Sisu Magnesium Relaxation Blend is a great-tasting drink mix that works quickly to relieve stress and tension, promoting a more relaxed state. It features magnesium bisglycinate/citrate with GABA and L-Theanine, to safely and effectively manage signs of stress, including anxiety and insomnia. Available in a delicious raspberry-lemonade flavour. Visit sisu.com

NOW Solutions’ new Charcoal Detox Facial Care system is perfect for most skin types and includes a gel cleanser, facial mask and moisturizer. Activated charcoal helps absorb excess oil, dirt, and impurities to refine the appearance of pores while acai and goji berry help to rejuvenate the skin and replenish its youthful glow. wwww.nowfoods.ca/beauty-health

Introducing clean collagen from Genuine Health!  Each serving contains 10 grams of pure, hydrolyzed collagen from grass-fed, pasture-raised USDA cattle or sustainably sourced wild-caught fish from the North Atlantic. Both available in unflavoured and lightly flavoured water enhancers. Non-GMO, dairy and gluten-free.      genuinehealth.comgenuinehealth.com

Every Woman's and Man's 55+ One Daily 

Multivitamins delivers fermented nutrients targeted for adults 55 and over, along with a clinical dose of plant-based astaxanthin and immune boosting Beta-Glucans. See your New Chapter account manager for details, and place your preorder now for additional special offers.     www.newchapter.ca

One of the most unique things about Community Farm Store in Duncan, B.C. is it holds its management meetings in the soothing waters of the nearby Cowichan River.

The newest Avril Supermarché Santé has taken “going green” to a whole new level.

The giant Quebec-based natural health retailer opened its newest – and largest – location on June 6 in Laval, QC.   One of the most amazing features of this 44,000 sq. ft. store is an indoor farm.  The CultiGo automated vertical farming platform is a technology developed in Quebec by Inno-3B and it will allow Avril Laval to grow organic microgreens on-site year-round. Revolutionary and ecological, this farming technique reduces greenhouse gas emissions, eliminates pesticides and encourages local farming for incomparable freshness. Several varieties and blends of microgreens will be grown at the Laval store, and then be distributed to Avril’s other stores. Avril is the first retailer to use the CultiGo platform.

The Laval location – which the company says via press release is the largest health food store in Quebec – represents a $10M investment for Avril, which was founded in 1995 by Sylvie Senay and Rolland Tanguay. The opening of this new store has created 200 new jobs, bringing the total number of employees to nearly 1,000, working at one of the stores, at the logistics and distribution center or at the head office in Granby.

Three principles

Adapting to its customer’s needs and lifestyle, Avril Laval offers even more choice, based on three main principles: flavour, freshness and simplicity. Customers can now purchase fresh fish, homemade pizza, organic roasted chicken, bread and pastries, gelatos and grab-and-go meals. 

The gelatos are prepared in the traditional Italian style. The pizzas are made from the finest organic ingredients, including San Marzano tomatoes, and are baked on stone in a state-of-the-art oven. The fish comes from sustainable fishing practices and most are Ocean Wise certified.

The new store has a 130-seat food court and a 48-seat terrace. Two menus are offered:  one bistro-style and a vegan alternative.

Avril Laval has a large natural cosmetics department, designed to display iconic natural and organic cosmetic brands from here and abroad. Customers can also benefit from personalized recommendations from beauty advisors and receive skin care treatments in private treatment rooms.

“The opening of our eighth store in Laval is another step towards achieving our ultimate mission of making natural and organic products accessible to all,” says Sylvie. 

When the Pakosz family was planning a new building to move their health food store to, they all had the same word at the top of their wish list: wow.

After years of continually outgrowing the space at a strip mall, the owners of Healthyway Natural Foods in Campbell River. B.C. – Donna and Will, and Will’s parents Kay and Bill – made up their minds to create something big enough for now and for the future, and they wanted it to be special.  “We aimed to create a ‘wow’ factor when customers walked through the door,” says Will.  “We wanted our merchandising and store layout to have an intelligent plan.”  

CNHR is welcoming back one of its original (and most popular) business writers, Alain Roy. Alain brings a great deal of industry experience, having worked in all facets of our industry over the years, including retail, distribution, manufacturing and consulting. Currently, he is president of Veeva and Natural Business Partners.

Alain will be focusing his efforts into a series of continuing articles on the benefits of strong partnerships between retailers and suppliers. He will be asking industry leaders to share their greatest partnership success stories. “During my career, I have seen and been part of different partnership attitudes. Like personal relationships, working in true partnership means understanding each other’s needs. This new series will focus on understanding the needs of vendors and retailers alike, so we can all continue thriving.” Alain’s first article will appear in the September-October issue.     Welcome back, Alain!

Raji Kalra has co-founded a new company called Peopletail. Its purpose is to make it easy for people to include their own links to e-commerce retailers in their articles, photos and videos - making their content into shoppable recommendations for other consumers to buy through. “The user-generated content from everyday people will help increase traffic to e-commerce stores of health food retailers,” explained Raji.

Peopletail (the name combines “people” and “retail”) rewards people for creating content for products they love. “In the natural health channel, people really listen to other people’s recommendation to learn about what products are good and what products work,” said Raji. “This will be a chance for people to get rewarded by sharing their product knowledge and experiences with others. This can be for products they love or believe in.”

Raji, who has been producing content for brands for nearly nine years, feels we are shifting into an era where brands won’t actually have to produce their own content as much in the future.   “We envision a future where brands will be able to focus their efforts on rewarding people for their content, especially when certain content generates with retailers.” Peopletail – which will be in testing phase starting June 2018 – will be collaborating with leading brands, magazine publishers and retailers in the natural health industry. Raji is the former head of Alive Studios, a digital division he sold to Alive Publishing Group in 2014. For more information, please email raji@peopletail.com. •

After an impressive 41 years in natural health retail, Don Smith and his wife Claire are moving on. They have sold their 6,500 sq. foot store - Foodsmiths - in Perth ON and are putting their retailing days behind them.

Mrs. Meyer's® Clean Day makes thoughtfully formulated household products that are powerful and a pleasure to use. Try relaxing Lavender, crisp Basil, or energizing Lemon Verbena to provide an aromatherapeutic experience while you clean. All products are ECOLOGO and Leaping Bunny certified. Now available in Canada!   mrsmeyers.ca

Traditionally made, this is a pure, easy to mix, “on the go" Bone Broth Protein Powder that’s as nutritious as ever. High in collagen, calcium and potassium and free of all antibiotics and added hormones, this cage-free chicken bone broth is simmered to ensure the maximum amount of nutrients.     organika.ca

Advanced Gut Health Probiotic women’s daily – promotes women’s health. Advanced Gut Health Probiotic Women’s UTI – help prevent urinary tract infections. 15 strains in a balanced formula. Unique plastic-free delayed-release capsule for targeted delivery. Clean and toxin-free. Guaranteed 50 billion live bacteria.       www.genuinehealth.com

Bell Lifestyle’s Blood Sugar Metabolism is a GMO-free and allergen-free product that helps balance blood glucose levels and support healthy glucose metabolism. It’s a natural way to supplement your weight management plan along with an active lifestyle. Discover more natural products to support your health goals at belllifestyleproducts.ca

Apitherapy is the medicinal use of honeybee products for health and healing. Canadian owned and operated, Natural Immix is thrilled to introduce their BEE Line of products including; Bee Propolis Spray, Bee Propolis + Echinacea Spray, Bee Pollen Complex, Green Bee Propolis and Royal Jelly. For more information on new products, check us out at www.naturalimmix.com or to order, contact us at 855/314-3411 or email orderdesk@hubdc.ca

EMUAID® First Aid Ointment is a modern homeopathic medicine. Available in regular and maximum strength formulations, EMUAID® is made from the highest quality, natural, medical-grade ingredients available without a prescription. Our proprietary formula combines Argentum Metallicum, organic Tea Tree Oil, probiotic Bacillus Ferment and amino acid L-Lysine HCl in a base of over 60% refined Emu oil that’s ethically sourced. Making these natural first aid ointments the safest, most effective on the market for OVER 100 difficult-to-treat and resistant skin conditions.         www.emuaid.com

GABA Ease - Fast-acting ingredients relieve occasional nervous tension and anxiety.  Contains a therapeutic dose of GABA withl-Theanine and calming botanicals: passionflower, skullcap and hops. Use GABA Ease before the traffic commute, to help ease travel anxiety and hormonal irritability. Can be used as needed or ongoing as desired.

For a complete product list and pricing for Vitanica products available in Canada, visit ecotrend.ca   For detailed product information visit vitanica.com

The Natural Product Advisor course is designed to help you become more knowledgeable about the natural health industry in Canada. You will have a strong understanding of product sales and regulations to specific topics and health concerns that shoppers often ask about.              Email studentservices@aliveacademy.com

Now available - ZEN Sports Spray. Formulated for use before and after sporting activities as needed. Contains arnica for relief of minor injuries, bruises and muscle aches. Addition of Chinese herbs helps promote blood circulation and relieve inflammation and swelling. www.martinandpleasance.ca

MSPrebiotic is a Manitoba-made, shelf-stable, clinically evaluated natural health supplement that strengthens the gut microbiome to improve digestive function and increase energy for the body. For more information, visit us at  www.MSPrebiotic.ca