Since those early years, there has always been a mix of food, supplements and health & beauty aids. As NPEW progressed, changes were occurring around definitions of “health food” and wellness. NPEW came onto the radar of both large and small CPGs in the 1990s as “fads” from the show began to be sustainable trends with year over year sales growth.
The 2000s began with an interest in health, innovation and entrepreneurship, and investment companies were looking for opportunities in food. Multiple channels of merchandising (still specialty but now more mainstream) became more common. But there was still some of the crunchy granola community at the show in the early days of the new millennium.
As the Great Recession hit (2007-2008) and investment money became cheaper, it was trendy for incubators and venture capital interests to become prevalent in this health space and at the annual NPEW event. Small start-ups were being pulled into large food companies. Mass marketers desired to be a part of the mix to satisfy both their customers and their investors.
While this led to huge excitement at NPEW, it was changing the character of the show and the community. Smaller manufacturers looking for customers (whether it be independents or large chains) found themselves elbow-to-elbow at the show with big CPG companies with large booths (including Chobani, Bolthouse, General Mills, Unilever/Ben & Jerry’s). This was just before one heard people say “you can find our products on Amazon.”
Post-pandemic, smaller manufacturers may be in the majority again; it seemed fewer big companies were exhibiting this year. And fewer attendees came from independent “health food stores,” as this category collapsed during Covid.
