Natural Products News shines a spotlight on a handful of the latest launches, campaigns, award wins and more from natural and organic brands and businesses
To coincide with Skin Cancer Awareness Month, LifeJacket Skin Protection – which offers a range of vegan-friendly, reef-safe and cruelty-free SPF moisturizers and sun gels – has partnered with phone app SkinVision so any customer ordering online will receive a code to access free skin checks for seven days. “At LifeJacket, we’re keen to encourage both protection and detection,” explains LifeJacket co-founder Billy Boulos. “We want guys to take life outside but protect themselves while they’re at it … We want to set out the facts and equip them with the knowledge. As a guy, I know that it’s easy to put things off and ignore your skin. Offering our community a simple tool that you can use in the privacy of your own home is a major step forward in our mission. If you spend just ten minutes a month checking your skin with this app, it could save your life.”
Plant-based, dairy-free cheese maker Bute Island Foods has received a Queen’s Award for Enterprise 2021. The Scottish firm says the award for International Trade recognizes its excellence in producing high quality dairy-, gluten- and animal-free vegan foods and its ‘phenomenal exports success’. “The Queen’s Award is the ultimate accolade and to win particularly for our international trade success, given our small farmhouse kitchen table beginnings, is humbling and huge recognition of the way Bute Island Foods is helping consumers across the world seek a more sustainable way of life by eating dairy-free,” comments MD, Debbie Dawson. “It is also a fantastic reflection on the exceptional team here at Bute Island who are passionate about good quality, plant-based food … It is a significant moment for an entrepreneurial British business.”
Vegetarian pet food brand Noochy Poochy is on a mission to revolutionize the plant-based market with the launch of a complete dog food based on nutritional yeast (‘nooch’), which gives an ‘irresistible cheesy flavour’. The food, formulated by a vegan vet and an animal nutritionist, is packaged in eye-catching recyclable pink bags to ‘set Noochy Poochy apart from other green and white veggie brands’. By combining a number of different plant proteins, the product contains 28% protein – which the brand says is higher than most meat based dog foods and the highest of any vegetarian dog food on the UK market – and also has an omega 6:3 ratio of 4:1. The food is suitable for all breeds, large and small, from 12 months plus. The brand is currently seeking a suitable vegan vitamin D3 so it can be entirely plant-based.
Higher Nature has expanded its Mind Health range with Energy and Focus – a natural lemon and lime flavoured drink to help with mental performance. Containing vitamins B3, B5, B6 and B12, choline, arginine, acetyl-l-carnitine and theanine, Energy and Focus helps reduce tiredness and provides an all-important boost when needed most, as well as contributing to the normal function of the nervous system. “Energy and Focus is for people who need a boost without the jitters and sugar crashes that come with coffee or sugary drinks, making it a heathy and proactive option,” says brand manager Amy Power. Available in tubes of ten, and sweetened with stevia and sorbitol, the effervescent tablets are vegan, free from artificial colours, flavourings or preservatives. They are suitable for adults and children over 13.
Hot on the heels of the M&S/Aldi caterpillar cake row, a vegan caterpillar cake has been created by Just Love Food Company. Registered with The Vegan Society’s Vegan Trademark the cake is named Archie in honour of Archie’s Allergies, a charity helping keep children with allergies safe. “The world has been missing a vegan chocolate caterpillar cake and we can’t wait to get our hands on one,” says The Vegan Society’s Ericka Durgahee. “We’re thrilled to welcome Archie on board.” Adds Danika Woods from Just Love Food: “We are so excited by the launch, and as a company built on inclusivity and allergy management, it’s great to be able to offer a much-loved vegan version of this classic that also guarantees to be egg-, milk-, nut- and peanut-free.”
