Natural Products Expo West Top Trends
Expo West Top Trends
Expo West derived in 2022! After two years of cancelations, virtual events, and massively scaled back trade shows around the globe, this one felt different from any of the others I attended this year. It was great to be out there trying amazing foods, seeing the excitement on peoples faces, enjoying the show and the amazing weather in Anaheim California.
In this article I am going to outline some of the major trends and some emerging ones. I am also introducing "Fullfilled Favorites"- products we believe are deserving of your attention. I believe brevity is power so I won't be going to in-depth with my descriptions because I know you are busy and value your time but if you have any questions or would like to be in touch feel free to reach out directly at - Kaden@FullfilledFood.com
The Top Trends:
My favorite coffee of the show was Verve. I really enjoyed each coffee in their lineup and was very impressed with the honey lavender latte.
Energy Drinks- it seemed you couldn't walk ten feet without spotting some sort of energy drink booth, from carbonated energy infused drinks, to pre-workout drinks, coffees, sodas- many promising many benefits from mental focus and clarity and various types of performance enhancing. Noticeably absent from this show opposed to others I attended this year were flavored matcha drinks, even though the desire is strong in Southern California there weren't many present. There were several unflavored matchas but mostly in powder form.
Plant based options/ meat alternatives- plant based has been on the rise for a while now but this year it was taken to a whole other level. From incredible chicken nuggets, bacon, turkeys, egg substitutes and milks. It has been impressive to see how major brands and emerging brands have embraced plant based options, many pivoting away from animal products completely. Most protein companies at the show had embraced at least a few plant options in their lineup, for the many benefits health wise and for the planet this is not just a trend- this is a MOVEMENT.
NuttZo got our attention with this clever way of packaging the product upside down so the oil wouldn’t have to be stirred in for each use.
Nut butters- every nut imaginable now seems to be a butter and I for one am happy about it. From common butters like peanut, almond to Pistachio, sunflower, pecan, walnut. For the simple butters even texture seems to be trending with more of a crunchy or gritty butter. While the chocolate and hazelnut mixed nut butters were creamier and richer tasting than ever but with less sugar and more natural sweeteners like monk fruit, stevia and honey.
Protein everything- bars, cookies, waffles, cakes, and of course shakes. Protein was trending but I believe in the next few years it will be even more prevalent along with fiber rich options.
CBD- there were more CBD products at this show than any I have ever attended. It seems the public perception of CBD is really changing as many now are embracing the benefits of CBD in lotions, sprays, pills, drinks and more. The booths for these products varied widely from campy and fun to classy and medical. There is no doubt CBD is here to stay.
Stevia blends / low or zero sugar- with consumers becoming more and more aware of the ingredients in the foods they are consuming, more than ever we are seeing companies ditching the sugar or greatly reducing it by using more natural types of sweeteners including stevia which was king of the zero sugar natural sweeteners. There were many blends with stevia using purées, juices, monk fruit, honey and agave. Our top pick for stevia was NutriSweet Natural stevia because of their technology which helps to only use the tastiest part of the stevia leaves so that their isn't the bitter aftertaste that is present in many stevia products.
Fun was in full bloom throughout the show.
Bright eye catching colors- many booths were bright and celebratory, maybe it was to stand out or maybe because after the past couple of years we needed more fun and joy brought into the world. Either way it was nice to see. In the featured products for Fullfilled Favorites you'll see many examples of this.
Refreshing drinks / less flavorful drinks- many drinks opted out of sugar and sweeteners completely for a more refreshing carbonated with essence of fruit and smell more than strong flavor.
Keto Pint had plenty of tasty treats and the founder was full of passion for the product.
Keto- products were featured heavily throughout the expo. The global keto diet market is expected keep growing from US$10.3bn in 2018 to US$17.8bn by 2026 at a CAGR of 7.1%, according to forecasts from Fior Markets. Keto which short for ketogenic, is a diet that is low in carbohydrates but high in protein. While originating as a medical diet, it's become very popular for weight loss.
Edible cookie dough- there were many cookie doughs present to my delight. As a child I was one of the first to taste Dryers cookie dough ice cream because my father worked for the company. So cookie dough has a very special place in my heart. I tried many of these products and several were very good but one stands out! The Doughp Beast Mode Brownie was by far my favorite. It was moist and delicious, made with upcycled environmentally friendly SuperGrain +.
Which leads me to-
The best tasting sweet product I had at the show was the Beast Mode Brownie. Do yourself a favor and order one now. Support your tastebuds and the Upcycled movement. Click the picture to do it now.
Upcycled- for those unfamiliar with the term, upcycled foods are made from ingredients that would otherwise have ended up in a food waste destination. These products were trending hot. In Beast Mode Brownies Supergrain + was used as a hero ingredient that does good for the planet and adds protein and fiber to create incredible product. It's clear to see that upcycling is a win/win for the world and the tastebuds.
According to The World Counts, "Roughly one third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year."
My hope is that people reading this will get involved in this cause and get more products created using upcycled ingredients. Companies can even get products upcycled certified by using these quality ingredients in their recipes. To learn more visit: https://www.upcycledfood.org/the-standard
Flavors that were trending hot this year - watermelon, apporcot, blackberry, elderberry, cranberry, cascara, and birthday cake.
Stay tuned for Fullfilled Favorites which
will be presented soon.
-Kaden
#1 Bestselling Author I Founder and CEO of Fullfilled