The NEXTY Awards are the premier recognition of excellence in the natural products industry, given by the New Hope Network—founders of the bi-coastal Natural Product Expos. The winning products represent what’s NEXT… in wellness trends, in solving today’s health and sustainability problems, in ingredient innovation, in packaging, in condition management, in supply chain growth and transparency, in health impact.
Only 29 NEXTY awards are given each expo. There are four ways to win a NEXTY award (category award, consumer choice, editors’ choice, and gold award), and 22 categories where a brand can stand out. Most of these awards require nomination ahead of the Expo and product samples to be tested and evaluated by the New Hope Networks editorial team. The Editor’s Choice Awards are decided differently: over the first two days of the event, judges visit booths and decide on which FOUR brands—out of all exhibiting brands—are deserving of these category-wide prizes.
Out of over 1,500 exhibitors at Expo East 2019, only four were awarded the Editor’s Choice NEXTY Award—and Farmer Focus was one of them!
There are three pillars to the NEXTY award:
1. INNOVATION
The product or company shows truly creative thinking and execution (not a “me too” approach): uses a newly discovered or rediscovered ingredient, flavor profile, technique or process; fills a legitimate (though perhaps not recognized) natural products market need or niche; and/or is predicted to have longer-term impact in the industry.
2. INTEGRITY
The product or company adheres to an unusual or new mission targeting an issue or problem not yet widely addressed; its message/mission is clearly communicated, focused and effective, with real, wide-reaching potential or already proven positive social or environmental impact.
3. INSPIRATION
The product or company takes a creative, next-gen approach to clean ingredient(s), sustainability, transparency, traceability and safety/security.
Our company’s mission is to build partnerships to promote and protect generational family farms. Being presented with this award is a great honor, and shows us that we’ve been recognized by industry authorities who have seen more than a few natural product brands grow from an idea to fruition. Winning a NEXTY award at Natural Products Expo East is an invitation to join a larger family of industry innovators—a shared support system for companies who dare to do things differently.
We are humbled by this great honor, and appreciative that we have such an awesome team that has made it possible!
