Mushrooms are very 2024. Hemp and CBD are so last year. And at least in the Tosi booth, a miniature pickleball court replaced the putting greens you see at some trade shows.
Those observations show some of the changing trends at this year’s Natural Products Expo West, the giant and energy-filled trade show that took over the Anaheim (Calif.) Convention Center March 13-16. More than 65,000 people attended the event – even with last year’s show but below the pre-pandemic ones -- with some 3,300 exhibiting companies of all sizes trying to establish themselves as leaders or breakouts in the natural products space.
For every General Mills there were a dozen or more Aussie Bubs, Jolly Llamas and Weird Beverages. But no Chobani. For the first time in my 15-year memory of the show, the Greek yogurt company did not exhibit, although Chobani nondairy coffee creamers were bring poured in the booth of La Colombe, the coffee roaster Chobani bought last December.
The two companies have had a longstanding relationship, with Chobani founder Hamdi Ulukaya being the biggest investor in La Colombe even before the acquisition. Ulukaya was in the La Colombe booth at least one of the days of the show.
There seemed to be more carbonated beverages – sodas – but with ingredients you won’t find in Coke or Pepsi. Health Ade, the kombucha maker, now has SunSip “soda with benefits” (prebiotics, vitamins and minerals). Recess drinks “calm the mind, lift the mood.” Juni had adaptogens. Culture Pop had probiotics. Wild Wonder had both probiotics and prebiotics. Vuum claimed to be the first carbonated plant-protein energy drink. Moss was made with sea moss. Trip Soda was laced with CBD and seemed to be the only CBD-based product at the show, which in the past has had dozens.
Odyssey 222 was a mushroom-based soda and one of many mushroom-containing products at the show. Macalat somehow made dark chocolate out of the fungus. Despite the company name, MyForest Foods grows its mycelium in a factory, but its MyBacon smelled and looked like the real thing. Taste was a little lacking, however. Meati Foods featured whole-food cutlets and steaks made from mushroom root. Shroomeats makes patties, shreds and balls from shiitake.
“Tinned fish” certainly sounds trendier than canned tuna or sardines, and the product category seems to be having its day. Minnow Brand (that has to be a questionable name) had salmon, mussels, trout, garfish, sardines and cod liver in cans. Safe Catch also cans trout. Tonnino mixes its yellowfin tuna with corn, peas & carrots or tomatoes & olives in a can.
It seems every Expo West brings a new plant-based milk. This year, in addition to the macadamia, pistachio and more common non-dairy milks, there was Maizly – as the name implies, a milk made from corn. With the slightest taste of corn, it came in original, chocolate, strawberry, custard and banana, and also formed the base of an infant formula. But we didn’t see any barley milk, a common sight in the past.
New waters also appear at every Expo West. Past sources have been glaciers, Hawaiian volcanoes, even maple trees. This time, a new water came from … thin air. Actually, thick air, as Beika’s “hydropanels” suck humidity out of the air over Sonora, Mexico, to create a water that, in their words, depletes no earthly resource – not rivers, lakes, underground aquifers, etc.
Some miscellaneous novel products we noted:
- Notions, a Dubai company, takes an almond, wraps it in a date, then enrobes the whole thing in chocolate. A delightful turducken of confections.
- Nondairy gelatos are not new, but Doughlicious put nondairy gelato in cookie dough for a bite, a nicer version of mochi.
- Yo Egg looked and tasted just like a real fried chicken egg but it was all plant-based. When I cut into the yolk, it even squirted all over my briefcase.
- There were chocolate bonbons everywhere, and Italian confectioner Venchi filled their little treat with ricotta cheese as well as candied cherries and oranges and a gluten-free biscuit crumb, all covered by a dark shell.
Farmers Rice Cooperative used the show to launch its new business, Exceedient. Seeking control and higher value over their rice, the Sacramento Valley growers are taking mostly broken rice, which previously was sold for processing into rice flour and other ingredients, and creating the ingredients themselves. With a couple of extruders, they’re even making cheese curls and puffs and offering those services to branded food marketers.
