On Shelf: From insects to CBD oil and hair care – it’s all natural this week

by Louise Burgers. Eating bugs in the interests of accurate reporting; high hopes for Cape Town’s new CBD oil store; and it’s about time – a kids’ natural hair product range for natural hair.

Last week I ate a bug

It was probably several bugs – and a worm – in fact. All to serve the cause of transparent journalism. After all, how can I write about food trends and how insect protein will go mainstream as a solution to food shortages in the next 30 years as our world population increases to 10 billion by 2050, without sampling the future food display?

So I immersed myself for the good of the story at the presentation of Future Food 2020/21 by food trends forecaster, Hannerie Visser of Studio H, at the decadent Belmond Mt Nelson Hotel in Cape Town, and sampled insect protein made from crickets and worms and baked into chocolate squares. The ‘Dare Squares’ were made by Wholi Foods, a Danish company which makes products using cricket or buffalo worm powder, organic dates, roasted nuts and dark chocolate – an all-natural source of protein, fibre, omega-3, iron and vitamin B12.

And guess what? They weren’t bad at all! Bit nutty, slightly peppery in parts, chewy, and a bit like dates. I would not have a problem surviving on products made with insect flour if there were food shortages and this was the most sustainable protein. However, I could certainly not look a cricket in the eye and munch down on anything that wriggled. I’d rather starve to death.

What was strange though, was how everybody else at my table suddenly claimed to be vegan!

But on the plus side, I did score Ninja points with my kids.

High hopes for new CBD oil store

A dedicated CBD product store, Oil Science, has opened up at Century City outside of Cape Town, with a premium range of 100% natural, certified CBD oil in stock in tasteful surroundings. A far cry from the dodgy guy with a dirty backpack hissing his wares at you on a Long Street corner, as you walk past.

The store is one of the first dedicated CBD product stores to open in SA and Cape Town.

“We stock all of the same products including all of Oil Science’s range of premium CBD products that can be found on our online store,” says Oil Science MD, Anton Groeneveldt. “We also stock a selected range of products from renowned Swiss-based CBD brand, Cibdol, which complements our range, offering the highest quality products from prime European hemp.”

Education will be a focus at the bricks and mortar store with a #knowyoursource campaign to inform customers about how to know which CBD oil products are safe to consume. Cannabidiol, or CBD, is a chemical compound in marijuana with a variety of uses – the CBD Oil products on offer are 100% THC-free with no psychoactive effects.

And, to encourage consumers to check out their first offline store, Oil Science is currently running an opening deal where shoppers can get 40% off their purchase at the store. The brand plans to roll-out more stores in strategic locations across South Africa.

A kids’ hair care range for natural hair

AfroBotanics, a South African manufacturer of natural hair and body care products now offers AfroBotanics Kids, a natural hair care range formulated using only African botanicals. The AfroBotanics Kids range has coconut milk and aloe vera as leading ingredients and is free from parabens, petroleum jelly/petrolatum, mineral oil or any artificial colours for an “ouch-less” natural hair experience for kids.

“At AfroBotanics, we pride ourselves on using sustainably grown natural ingredients in our manufacturing and where possible, we source directly from community growers who cold press their oils for high quality and high performing ingredients, explained Ntombenhle Khathwane, CEO and founder of AfroBotanics.

The AfroBotanics website has written blogs and vlogs to help moms and dads care for their kid’s natural hair easier. The range is available at Clicks stores nationwide and online on www.afro-botanics.com.

Louise Burgers (previously Marsland) is the Publisher and Editor of RetailingAfrica.com. She’s spent over 20 years writing about the FMCG retailing, marketing, media and advertising industry in South Africa and on the African continent. She has specialised in local and Africa consumer trends and is a passionate Afro-optimist who believes it is Africa’s time to rise again and that the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) will be a global game changer in the next decade.

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