57,000 CPG pros return to Anaheim: Walrus takes a three-day plunge into Natural Products Expo West

Natural Products Expo West returned to Anaheim in March as an estimated 57,000 attendees convened to experience an impressive array of innovation in the natural and organic food and beverage space. Emerging and established brands packed the showroom floors for the Super Bowl of Snacks—one of the industry’s biggest and most meticulously planned stages for product innovation, brand-retailer matchmaking, and samples. Oh, the endless samples.

We plunged into the show’s cavernous exhibitor halls for three days to witness the latest and greatest in CPG eats—and meet the creative minds behind the brands. Here’s what we saw:

Emerging brands rallied, while some larger brands stayed in stealth mode

This year’s show saw an explosion of new products as brands rallied to make up for time and ground lost during two incredibly tough years. Some 625 emerging brands exhibited for the first time, while several behemoths stayed home, such as Chobani, Clif Bar, Danone, Hain Celestial, Stonyfield/Lactalis, Impossible Foods, and Beyond Meat. ConAgra Brands and Hershey (through its Amplify Snack Brands division) attended, and we enjoyed visiting with former client General Mills and their giant buffalo (whose name is Bob). The energy on the show floor was palpable and extremely positive. In chatting with the team at Country Archer Provisions, Director of Grocery Sales Brandon Bayman distilled the year’s theme to three H’s: hugs, handshakes, and high fives.

Brand amplification via standout booth activations

It wasn’t just the show’s big spenders who achieved impressive feats of creativity. We saw several brands tie booth design themes/activations into their larger strategic platforms.

Liquid Death mountain water, fresh from running this memorable Super Bowl ad and announcing (and promptly selling out of) its Murder Head Death Club NFTs, clearly understood the assignment. The Liquid Death team has produced numerous vids to spread the word on how single-use plastic bottles are killing our planet while aluminum cans are infinitely recyclable. (See? If you make great ads, the messaging sticks.) That’s why we were delighted to see them serving Liquid Death samples out of a giant white casket. Their hefty gold-rimmed cans quickly became the show’s hottest fashion accessory, with throngs of attendees serving as walking billboards.?

Cappello’s, a brand of gluten-free pizzas that claims “pizza is a reflection of all that is good in humanity,” debuted a dazzling mirrored room called the Temple of Infinite Pizza. Emerging plant-based meat brand Simulate went a different direction entirely, showcasing its products in a spartan, frills-free design that felt like a futuristic art installation.

Beverages with benefits are coming for big soda

There was no shortage of drinkables at Expo West that offer fun, flavor, functional benefits, and far less guilt than sugary sodas and alcohol. Many of these functional beverage brands have a culinary twist with flavor combos that feel more fit for a restaurant cocktail menu than your local supermarket. Culture Pop, a probiotic soda made with organic fruit juices, spices, and herbs, offers flavors like orange mango chili and lime while delivering billions of CFUs of live probiotics. Aura Bora, an emerging brand of herbal sparkling waters known for its LTO flavor innovations and wonderfully weird brand aesthetic, drives trial with flavors like elderflower grapefruit, cactus rose, and lime cardamom.

Refrigerated snacks and upmarket indulgences are on the rise

Of the 2,700+ exhibitors at Expo West, many brands hailed from the growing refrigerated snacks segment. Refrigerated nutrition bars and snacks have been a growing trend in the U.S., and while still in its early stages, the market is projected to grow at around 5 percent through 2027. Standout brands include Honey Mama’s truffle bars and Mid-Day Squares (which is already on episode 34 of its unapologetically unfiltered founders’ podcast).

Individually packaged, upmarket desserts were drawing crowds, too. We had a hard time believing that Bon Devil’s velvety chocolate ganache cups were dairy free, lactose free, gluten free, GMO free, and only 100 calories. If you want to feel extra fancy at home, there’s Pots & Co, a premium dessert brand that produces “handmade, Michelin-quality desserts” served in table-ready ceramic pots made by artisan potters in Valencia, Spain.?

Smart brand collaborations made us feel good about the future

We first learned about ACES, the Alliance to Control Excessive Sugar, from the brothers DeCicco at Super Coffee. The RTD coffee rocket ship was crowned BevNET’s 2021 Brand of the Year and is on pace for $125 million in sales in 2022. ACES includes a band of low-sugar brands, such as Koia, Olipop, Three Wishes, HighKey, Enlightened, and Lemon Perfect. We grabbed a copy of the ACES passport (smart!), which introduces all the member brands in the best way—with coupons.

We admired a similar educational push from the Clean Oil Crew, a coalition of brands meant to help consumers learn about the health benefits of minimally processed products that use clean oils, such as ghee, olive oil, avocado oil, and coconut oil, versus industrial veggie and seed oils. Hats off to Lesser Evil Snacks, A Dozen Cousins, Cappello's, Primal Kitchen, and RIND Snacks for banding together to help consumers make healthier choices.

Waste not, want not

We saw numerous brands founded on regenerative agriculture, carbon offsetting, upcycling, and other sustainable practices ushering in the age of climate-friendly snacking. For example, Renewal Mill is a sustainable baking brand that leads in upcycling. They won a coveted Nexty Award for their Matcha Chip Cookie Mix, which uses leftover soybean pulp from tofu to derive the mix’s okara flour base. Miyoko’s Creamery also partnered with Renewal Mill to upcycle its vegan butter to create a salted peanut butter cookie.?

Moonshot, perhaps one of the show’s most impressive sustainable and eco-friendly snack brands, makes plant-based, carbon-neutral crackers with regeneratively grown wheat. They find every opportunity to reduce and eliminate their carbon footprint as well, with recyclable packaging made from recyclable materials and yearly offsetting at the company level.

Comfort food classics, but better

Whatever your vice—mac and cheese, pancakes, pizza, pasta—Expo West has an answer. We saw many brands following in the footsteps of trailblazers like CAULIPOWER and Banza with new creations that scratch that comfort food itch in a better-for-you fashion.?

Goodles mac and cheese is one such emerging brand shaking up the noodle aisle. Goodles outperforms traditional boxed mac on protein, fiber, and plant-based nutrients, and it is the first boxed mac and cheese ever to receive Clean Label certification, which tests for over 400 different contaminants, including chemicals, plastics, pesticides, and other toxins.

Kodiak Cakes, a fast-growing brand of protein-packed breakfast staples, ensured lasting brand recognition with an exhibitor space that mimicked a wooded campsite. We lined up for samples of hot, fluffy waffles served by the Kodiak team (all dressed in lumberjack plaid, of course).

R&D teams took brands to some pretty weird places

Seems like numerous brands took a leaf from the book of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, who launched a line of ethically sourced chocolate bars last year. (Just one of myriad amazing ideas you might be able to think up with regular ketamine-assisted therapy, we’d imagine.)

Good news for fans of Dippin’ Dots—you can now pick up some of their supplements along with your space ice cream. The cryogenic cult classic entered the health and wellness space with vitamin and supplement gummies for kids in partnership with Pioneer Life Sciences. Or, how about a maple syrup packed with glitter? Okay, okay, it’s pearlescent mica, and this creation really exists. We feel a Runamok x Kodiak Cakes collab coming on…

Celebrities are invading grocery

Would you rather buy bottled water from Jason Momoa, clean-label baby food from Jennifer Garner, cactus water from Vanessa Hudgens, or popcorn from a Jonas brother? We found all of these at Expo West. The natural and organic industry grew 7.7 percent to $274 billion in 2021 and is forecast to surpass $300 billion by 2024, which we're sure is a draw to those among us with a little cash to invest and plenty of fame to bolster a great product idea.

Other notable trends:

• More milk alternatives. First oats and almonds, now peas, watermelon seeds, even potatoes. The dairy alternative market is forecast to reach $21.7 billion this year.
• Fungus among us. Mushroom extracts and functional fungi products were out in force this year. We saw chips and jerkies made with shiitake, king oyster, and portobello as well as RTD tonics, coffees, and tea blends with reishi, lion’s mane, and chaga.?
• Influence this. Many growing brands are trusting the same formula to drive customer trial and acquisition: influencer marketing and social—further demonstrated by the roving bands of influencer mercenaries approaching exhibitors at their booths this year.

Walrus is an independent advertising agency on a mission to change the way the world feels about advertising by filling it with ideas that respect people’s time and intelligence. The agency's ability to make ads that people notice and love has translated into exceptional business results for clients including Amazon, Bloomberg, Lowes Foods, Condé Nast, Emergen-C (Pfizer), General Mills, HBO, PayPal, and Staples. Learn more and get in touch at walrusnyc.com.