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April 10 2006, Monday, 9.30am-5pm
Whilst Organic Products Europe / Natural Products Europe is listed a
trade show, there were enough children present on the afternoon of the
first day - when we visited - to give it a feeling of being a somewhat
consumer event as well. Then again, it was a Sunday, and one just could
not leave the little ‘uns to play outside in those heavy rain showers,
which were brutally passing overhead each hour! So, what is in store for
traders, of all ages, when they visit the 10th Organic Products Europe /
Natural Products Europe exhibition? Besides hourly keynote, organic,
medical & retailer seminars in four theatres, from about 10.30am
onwards, there are 500+ national and international companies exhibiting
a wide variety of organic and natural products/services. Let us take a
brief look at several international and a couple of national companies,
which attracted our interest in the two short hours, during which we
took shelter in the large Grand Hall of the impressive Olympia
exhibition complex. First up is Spain’s Bodegas Puelles, based in La
Rioja. Jesús Puelles, himself, let us try one of the red wines from his
family wine cellar. Travellers to La Rioja might be interested to know
that his cellar offers guided tours and wine tastings as well as - over
the summer months – accommodation in a very picturesque area, all at
reasonable rates. Exhibiting at Organic Products Europe / Natural
Products Europe for the very first time is Centro de Exportacion e
Inversion de la Republica Dominicana (CEI-RD). The organisation’s
portfolio includes coffees (available from Whittard, in Chelsea),
organic bananas (available from Tesco) as well as a selection of drinks,
which include spirits. Whilst talking to those on the stand, we
discovered that the Dominican Republic is one of the top ten countries
that export organic products. And what about their National Day? Well,
it is February 27th, a day on which you could celebrate next year, maybe
with a coffee morning, in order to indulge in some of the Dominican
organic products which you will see today! Comvita UK Limited, based on
London’s Park Royal Road, is promoting New Zealand products. Included
are the tasty Manuka honey and a range of skin therapies (made up of
creams and tablets). EPOPA (Export Promotion of Organic Products from
Africa) has products on show from Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya. Yes, you
can discover organic passion fruit, aubergines, large avocados plus
dried pineapple, etc., from Uganda. From Tanzania, there are sesame
seeds, beeswax, etc. And from Kenya, look out for their honey (thanks to
sustainable beekeeping), nuts and teas (including Hibiscus tea and
something that is claimed to be good for the ladies… “Carcade”).
“Food from Holland” is promoting a range of Dutch products. Organic
cheese lovers will enjoy the good strong-tasting Dutch Hooidammer
Cheese, which we tried at the exhibition. Saaremaa – the largest island
off Estonia’s coast – is home to Good Karma Organic Soaps, which are
handmade with half-a-dozen organic ingredients. In addition to this the
soaps come in boxes, with essential information in five languages (i.e.
Swedish, German, Finnish, Estonian and English). The Tunis-based company
“Hammam” (meaning “bath” in Arabic) also has soap bars on show, as well
as candles, floral water, summer towels plus items made of
Tunisian-crafted copper (in three colours: gold, silver and red).
Hamburg’s K.-W Pfannenschmidt GmbH, according to their brochure,
distributes, ‘pharmaceutical raw materials and natural substances.’ So,
all in all quite a variety and a must-attend and must-see event if you
are in the fields of natural health and/or organic foods. We end with
desserts, enjoyed by many, both young and old alike. Somerset’s Izzy’s
Organic Desserts is one exhibitor we recommend you see, when you visit
the second and last day of the exhibition. Izzy’s exhibition stand hosts
a wonderful range of tasty organic cakes, as well as an eye-catching
selection of cheesecakes. The lemon curd cheesecake, which we sampled,
was out of this world!
A: £20
B: 9, 10, 27, 28, 49 or 391
L: Grand Hall, Olympia Exhibition Centre, Olympia Way, London, W14
M: Natural Products. 3rd Floor, Blenheim House, 120 Church Street,
Brighton, BN1
T: Kensington Olympia (District line)
W:
http://www.bodegaspuelles.com/ (Bodegas Puelles, Abalos, La Rioja,
Spain)
http://www.cei-rd.gov.do/ (CEI-RD Centro de Exportacion e Inversion
de la Republica Dominicana)
http://www.comvita.com/ (Comvita UK Limited, London)
http://www.epopa.info/
(EPOPA Export Promotion of Organic Products from Africa)
http://www.foodfromholland.com/ (Food from Holland, The Netherlands)
http://www.goodkaarma.com/ (Good Karma Organic Soaps, Saaremaa,
Estonia)
http://www.hammam-products.com/ (Hammam, Tunis, Tunisia)
http://www.izzyo.com/
(Izzy’s Organic Desserts, Bridgwater, Somerset)
http://www.naturalproductsonline.co.uk/ (Natural Products, Brighton)
http://www.pfannenschmidt.de/ (K.-W Pfannenschmidt GmbH, Hamburg,
Germany)
X:
http://www.howtoenjoy.co.uk/countries/dominican-republic.htm
http://www.howtoenjoy.info/interests/products.htm
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