Health & Wellness – making sure you practice self-care in between the deadlines…. make 2020 extra ordinary by finding balance in this busy world.

People are increasingly connecting the importance of what they consume with health and longevity. Health is becoming one of the most prominent features in our modern-day world for a number of reasons:

• For most people living in a modern-day world, it has become increasingly difficult to feel that they can live a simple and humble life and still be acknowledged as being extra ordinary
• How we see ourselves as adding value in the workplace or at home, is often associated with how much we earn, the size of the car we drive, the kinds of holidays we go on, the cell phone we own….to name a few. This can lead to a sense of ‘it is never enough, not good enough, not big enough, not fast enough, I need to do more, earn more, work harder, do better’ in order for people to feel they are worthy and valuable.
• In this striving for bigger, better and faster, people can find themselves becoming exhausted and overwhelmed.
• It seems to have become the norm to be too busy and not have enough hours in the day
• Social media, phones, tablets, wifi and having google at our fingertips implies that we are connected 24/7. However, this has led to an epidemic of feeling more and more disconnected and craving more real ways of interacting in the world
• Long workdays, many hours spent getting to and from work, rushed meals while on the run, too little sleep and ever increasing stress levels globally, have led to more chronic illnesses than we’ve ever seen.
• How do we solve this ? The first step would be to recognize feeling overwhelmed, and from there to identify ways of slowing down or having time out.
• Make sure you have some of these tools in your relaxation toolbox: making time to switch off by putting away the phone or laptop; not reading emails as you are going to bed; finding a support system with friends or family to assist if you feel you need practical help; trying relaxation techniques like meditation, yoga, or breathing exercises; reading a book; spending time in nature; making time to do things that make you feel good; getting creative (adult colouring in is a cheap form of therapy for many and helps to bring us back to the present)…the list goes on…

Globally we are seeing health and wellness as being drivers of innovation but even though this movement has been around for years, the perception still remains that companies are not doing enough to innovate fast enough. The demand for healthier options is growing, but consumers perceive that they aren’t seeing the nutritional quality of products improving enough to meet this demand. Opportunities!!!

The theme of sustainability threads through every aspect and arena as we see in the feedback from trade fairs.

According to Innova top 20 trends in 2019, 85% of US & UK consumers expect companies to invest in sustainability, compared to 64% in 2018 (a 20% increase in this awareness in just one year!)

“For every sustainable food conversation you hear about, I feel like there’s a third as many things about the packaging, and that’s sort of the elephant in the room.” Mike Lee, Founder, The Future Market