After two tumultuous years, Expo West was back in action this year with 2,750 emerging to well-established brands bringing out all the stops to showcase their latest innovations. After a few days walking the floor, networking and hanging with our clients who exhibited, we're breaking down a few highlights from this year’s show.
Regenerative Farming. Brands like Annie’s, Simple Mills, Applegate, and more showcased their support of regenerative agriculture, sourcing ingredients from small farms that grow food that closely mimics nature’s design, going beyond sustaining our natural resources, replenishing and regenerating them. Emphasizing social fairness and soil health, regenerative farming honors the growers’ livelihoods and sovereignty, enabling them to optimally steward their land for the future.
Functional Beverages. As the beverage industry continues to boom, functional beverages are making their mark with consumers expecting more from their drinks. Walking through Hall E, we saw drinks with adaptogens for focus or calm, drinks with magnesium to amplify sleep, fizzy sodas with prebiotics and tonics with CBD, and many more. Some of our favorites were Recess, Poppi, Free Rain, Culture Pop Soda and Som Sleep.
Plant-Based and Beyond. The consumer demand for plant-based persists and brands are showing up, not merely with more plant-based products, but going above and beyond to showcase their value and commitment to social and environmental issues like food waste, food access, climate change, nutrient-deficient foods and more.
Client Love. Two of our clients exhibited this year, Alden’s Organic and Outside Table. Alden’s debuted their newest line of novelties including our personal favorite, their gluten-free dairy-free sammie, and Outside Table showcased their full line of products including their new Pizza Night set.
If you were at Expo and have more highlights to share or are curious about what else we saw while at the show, feel free to send us an email: sayhi@sodapop-pr.com or connect with us on Instagram: @sodapoppr. Peep our IG highlight "Expo West" to see our live coverage from the expo!