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Food as SELF-CARE

—P R E P A R E D B Y

2C H A P T E R

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As more consumers find modern life hectic and stressful, flexible and balanced diets will increasingly become integral elements of self-care routines.

Looking ahead, individual definitions of self-care and balance will reinforce the need for a variety of ingredients, products, and combinations of food and drink that provide nutritional, physical, or emotional benefits that advance priorities for self-care.

In this chapter, we look at foods and ingredients that calm the body and mind, relieve inflammation, and reduce stress.

Food as Self-Care

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A Meeting of Function & Beauty at CAP BeautyAlways looking for ways to level up, Kerrilynn Pamer and Cindy DiPrima Morisse of CAP Beauty have married their coconut butter with three of their favorite flavors to produce Matcha Green Tea Powder, Blue Majikm, and 11 Berry; and they use them on everything from toast and smoothies to the base of a salad dressing or vitamin-rich milk.

» The Matcha energizes and inspires. Full of antioxidants from organic, ceremonial-grade matcha, this butter delivers clear, clean focus.

» Blue Majik is high on nutrients. Here, coconut butter is matched with superfood blue algae.

» 11 Berry packs an antioxidant punch rich with nutrient-dense, antioxidant berries.

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Magically Beautiful FoodsThe CAP Beauty founders aren’t the only self-care enthusiasts pushing colorful, enticing foods. Mermaid toast (yes, mermaid!) is taking the internet by storm, and chances are high you’ve seen one (or several) iterations of this beautiful, ocean-inspired toast (or its sister creation, unicorn toast) on Instagram.

Adeline Waugh of @vibrantandpure, the food stylist behind the trend, said, “Ever since I realized that adding beet juice to food would turn it into the most magnificent shade of hot pink, I was hooked. My goal is to take healthy food and make it fun and exciting, brightening it up with a few (or many) pops of color.”

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First came unicorn toast and then (as Waugh continued to play with a mixture of beet juice and cream cheese, adding additional colors using real food ingredients) mermaid toast was born. “I simply wanted to create something new beyond unicorn toast. I’m always trying to evolve and think outside the box when it comes to food,” she says. “I suspected that the blue and green shades from chlorophyll and spirulina would blend together nicely and create a dreamy aquatic look. I decided to name it ‘mermaid toast’ to keep up the tradition of toasts named after mythical creatures.”

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Another social media food trend that plays with colors and patterns is the smoothie bowl. It’s no surprise that smoothie bowls are all the rage on Instagram. With a range of toppings placed in delicate rows, these concoctions create the perfect overhead shot.

While many people make smoothie bowls for a healthy breakfast or snack, they can also be considered a “me moment”—when the consumer dedicates time and consideration to preparing a meal that meets nutritional requirements and looks great too.

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Colorful Foods: Bento Picnic

At Bento Picnic in Austin, using colors is an integral part of the up-and-coming restaurant’s approach to food.

Bento Picnic’s chefs make these Japanese-style meals in the washoku spirit, which features five core preparations and five food colors. The preparations are pickling, grilling, steaming, baking, and raw; and the colors are white, black, red, green, and yellow. The washoku style is how chef Alexis Chong ensures that all Bento Picnic’s meals are balanced, delicious, and nourishing.

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Ingredients That CalmWith the increased awareness and interest in the beneficial effects of a good night’s sleep, we see a rise in products and services related to clean sleep (making sleep a priority above anything else, including diet and fitness), sleep tracking, and sleep aid tech devices.

Nutrition expert Dr Frank Lipman explains that poor-quality sleep can be unsettling for the metabolism and hormones, which can lead to weight gain, bad moods, impaired memory, and brain fog, as well as serious health concerns such as inflammation and reduced immunity. In a nutshell, sleep is a crucial part of self-care.

As the sleep trend gains in popularity, it’s making its way into the food and beverage category mainly through sleep-enhancing beverages.

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Sleep-Enhancing Treats: Good Day Chocolate

This chocolate company perceives chocolate mainly as a delivery mechanism for vitamins and supplements. The company’s choice landed on chocolate as it’s a whole food with natural, healthful benefits. In chocolate, sugar is combined with fat, which helps the body metabolize it in a more productive and less harmful way, mitigating sugar and insulin spikes. If that wasn’t enough, from a metabolic perspective, our bodies digest sugar more effectively when other nutrients such as fat or protein are present. All in all, this makes chocolate the perfect conduit for the homeopathic sleep aid melatonin.

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New Form Factors: Dream Water

This sleep-enhancing powder is mixed with water and contains a mix of GABA, melatonin, and 5-HTP (5-Hydroxytryptophan). The proprietary blend is said to promote healthy sleep and alleviate anxiety.

Sleep-Inducing Beverages: Som Sleep

This RTD beverage contains a combination of magnesium, vitamin B, L-Theanine, melatonin, and GABA (gamma-Aminobutyric acid). Som Sleep recommends consuming a drink thirty minutes before bed for optimal sleep.

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The Jelly Shamans transform organic peaches and lavender into jam infused with 100mg of 99% pure CBD isolate derived from organic hemp.

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Adjacent to the sleep category, we turn our focus to CBD (cannabidiol), the calming ingredient in marijuana or hemp (that doesn’t get you high).

As state governments legalize marijuana across the country, CBD will increasingly find its way into foods and beverages.

It’s estimated that the CBD market will grow into a $2.1 billion market by 2020, with $450 million of those sales coming from hemp-based sources. That’s a 700% increase from 2016.

SOURCE: https://www.forbes.com/sites/debraborchardt/2016/12/12/the-cannabis-market-that-could-grow-700-by-2020/#436c560b4be1

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CBD as an Active Ingredient:

Tree Below Zero

This sparkling juice infused with CBD is America’s first CBD soda available in a broad range of flavors.

According to Roberto Haraldson, cofounder of Acme Naturals and Tree Below Zero, “consumers love the positive effects on mind and body.”

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CBD for an Elevated Experience:

Buddha Teas

Buddha Teas, purveyor of quality organic teas, recently launched a line of CBD Teas. Within this launch, Buddha Tea has gathered four of its most popular blends and added 5mg of water-soluble CBD, thus elevating each blend’s most enticing qualities to new heights of magnificence.

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Ingredients That UpliftFrom ingredients that calm to mood-boosting ingredients, studies suggest that some foods may help to reduce stress, ease anxiety, and fight depression.

Herbal Extracts for Mood Support:

Gaia

Maintaining a healthy emotional state can be essential to a self-care routine. That’s why Mood Uplift by Gaia is designed to support mental and emotional well-being.

By combining herbal extracts that have traditionally been used to help the body cope with daily stress, nourish the nervous system, and calm the mind, this formula is said to help foster a more positive outlook on life.

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Feel-Good Energy: Yes Cacao, Botanical

Chocolate Bars

By tapping into the original usage of cacao, Yes Cacao makes “Food You Can Feel.” Chocolate is a vasodilator, meaning its chemical compounds expand the blood vessels. That’s part of the reason you can “feel” chocolate.

Instead of using refined sugar, processed emulsifiers, and conventional preservatives, Yes Cacao uses chocolate as a delivery system for organic herbs, teas, flowers, and superfoods, creating uplifting chocolate rather than chocolate that provides a momentary peak followed by a crash.

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Ingredients That Reduce InflammationAlongside a growing awareness of how food affects our bodies and the overall state of our well-being, we see people seeking knowledge about anti-inflammatory diets.

An anti-inflammatory diet includes lots of organic fruits and vegetables accompanied by healthy fats like avocado, olive oil, nuts, and seeds. These ingredients can help prevent disease and aid better mental and physical health.

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Natural Stress Relief That Adapts to Your BodyAs an extension of the interest in foods and diets with anti-inflammatory properties, adaptogens are growing in popularity.

Adaptogens are a distinct cluster of herbs, roots, and mushrooms that help the body overcome inflammation and physical and mental stress. These super herbs are categorized by their suggested knack for adapting their roles, based on what the body requires.

While adaptogens are only recently finding their way into the mainstream, they have been a part of Ayurvedic and Chinese medicines for thousands of years.

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Cordyceps: Four Sigma

Athletes frequently use this medicinal mushroom found in Four Sigma’s “Mushroom Coffee Mix” for its performance-enhancing benefits. When used on a regular basis, it is said to help users exercise longer. It’s easy to get a daily dose of cordyceps with Four Sigma’s “Mushroom Coffee Mix”; add a packet to hot water and drink it like coffee, or pour it over ice for a pre-workout drink.

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Rhodiola: Sun Potion Prash

This golden root herb decreases cortisol response, boosts energy, elevates mood, and increases focus for people suffering from chronic fatigue. This caramel-like paste by Sun Potion has rhodiola and other adaptogens in it. Consumers take a spoonful when a sweet craving hits, or when they’re feeling burnt out.

Ashwagandha: Moon Juice

This herbal root is said to lower cortisol levels, a stress hormone that’s associated with weight gain, poor sleep, and mood swings. With Ashwagandha powder by Moon Juice, it’s easy to get a daily dose. This power is the perfect addition to energy bites, or stash it in an office drawer for a stress-relieving snack.

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Self-Care Through (Portion) ControlAs consumers continue to move away from sugar and toward healthy fats, high-fuel snacks like the internet sensation “fat balls” are increasing in popularity.

Fat balls may be small, but what they lack in size, they make up for in calories. Their key ingredients usually include nut butter, raw nuts, and coconut oil. These ingredients mean that fat balls also have more protein than the average cookie, but a lot less sugar.

The upside to this is that you might not feel that post-snack sluggishness that you get after pressing your favorite numbers on the vending machine.

The key, though, is portion control. The servings are small and, delicious as they are, you might not want to inhale the entire pan at once.

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All-in-One: Eat Smart

Another approach to portion control is Eat Smart kits. These prepared and portioned individual salad kits are healthy, portable, and scrumptious.

Each kit has plant-based protein toppings like edamame, nuts, and seeds, along with fresh salad greens and a delicious dressing. The kit has 11 to 14 grams of protein and around 370 calories.

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Packaging Solution: Mr. Mochi Ice Cream

After making frozen mochi desserts for high-end restaurants for more than thirty-five years, Mr. Green Tea Ice Cream Company decided to launch Mr. Mochi.

Mr. Mochi offers all-natural, individually-wrapped, and gluten-free mochi which stays fresh and encourages portion control. These little desserts are meant to be savored one at a time.

Ready-to-Sip: Zupa Noma

Ready-to-sip soups from Zupa Noma have low sodium and are packed with delicious ingredients like tomatillos, pumpkin, turmeric, and cashews, in combinations like cauliflower cashew and beet, and orange and basil. These healthy, innovative soups are recommended by dietitians.

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Credits

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The Future of

SELF-CAREKnow What’s Next, Now.Ebco is an Austin-based trend and insight consulting firm that serves as the go-to resource for trends that inspire unexpected new products, technologies, business models and categories. We have clients across most major industries, including the largest CPG, food and beverage, and personal care brands from around the world.

Our clients view us a partner in bringing customized, proprietary trend inputs to their initiatives. The goal is this insight leads to actionable ideas.

C O N T A C T U S erin@theebco.com

@ E B C O T R E N D S

W E B S I T E TheEbco.com