Founder and CEO of Nutritional Products International, a global brand management firm based in Boca Raton, FL. “Since we work with so many health and wellness brands, we like to see how our clients align with the latest trends.”

During the past 22 months, Americans have focused on getting healthy and staying healthy.

“We already knew that each succeeding generation seems to be more health-conscious than the previous one. It is not surprising that Natural Grocers® named ‘healthspan,’ rather than ‘lifespan’ as a growing trend,” he added.

Gould said COVID-19 forced people to think about their health every day.

“We all want to live long lives,” Gould said. “However, now we want to be healthy during our long lives. The health crisis showed us the fragility of the quality of life.”

Making sure we have a healthy and strong immune system is another trend that Natural Grocers® listed.

“To say that immune boosters were trending would be an understatement,” Gould said. “During the pandemic, people were looking for any advantage they could give themselves, which is why sales increased for vitamin C, vitamin D, zinc, echinacea, and probiotics .”

Americans already had a love affair with daily supplements before COVID-19.

“Eighty percent of Americans use daily supplements because they want to stay healthy. Although usage has increased “steadily” for the past two decades, the pandemic reinforced Americans’ bond with their daily supplement,” he added.

Gould said consumers are searching for high-quality immune boosters that will help them stay healthy.
Americans have been on a health kick for a while. They read labels. They pass on salt. They check for added sugars.

Not surprisingly, Natural Grocers® listed healthy snacks as one of 2022’s nutritional trends.

“Health food is no longer a niche market,” Gould said. “Consumers, especially the younger generations, are moving away from sugary drinks, salted foods, and snacks packed with added sugars.”

Gould said NPI’s health and wellness clients have been pioneers in many of these 2022 nutritional trends.

“It is important for NPI and health and wellness brands to know what consumers want even before they become next year’s hot trend,” Gould said. “NPI’s staff stays on top of the latest trends before they happen.”

Nutritional Products International helps health and wellness brands enter or expand their presence in the U.S. market.

NPI’s strengths lie with its retail sales experience, understanding of online sales, and a creative retail platform, the “Evolution of Distribution,” that Gould created.

Gould’s career, which spans more than three decades, has been heavily involved in all types of consumer goods.

In the early 2000s, Gould placed more than 150 health and wellness products onto the new virtual shelves of Amazon’s health and wellness category.

“I was part of a “Powerhouse Trifecta” that placed high-quality health and wellness brands with Amazon’s new category,” Gould said, adding that he, Jeff Fernandez, who was on the Amazon team tasked to stock the new health and wellness category, and Kenneth E. Collins, then vice president of operations for Muscle Foods, comprised the “Powerhouse Trifecta.”

“This experience taught me the importance of online sales,” Gould said. “My relationship with Jeff and Ken worked out well for everyone. Jeff is now NPI president and Ken is executive vice president.”

All of Gould’s experience in the retail industry led him to develop the “Evolution of Distribution” platform, which brings together all the professional services that manufacturers need to launch products in the U.S.

“The ‘Evolution of Distribution’ is a cost-effective and affordable way to launch products in the U.S.,” he said.

For more information, visit www.nutricompany.com.

MORE ON NPI AND ITS FOUNDER
NPI is a privately-held company specializing in the retail distribution of nutraceuticals, dietary supplements, functional beverages, and skin-care products. NPI offers a unique, proven approach for product manufacturers worldwide seeking to launch or expand their products’ distribution in the U.S. retail market.

Mitch Gould, the CEO and founder of NPI, developed the “Evolution of Distribution” platform, which provides product manufacturers with the sales, marketing, and product distribution expertise required to succeed in the world’s largest market — the United States.

Gould, known as a global marketing guru, also has represented icons from the sports and entertainment worlds such as Steven Seagal, Hulk Hogan, Ronnie Coleman, and Wayne Gretzky.