Natural Products Expo West 2026: Ever More Protein, Plus Beef Tallow and Fiber

Expo West, held in Anaheim, Calif., March 4-6, continues to be one of the biggest trade shows in the U.S., with 60,000-plus attendees (down slightly from 2025). There were 3,000-plus exhibitors, including approximately 900 first-time exhibitors, many of them trying to catch the eyes of buyers from large and small, regional and national grocery chains – as well as venture capital firms.

Some of the companies we noted last year as potential break-out stars continued innovating for 2026. Milkadamia, which caught our eye last year with oat milk sheets (and which this year won a Nexty Award for environmentally sustainable packaging), followed up this year with almond milk sheets. Egglife in 2019 debuted tortilla-like wraps made of egg whites and last year made egg white pastas; this year it launched Grab & Go, its signature egg whites wrapped around chicken sausage, egg and cheddar or bacon, egg and cheddar.

Each year we see fewer of the large food marketers at the show. General Mills was notably absent this year after many years of having a large booth featuring its commitment to regenerative agriculture and its organic brands – many of which have been sold off.

But PepsiCo had a noticeable presence, using the show to promote its FiberPop popcorn (6g fiber per serving) and to launch a new brand in a new category for the company: Good Warrior beef sticks (so far just in Original and Jalapeno Pepper, but more to come). Its Poppi prebiotic sodas were in a separate booth.

Utz Foods, too, slipped protein into salty snacks via its cheese curls and pretzels.

Chobani’s booth seems to grow each year. This year it had to encompass not just its growing Greek yogurt product line but recent acquisitions La Colombe ready-to-drink coffee and Daily Harvest, a maker of frozen, plant-based meals and snacks, including a ready-to-make smoothie direct-delivery service.

Impossible Foods, which had a sizable booth the past several years, was notably absent. But the other plant burger company, Beyond – whether the full name is still Beyond Meat or Beyond The Plant Protein Company – was present and showing off many reformulated products plus its recently launched line of Beyond Immerse beverages (formulated with pea protein).

Continuing a trend we noted at NPEW in 2025, we witnessed fewer carbonated soft drinks and even fewer water companies – both of which were popular categories earlier this decade. We also observed fewer companies incorporating mushrooms into beverages, a sharp reversal from previous years.

Cottage cheese may be having a moment, as much as an ingredient (in Tattooed Chef’s pizza crusts) as its customary dairy form.

We expected a plethora of products labeled or marketed toward GLP-1 users, a trend that swelled last year, but we didn’t see all that many – although this trend may have contributed to the increase in animal meats.

We saw a large uptick in companies displaying tallow: 100% Grass Fed Beef Tallow or Wagyu Beef Tallow from Steak ’n Shake (yes, the restaurant brand); Marianne’s Organic Beef Tallow (another Nexty winner in the Certified Organic category); a three-product line of Tallow Cooking Sprays (Wagyu, Organic Beef or Grass-Fed Beef) from Fatworks. Plus products cooked in tallow, like frozen Tallow Onion Rings or Tallow French Fries, also from Fatworks. We couldn’t even count the number of potato chip brands claiming to be fried in tallow or lard!

Not surprisingly, a large number of companies claimed “no” something – No Seed Oil, No Artificial Colors, No Artificial Flavors, No Artificial Sweeteners.

Across the many products at the show, we didn’t see a single “break out” flavor. Yes, there is a continuing rise of spicy flavors (jalapeno) or Mamame Hot Chili Tempeh Chips (a Nexty winner in Savory or Salty Snacks) and international flavors (Truly Indian Tikka Masala Vegan Naan – a Nexty winner in Breads & Bakery). We also saw a good number of products with banana flavors.

With this show being so close to Hollywood, there’s always a star making an appearance in support of a company he or she is investing in. This year it was singer/actress Demi Lovato helping to launch the new blood orange flavor of Caliwater cactus water.