-By Michelle Moran

We all know breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Beginning your day with a natural or organic breakfast is an even better way to begin. What we choose to eat at breakfast can affect our physical and mental performance, mood, weight and general health. A horde of health-conscious people are hungry for convenient new breakfast options that provide the nutrients and energy they need to fuel an active lifestyle. So, this month, we've gathered a collection of products to help your customers get a bright and healthy start to every day. And wake up your sales as well!

Kidz SuperFood is the first delicious superfood chocolate drink powder developed specifically for kids -- but parents can enjoy it, too. One serving blended with 6 ounces of milk provides the antioxidant equivalent of three servings of fruits and vegetables, and contains over 1,670 mg of whole food fruit and vegetable concentrates. Kidz SuperFood contains more than 70 percent organic ingredients; is an excellent source of beta carotene, thiamine (B-1) and vitamin K; and is a good source of vitamin C, iron, riboflavin (B-2) and folic acid. This innovative superfood drink offers essential 'whole food' fruit and vegetable nutrition unavailable from a multi-vitamin. The powder mixes easily with water or any variety of milk for a great breakfast substitute on a busy morning. It is offered in a scoopable 200g canister for an MSRP of $24.99, and in a 15-count box of convenient single-serve packets for $21.99. For more information, visit www.AmazingGrass.com.

Hemp seed oil, hemp seed butter, hemp milk, hemp protein powder (flour) and shelled hemp seed are becoming popular ingredients in prepared breakfast foods and recipes. An exciting new product that exemplifies this trend is Hemp Bliss Organic Hemp Milk from Manitoba Harvest (www.manitobaharvest.com). Offered in Chocolate, Vanilla and Original varieties, Hemp Bliss Organic Hemp Milk provides 1,200 mg of omega-3 essential fatty acids and 5 grams of protein in each serving. Overall, it offers more omega-3, 6 and 9 essential fats of any milk including dairy and other alternatives such as soy, rice and almond. It can be enjoyed straight up as a breakfast drink or as an ingredient in a variety of recipes including smoothies. MSRP is $24.99 for a 200g (33-serving) canister.

The Hawaiian Queen Co. continues its beekeeping operations on the Big Island using old-fashioned, organic farming methods. The mite that has been decimating bee colonies around the world has not been detected here, and all of their 1,500 colonies are healthy with no reports of loss. The Hawaiian Queen Co. is owned by Michael Krones, a beekeeper for over 30 years. He produces queen bees and honey on Hawaii's Big Island. The honeys are certified organic by the Hawaii Organic Farmer's Association and distributed through Tropical Traders Specialty Foods, LLC, under the brand Royal Hawaiian Honey. MSRP: $12.00 to $12.50. Learn more at www.tropicaltradersfoods.com.

Toast to your health with Vermont Bread Company, which bakes up natural and organic breads packaged to show off the healthy benefits associated with each variety, including the amount of whole grains per serving. The baked goods never contain high-fructose corn syrup, artificial ingredients or preservatives. Its organic range features an eye-catching banner that clearly lets consumers know they are purchasing organic bread. MSRP ranges from $3.59 to $3.99 for 20- and 24-ounce loaves. For more information, visit www.vermontbread.com.

Nature's Path offers many ready-to-eat breakfast foods that feature hemp, including their new HempPlus Organic Hot Oatmeal, Organic HempPlus Granola and HempPlus Toaster Waffles. HempPlus Organic Hot Oatmeal provides 4g of fiber and 5g of protein per serving, and is lightly sweetened with brown sugar and organic cane juice. A healthy breakfast solution for people on the go -- just add hot water and stir for a nutritious breakfast that delivers all nine essential amino acids. MSRP for the HempPlus Organic Hot Oatmeal ranges from $3.19 to $3.99.  For more information, visit www.naturespath.com.

Mom's Best Naturals introduces two delicious new varieties to its line of ready-to-eat cereals. The new Honey-ful Wheat™ and Oats and Honey Blend™ join the six existing varieties of family-favorite cereals that taste great and contain no artificial colors, flavors, preservatives or high-fructose corn syrup. The line also provides exceptional value, costing 20-50 percent less than similar natural and organic cereals on the market. The growing Mom's Best Naturals line of cereals provides even more options to those looking for a better value in the natural cereal category and proves that eating healthy, natural breakfast foods doesn't mean sacrificing flavor. MSRP ranges from $2.29 to $2.69 per 24-oz. box. For information, call 651-228-9141, or visit www.momsbestnaturals.com.
 
Mrs. May's Trio bar is good for breakfast on the fly. The crunchy health bars made from nuts, seeds and natural fruits are available in four different fruit flavors, and are vegan, non-GMO, cholesterol-free, dairy-free, wheat-free, certified gluten-free, kosher, and contain no artificial flavors or colors. Named Trio because each bar contains a combination of three nuts (almond, cashew and pistachio), three seeds (sesame, sunflower and pumpkin), and three fruits (dates, raisins and one-of-four fruit flavors including strawberry, cranberry, blueberry or tropical fruit) to create a healthy, crunchy and substantive snack. Sold in boxes of 20 at an MSRP of around $1.29 each. For more information, visit www.mrsmays.com.

The Beat
Whole Foods Acquires Wild Oats, Store Closures Planned
Whole Foods plans to close fewer stores than originally planned following its acquisition of Boulder, Colo.-based Wild Oats, and was to have identified those stores by the end of September, a company official said during the Goldman Sachs Global Retailing Conference in New York.

Walter Robb, co-chief operating officer of the powerhouse retailer of organic and natural foods, also said Whole Foods was "absolutely" on track to meet its goal of $12 billion in annual sales by 2010.

Whole Foods had revealed plans for the Boulder, Colo., market and Rocky Mountain region, where the retailer said that by experimenting with new store formats like "Whole Foods Express" and re-tooling and investing in capital improvements in its existing stores, it believed it could keep all Whole Foods and Wild Oats stores in the area open.

However, in Oregon, local reports in early September claimed Whole Foods planned to close two Wild Oats outlets, in Portland's Southwest Hillsdale neighborhood and at the Bridgeport Village mall in Tualatin. Whole Foods operates a store nearby the Hillsdale Wild Oats.

To have taken place over the last two months, those two closures were to have displaced about 99 employees, who were offered jobs at other Whole Foods stores in Oregon, according to Ron Megahan, president of Whole Foods' Northwest region.

Megahan also reportedly said prices would come down at the remaining Wild Oats units.

Co-Op Pressures Bananas Swing Into Fair Trade
The nonprofit Co-op America is organizing consumers to pressure major national and independent grocery store operators to follow the lead of European Union (EU) grocers by making "Fair Trade bananas" more widely available.

The new push for Fair Trade Certified™ bananas is being launched amidst growing concerns about the human rights and environmental records of large conventional banana companies. For example, Chiquita Brands Inc. recently paid a $25 million fine to the U.S. government after pleading guilty to transacting with terrorist organizations in Colombia.

Co-op America Fair Trade Program coordinator Yochanan Zakai said: "The chances are you have heard about Fair Trade coffee and Fair Trade tea, but you probably don't know about Fair Trade bananas and other tropical fruit. Even though Fair Trade tropical fruits have been available in the U.S. since 2004, they are relatively rare in the U.S. In Europe, where Fair Trade fruit has been available since the mid-1990s, sales of such bananas have been growing at a rate of about 50 percent a year. It's time for U.S. grocers to start making available Fair Trade bananas and other fruit."

Participants in the Co-op America campaign are asked to sign a Web-based letter to major supermarket chains asking for more Fair Trade fruit. The campaign also seeks to enlist interested consumers into working with a supermarket in their community by sending e-mails, making phone calls and enlisting other local shoppers. Past Co-op America consumer action campaigns have resulted in the mobilization of 10,000 or more consumers to press U.S. companies for more responsible/greener actions.

The Fair Trade certification standards forbid the use of the most dangerous toxic chemicals and pesticides, protecting workers in the field, and guaranteeing the safety of the bananas in stores. Fair Trade bananas are better for our environment, as they are not genetically modified, and are grown using sustainable farming practices such as mulching, non-chemical weed control, filtering waste-water, recycling, and safe waste management.

Several independent banana importers -- Oke Bananas, Turbana, Albert's Organics and Jonathan's -- offer Fair Trade Certified bananas that are available to distributors serving U.S. grocers. For more information on Fair Trade bananas, visit www.transfairusa.org. For more information about climate change and other environmental and social issues, please visit www.coopamerica.org.

Faces & Places
INC. Magazine has ranked specialty salt vendor SaltWorks No. 117 in their Top 500 Fastest-Growing Companies of 2007. Mark Zoske, CEO of SaltWorks, developed the company five years ago. The Washington company ships same-day to direct buyers, wholesalers and consumers around the world. With sales of nearly $5 million in 2006 and a projected $9 million in 2007, the company that started in Zoske's kitchen has come a long way since its 2002 inception. SaltWorks has sold 10 million pounds of gourmet and bath salt this year, and recently moved into a brand new 26,000-square-foot warehouse. To learn more, visit www.seasalt.com.

Janet Tovey was hired as Eden Foods' national sales manager of Canada, effective August 15, 2007. Tovey brings 19 years of successful sales and merchandising management experience to this position, including 11 years in the Canadian natural foods industry. For the past five years, she has served as sales manager for the Ontario Natural Foods Co-op (ONFC), a 31-year natural food distributor based in Mississauga, Ontario. For more information, please call 800-248-0320, e-mail sales@edenfoods.com, or visit access.edenfoods.com.

ABF Beverage is the creator of Herbal Mist (www.drinkherbal.com), a popular new line of all-natural premium sweetened iced teas that are infused with healthful herbs. Herbal Mist, which features six flavors, is sweetened with natural cane sugar, as opposed to the unhealthy high-fructose corn syrup so many drinks rely upon today. Herbal Mist beverages are also infused with Yerba mate, a popular South American herb. According to the Yerba Mate Association of the Americas, it provides many health benefits, such as antioxidants, that aid in mental clarity, enhanced immune system functions, weight control and proper digestion. For information about ABF Beverage/Herbal Mist Tea, visit the Web site at www.drinkherbal.com.

The Mitolo Group USA is launching their Australian ollo Extra Virgin Olive Oil in the U.S. ollo is vertically integrated from tree to table with the olives cold-pressed within hours of harvest. There are two ollo blends -- Fresh & Fruity, an early harvest blend with grassy aromas and a peppery finish, and Mild & Mellow, a late harvest blend with a soft buttery texture and sweet aromas. Both blends retail in America in the $9.99-$10.99 range (500 ml).

Divine Chocolate's story began in 1997 when the farmers of the Kuapa Kokoo cooperative in Ghana established their own branded chocolate company in order to increase the benefits that cocoa farmers receive from the chocolate market. As a result, Divine was first launched in the U.K. in 1998. Divine is committed to empowering cocoa farmers in West Africa and educating consumers about the difference they can make by eating Fair Trade chocolate. All of the cocoa in Divine's indulgent, high-quality chocolate comes from the farmers of Kuapa Kokoo in Ghana and is purchased on Fair Trade terms. A Fair Trade premium is invested by Kuapa Kokoo into schools, clean drinking water, mobile medical clinics, and women's entrepreneurship projects for the significant percentage of women cocoa farmers that are Kuapa Kokoo members (60% of the national executive board of Kuapa Kokoo are women). For more information, visit Divine's Web site, www.divinechocolateusa.com.

Organic To Go, the nation's first fast casual café chain to be certified as an organic retailer, has acquired Scott's Gourmet Sandwiches, a downtown San Diego-based quick-serve restaurant comprised of two cafés and a corporate catering business. This latest acquisition initiates San Diego as the fourth region for the swiftly expanding Organic To Go, which now operates seven cafés in Los Angeles, three in Orange County, five in Seattle, and a corporate catering/delivery service as well as grab-and-go kiosks in all regions.

Starbucks has recently developed its Cocoa Practices Guidelines and Scorecard which are being piloted for a two-year period. The Cocoa Practices were developed to reflect Starbucks C.A.F.E. (Coffee and Farmer Equity) Practices, the company's coffee-buying guidelines, and are similar in structure and criteria areas. The program is designed to evaluate and recognize producers of high-quality, sustainably grown cocoa.

To become a Cocoa Practices supplier, farmers, processors and exporters must meet minimum requirements and demonstrate best practices which are subject to independent verification under the guidelines. Hershey's and Starbucks will work together to pilot and implement these practices for this platform. To learn more about Cocoa Practices and Starbucks' commitment to sustainable cocoa production, please visit www.starbucks.com/cocoa.

VitalJuiceDaily.com brings the latest information, research, trends and tips in nutrition, fitness, healing, beauty, green living and social responsibility to its audience of "well-conscious" consumers in a short, engaging e-mail every weekday. In addition to the national e-mail, the company launched "The Vital List: New York" in August, and will soon launch a Los Angeles edition.

    If you would like to comment or send us your feedback on this section, please send e-mail to mmoran@gourmetretailer.com.

Natural Gallery

Weil's Cooking
Spring Switzerland, a division of Waterford Wedgwood, has introduced the Weil by Spring "Healthy Kitchen" Collection. The cooking vessels are 5-ply bonded 18/10 steel and employ a manufacturing technique that does not permit cooking ingredients to come into contact with the aluminum of the various products. The design incorporates specially formulated "rolled edges" that prevent food from interacting with the aluminum. Prices range from $69.99 for a 2-Slice Toaster to $799.00 for the 12-Piece Cookware Set.
800-955-1550
www.waterford.com
CLICK VENDOR LINK NO.  451

Green Goodies
Bamboo flour sack towels, arriving November 2007 under the trademark Red and White Kitchen Company's Home Green Home, are designed with the eco-friendly home in mind. Bamboo Flour Sack is woven with 70 percent bamboo fibers and 30 percent cotton. Bamboo fibers are naturally antibacterial, super absorbent and biodegradable. Available in six colors. MSRP for these 18" x 28" towels will be $6.99 each.
877-914-7440
www.redandwhitekitchen.com
CLICK VENDOR LINK NO.  454

Organic Boost
The Organic Beverage Company has introduced Syzmo, the USDA-organic energy drink that is now the first and only certified Glycemic Index Tested carbonated beverage. Syzmo's flavors include Passion, Prickly Pear and Original. The new product designs include premium blue agave nectar, organic caffeine, full complement of RDA vitamins, great taste profiles, and no high-fructose corn syrup.
866-637-8802
www.syzmo.com
CLICK VENDOR LINK NO.  452

Perfect Companion
Melange Collection creates bags from recycled grain bags and totes made in Guatemala. The bags are matched with local hand-woven fabrics to create bags such as the Rooster shoulder bag. The entire bag is created from recycled materials — the fabric comes from old skirts of the village women around Lake Atitlan. Both the shoulder bag and the tote retail for around $60.00.
970-544-4828
www.melangecollection.com
CLICK VENDOR LINK NO.  455