Expo West 2024 - A Voyageur Group Recap

Expo West 2024 – A Voyageur Group Recap

The Voyageur Group team just returned from the most electrifying Expo West I've attended in the last seven years, and I'm eager to share with you the groundbreaking trends and products that promise to shape the future of wellness and sustainability in CPG.

Unprecedented Energy at Expo West 2024

This year's Expo West was, without exaggeration, the busiest and most vibrant I've experienced. The halls were smash packed with an unparalleled energy, reflecting the industry's eagerness to innovate and embrace change. It's clear that the wellness sector is not just growing; it's evolving in ways that prioritize both personal health and the planet's wellbeing.

Voyageur Group’s Unique Value – Unifying and Amplifying an otherwise Fragmented Partnership Model

As a company we provide 3 major services: Retail Media Management; Target Full-Service Sales Broker + Brand Management; Amazon Full Service Agency services.

We spoke to dozens of brands about these services and while we had great conversations about helping brands in any one of these areas, we continue to be validated that our ability to support brands ACROSS all of these services is a game changing benefit for them.

The common theme of a brand’s service providers today is “FRAGMENTED.”

These brands will have separate agency partners for Amazon Account Management, Amazon Ads, Target Broker support, Roundel Consulting, and another agency for retail media management outside of Target and Amazon – if they aren’t just relying on Criteo managed services.

At the show, brands lit up about Voyageur Group’s value proposition of being able to have one partner provide expertise across ALL of these functions. There was excitement not just for the unification and simplification of these services BUT for the ability to AMPLIFY results by planning and executing across all of these functions.

This was exciting validation for our vision and we can't wait to begin partnerships with new brands following the show.

Emerging Trends & Standout Innovations

As we navigated through the sea of exhibitors, several key product trends emerged, each marking a significant shift in consumer preferences and industry innovation. Here's a closer look at the notable categories:

• Better-for-You Energy Drinks: Gone are the days of sugar-laden, artificial energy boosts. This year, brands unveiled energy drinks with natural, health-promoting ingredients, offering a cleaner, sustained energy without the crash.
• Functional & Adaptogenetic Beverages: Highlighting the power of adaptogens and functional ingredients, these beverages are crafted to support stress relief, focus, and overall wellness, demonstrating a holistic approach to energy and health.
• Probiotic and Prebiotic Sodas: Following in the footsteps of pioneers like Olipop and Poppi, new players are entering the scene with delicious, gut-health-supporting sodas. These beverages combine great taste with the benefits of probiotics and prebiotics, making gut health more accessible and enjoyable.
• Innovative Protein Supplements: Moving beyond traditional powders, brands are exploring new sources and forms of protein supplements, including snacks, bars, and even beverages, catering to the diverse needs and preferences of health-conscious consumers.
• Mushroom Supplements: With benefits ranging from immune support to cognitive enhancement, mushroom supplements are not just for the niche consumer anymore. Now available in forms like gummies, they're poised to become a mainstream wellness staple.
• Bamboo: A Tree-Free Revolution: In a significant stride towards sustainability, bamboo is being heralded as a tree-free substitute for household paper products. This renewable resource is making its way into kitchens and bathrooms, offering a greener alternative to traditional paper goods.
• Redefining Beef Jerky: Breaking away from traditional masculine branding, new beef jerky brands are appealing to a broader audience with inclusive marketing and innovative flavors, signaling a shift in how we think about and consume this protein-packed snack.
• Hydration and Greens: With Bloom dominating the hydration and greens space, new brands are emerging, offering unique blends and formulations that challenge the status quo and cater to the evolving needs of health-minded individuals.
• NA Cocktail & Spirits: We have been following this trend closely with our clients in this space but it seems that the category is finally starting to explode with at least a dozen brands exhibiting at the show.

Trends on the way out:

While there are new trends that have emerged there are two notable trends from year’s past that we saw really taper off / seize to exist this year. We noticed the following trends from yester year drop off:

• Alternative Meats: It appears that Impossible and Beyond may have won the faux meat arms race. In the last two years, we saw dozens of challenger brands pop up at Expo West and virtually all of them were missing this year.
• Cold Pressed Juice: Like faux meat, the Expo floors are no longer dominated with up-and-coming cold pressed juice brands. The juice has been squeezed and challenger brands have dried up.
• Overnight Oats: This was big last year but has dried up. The big players have gotten bigger and continue to do great but the early stage challengers seem to have dropped out.

Looking Ahead

All was alive and well at Expo this year. Consumer excitement and support for sustainable produces larger than ever.

We can’t wait to see how these new big trends will evolve in the market between this year and next and which players will win out.

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