Sisu challenges cold and flu season

SISU challenges cold and flu season with trip to NYC

Have a happy flu season and take the SISU Ester-C Challenge. From October to February, retailers can sign up to participate in SISU's Cold & Flu Season Challenge. Each month that is successfully completed qualifies the participant for another entry into the grand prize draw – a trip to New York City. Contact your SISU Account Manager for more details.

Reduce the severity of symptoms and shorten the duration of colds or flu with SISU Cold & Flu Rescue with Ester-C (formerly known as Ester-C Cold & Flu). Cold & Flu Rescue is a potent combination of Ester-C, echinacea, andrographis and NAC to effectively relieve cold and flu symptoms and respiratory tract infections – without the side effects that are common with over-the-counter drugs. For more information, call 800/663-4163 or visit sisu.com •

Rising Stars Seminar for Natural Health Retailers

Natural health food store owners and managers who want to be better at their jobs should consider attending a Rising Stars seminar. Rising Stars sessions are natural foods leadership development seminars devoted to department and store managers. And for people who live and breathe natural health retailing, Rising Stars is everything you could hope for. It’s a combination of Heaven, Nirvana and Eutopia, with a little US Marine boot camp thrown in to provide structure over the intense three-day training session.

Vega launches new sport nutrition system

Vega has created the first, 100 per cent plant-based, comprehensive three stage sports nutrition system – Vega Sport Nutrition System – formulated specifically with purposeful ingredients to help athletes during some of the crucial stages in their training regime.

A busy autumn in store for industry association

by Helen Sherrard

Like many of you, we were happy to enjoy the great weather in Ontario this summer. While things seemed as busy as usual over the summer, I hope you were able to enjoy some time off wherever in Canada you are.

As I write this, it’s difficult to say how things will look on the regulatory front by the time you read it. CHFA continues to work to bring about change that will ensure that our innovative and successful industry continues to thrive and our members continue to do what they love to do.

Here are just a few of the exciting initiatives lined up for the rest of 2011:

CHFA Expo East

Expo East is the industry trade show not to be missed and takes place this year on Saturday, October 15 and Sunday, October 16 with a two day conference program on Thursday, October 13 and Friday, October 14. Please be sure to join us at our Welcome Reception on Friday evening at Expo East so we can say hello.

Regulatory affairs

CHFA continues to advocate for changes that will enhance our members’ ability to provide Canadians with access and choice to safe, high quality and effective natural health and organic products. Make a note to attend our popular Regulatory Forum on Thursday morning at Expo East when NHPD and other key Health Canada staff will be on hand. In November, CHFA returns to Ottawa for NHP Awareness Day as we continue in our efforts to educate members of parliament and advocate on behalf of our members.

Organic Week

CHFA will once again be a national champion supporter of this event and is working with the Canada Organic Trade Association to officially kick off the week at Expo East. Planning is underway to participate in some of the week’s main events including the Globe & Mail Special Report, as well as the Parliament Day Conference and Reception in Ottawa.

National Health Food Month

November is, of course National Health Food Month, an annual initiative organized by CHFA that shines a spotlight on the demonstrated benefits of natural health and organic products. This is a great opportunity for dedicated manufacturers, retailers, wholesalers, distributors, growers and importers of natural and organic products to showcase their high-quality products.

Communications

CHFA is committed to keeping members informed and up to date on all the latest news. We provide a wide range of communications that keep you updated and informed. With the recent hire of Michelle Book, our new director of communications, CHFA will continue to strengthen and develop our member and consumer communications. Stay tuned for some exciting developments in our consumer campaign early this fall.

Membership that matters

Along with all the above initiatives, as part of your CHFA membership, you have the opportunity to receive a free listing in the Natural Health Products Canada Industry Guide, an essential networking and sourcing guide for NHP retailers, manufacturers, distributors and importers. We also offer the Certified Natural Products Advisor (CNPA) course, a one year distance-learning program which will ensure retail staff and supplier sales reps are properly trained in core skills. Contact us today for more information.

There’s more work ahead as we move into autumn and we’re looking forward to keeping things moving. We’ve also got a few special projects in the works internally that will help us serve you better in the future.

There really has never been a better time to be a member of CHFA - we invite you to join the conversation by friending us on Facebook, following us on Twitter or visiting our website at www.chfa.ca. If you’re interested in becoming a member, call us today at 800/661-4510 or drop by our booth at Expo East. If you’re already a member of CHFA, we’d love to say hello, so be sure to stop by and see us during the show. •

Helen Sherrard is the President of the Canadian Health Food Association and can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Ontario Natural Food Co-op 35th Anniversary

Retailers and ONFC share many traits and values

This fall, Ontario Natural Food Co-op (ONFC) is celebrating 35 years of bringing Ontarians and Eastern Canadians the best in natural and organic foods.

Eden juices capture two awards

Eden’s Organic Concord Grape Juice and Organic Montmorency Tart Cherry Juice have each received a Sofi Award from the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade (NASFT) in the category of ‘Outstanding Cold Beverage.’ The Sofi Awards are the highest, most coveted honour in the specialty food and beverage industry. “The competition was intense, with a record 1,657 entries across 31 award categories. A panel of nine judges, specialty food experts, spent three busy days tasting and evaluating all entries,” NASFT reported.

Carlson Laboratories supports Natural Products Foundation

Carlson Laboratories has announced a new partnership with the Natural Products Foundation to support research and education. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of each specially labelled Carlson Super Omega-3 Gems supplement will benefit Foundation programs. The promotion began in June and will continue for a limited time, while quantities last.

The mission of the Natural Products Foundation is to promote and facilitate research and education related to natural products for the benefit of consumers and industry. Since Carlson also highly values the education of its consumers, the partnership was a natural decision. “We are so excited to be able to work with the Natural Products Foundation,” said Carilyn Anderson, president of Carlson Laboratories. “We have many common goals, including the wellness and education of our customers, so this was the perfect choice for us at this time.” www.carlsonlabs.com

CLM adds Mont Echo Naturels

Mont Echo Naturels 100 per cent Canadian grown sea buckthorn skincare line has been added to CLM’s product mix. Mont Echo produces an exclusive line of 100 per cent natural, hand-crafted sea buckthorn skincare products featuring 100 per cent Canadian sea buckthorn oils and floral waters. Mont Echo sea buckthorn is grown in accordance with organic standards.

Genuine Health combines probiotic with Omega 3

Genuine Health combines stable probiotic with Omega 3 fish oil in newest product

Genuine Health has a patent pending (U.S. Application No. 61/426,605) for a high performance, stable probiotic combined with high quality omega-3 fish oil.

Oilseed Works named “hometown hero”

Earth Day Canada (EDC) recently named Oilseed Works Inc. of Dalston, ON. as the winner of its 2011 Earth Day Canada Hometown Hero award. The awards recognize companies for outstanding commitment to the environment. This is the first year EDC is recognizing a small business Hometown Hero.