Technology shaping the natural products industry

Technology in the natural products arena can take many forms. For a supplier, making use of technological advances may mean adopting new methods for sourcing ingredients that are economical and compatible with industry standards for quality and purity. For a manufacturer, it may mean using novel laboratory techniques to create shelf-stable probiotics, or it could mean packaging products in new, sustainable materials. For a retailer, it could mean remodeling the store with energy-efficient lighting, using electronic and social media for store marketing or one day replacing cash registers with mobile phone credit-card readers.