The sun has set on the latest Expo West. One of the industry’s biggest events hosted more than 65,000 attendees who flocked to Anaheim to browse the booths of 3,000 exhibitors from March 7-11 at the Anaheim Convention Center.
The conference featured dozens of product launches spanning the foods and beverage business to beauty and home goods to dietary supplements and, of course, ingredients.
According to Inform Markets, the show’s producer, “The event’s Hot Products halls expanded this year to include Level Three of the Anaheim Convention Center and featured many of the 898 first-time exhibitors who brought new passion and ideas that will shape the future of food and wellness.”
The expansion of Natural Products
New product introductions included:
- Alter Eco rolled out an expansion of “truffle thin chocolate bars” and a new line of “blackout bars.”
- Planet Based Foods revealed a ground-breaking hemp-based vegan ice cream.
- My/Mochi hopes to grow its footprint into new verticals with ice creams and smoothies.
- The Cloud Bread Co. unveiled something that’s decidedly not bread: an alternative called Cloudies.
- Lifeway Foods Inc. introduced new flavors of its kefir line.https://tracegains.com
- Wicked Kitchen announced several new products, from ice cream to heat-and-serve meals.
But this is just a handful of the debuts that showed up in the exhibit halls.
Insights from the TraceGains team
TraceGains sent more than half a dozen staffers to attend this year.
“It was an exciting show with a lot of energy and enthusiasm for being ‘back.’ There was a lot of buzz around continued supply chain challenges and using contingency plans,” Account Executive Leah Johnson said. “Transparency is no longer a theme. It is a reality, so having a plan to support that is critical for success.”
Event attendees enjoyed four days of education sessions, capped by Neil Pasricha’s keynote about intentional living. And Informa live-streamed most of the sessions while most remain accessible on-demand on the Natural Products Expo West Virtual Platform. Registration is required.
“The energy on the floor this year makes it undeniable that the innovations at Expo West are not only shaping the future of natural and organic but of CPG overall. The thousands of new products on display are from an increasingly diverse group of founders and serve a diverse consumer base that cares about ingredients, responsible sourcing, and the greater impact their purchases can have,” Carlotta Mast, senior vice president and market leader at Informa Markets’ New Hope Network, explained.
Informa Markets’ New Hope Network Natural Products produces Expo West and Fresh Ideas Organic Marketplace. The company scheduled Natural Products Expo East 2023 for Sept. 20-23 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, while Natural Products Expo West 2024 will occur March 12-16 back at the Anaheim Convention Center.
