In our Speaker Spotlight series, get to know our speakers before you see them. Find out what trends they predict this year, who they admire in the industry, and why you should attend their session at Natural & Organic Products Europe in April.
What do you see as key trends for natural & organic in the coming year?
There will be even more focus on manufacturing, ingredients, performance and provenance in natural and organic. I predict that biotechnology is the future, combining nature and science to create more sustainable products.
Growing Categories are women’s wellness with brands focusing on stages of life such as menopause, post-partum, hormonal change and ‘cyclical living’ to a woman’s monthly cycle.
There will be more focus on the skin microbiome: Shoppers are becoming more educated about this, and how stress and overuse of products can affect the skin so with fewer ingredients and products where customers will want more performance from what they use.
Health-focused products will continue to grow, with personalisation, anti-ageing/‘longevity’ and bio-hacking taking a more holistic approach. Eastern influence on wellness as products and brands are being turned on their heads and science is supporting old eastern traditions from yoga and breath work to Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese medicine and “alternative” holistic methods that align well to natural and organic brands.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of your role and the most challenging?
I am passionate about working with people, it’s the relationships I have with the leaders of businesses I can support to make more impact in the industry that really motivates me. Sharing the successes such as evolving a brand’s positioning to get more cut-through with customers or buyers and celebrating their sales growth is hugely rewarding.
The most challenging is balancing running my business and time with clients to marketing myself and building my own personal brand. A challenge I know many entrepreneurs face, the challenges make me grow and it’s part of what I love.
Why should visitors attend your session at the show?
You should join my talk so you can keep ahead of your competition, evolving your brand and strategy is crucial to sales growth and more profit. There are more natural and organic brands out there than ever which is hugely exciting but if you continue to work in the same way there is a risk of being left behind. I have worked with thousands of brands over the years, from being Head of Buying at Selfridges to working with over 50 brands since I started m own business, people love to get the inside scoop I share when talking about trends and the future of the industry.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given.
Identify how much time you spend in visionary mode versus “doing”, running a business it’s very easy to be busy all the time but carving out time for the vision and strategy is crucial to moving the business forward.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself that most people don’t know:
My name is Elizabeth, I got the nickname Wizz as a child when I couldn’t say my name, I used to say “Wisswuss”, this turned into WizzBang and Wizz has stuck.
See Wizz Selvey’s session ‘Consumer, beauty and wellness trend insights‘. Register for a trade ticket here.
The post Speaker Spotlight: Wizz Selvey – WIZZ&CO appeared first on Natural Products Europe.