{"id":6570,"date":"2024-03-26T17:52:31","date_gmt":"2024-03-26T17:52:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.allisonworldwide.com\/?p=6570"},"modified":"2024-03-26T18:51:22","modified_gmt":"2024-03-26T18:51:22","slug":"expo-west-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.allisonworldwide.com\/expo-west-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Trendspotting at Natural Products Expo West 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allisonworldwide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Picture2-expowest.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6572\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allisonworldwide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Picture2-expowest.png 640w, https:\/\/www.allisonworldwide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Picture2-expowest-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s the Super Bowl, the Oscars\u2026 and then there\u2019s Natural Products Expo West.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This yearly, three-day show in March in Anaheim, California, sees more than 70,000 food enthusiasts, health advocates and eco-conscious consumers, covering 512,000 square feet, to learn about the latest and greatest innovations in the realm of natural and sustainable products. I attended on behalf of Allison\u2019s Consumer Brands practice, to see 1) how many steps I could take in two days covering the enormous Anaheim Convention Center, 2) how many samples I could fit in my bag at the end of each day and 3) what are the emerging themes from this year\u2019s show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Global flavors take center stage<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From Asia to India, international flavors were seen in everything from canned beverages to frozen entrees. O\u2019s Bubble from Taiwan has a line of colorfully canned Lychee Oolong and Aloe Vera Jelly Popping Boba. Suji\u2019s Korean Cuisine had a whole line up of plant-based dumplings flavored with kimchi, Thai sweet chili and other exciting flavors. Truly Indian offered vegan simmer sauces and ready to eat meal pouches featuring flavors like curried chickpeas and spiced lentils.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nutty alternative milk<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From soy to coconut to oat, consumers are well-versed in the alt-milk options for their morning lattes. But some nut milks emerged this year that might overtake the almighty almond. Fomilk, which uses desert-grown pistachios and rain-fed hazelnuts to make a variety of milks, promises to be more sustainable due to lower water use than other kinds of milk. I found both nut milks very creamy, not chalky and subtly flavored. Milkadamia is made from raw macadamia nuts and has a line of milk, pre-mixed caf\u00e9 latte and milk tea. I also saw a brand called Maizly that makes milk from corn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Championing imperfection through the rise of ugly food<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An estimated 20% of produce or more gets thrown away due to cosmetic reasons like blemishes, weird shapes and odd colors \u2013 which don\u2019t impact the taste of the produce at all. There were so many companies that touted the use of \u201cugly food\u201d as the source of their products, certainly a creative way to embrace imperfection and reduce food waste. The Ugly Company proudly messages \u201chello I\u2019m ugly\u201d on the front of all its packages of dried fruit, which includes whole cherries, mango and peaches. Uglies Kettle Chips name says it all, and its Buffalo Ranch flavor really packs a punch. Upcycling in foods is an emerging practice for natural products \u2013 Seven Sundays, uses upcycled oat protein in several of its cereals. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Next-gen plant-based meat<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We all know plant-based meat is better for the environment, and we\u2019ve certainly come a long way from the two leading brands that have been the darlings of the category. From plant-based hot dogs to mock meats with strikingly authentic flavors, the evolution of plant-based protein options continues to highlight a paradigm shift in the way we approach meat consumption. Unlimeat, made from upcycled plants (see, more upcycling!) runs the gamut from jerky to tuna to Korean BBQ bulgogi. Daring, which makes plant-based chicken (for chicken lovers), comes close to capturing the mouthfeel and flavor of chicken. And for those vegetarians\/vegans who yearn for the opportunity to enjoy a convenient lunchable-style snack, Mighty Yum comes to the rescue with single-use snack boxes called \u201cmunchables\u201d made with 100% plant-based pepperoni and ham and cheese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Are pickles the next trending flavor?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I might argue pickles have never NOT been popular. However, 2024 might be when we reach \u201cpeak pickle.\u201d Suckerpunch pickles offer single serve pickle pouch snacks, perfect for on-the-go snacking. It also has a 2-ounce pickle juice shot, which I learned is popular with athletes because the salt and vinegar can reduce the duration of exercise-induced muscle cramps while also rehydrating the body. But I digress\u2026 we\u2019re talking about snacks! Boulder Canyon has collaborated with Grillo\u2019s Pickles on a limited-edition kettle style potato chip in a classic dill pickle flavor. Bubbie\u2019s Fine Foods already has an extensive line of pickled items, including both sweet and savory pickles and sauerkraut, and this year it announced it\u2019s not the first company to bring fermented pickle chips to market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allisonworldwide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Picture3-expowest.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6576\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allisonworldwide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Picture3-expowest.png 640w, https:\/\/www.allisonworldwide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Picture3-expowest-300x188.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Wendi Shapiro is the general manager of the Los Angeles office of Allison, and a senior leader in the Consumer Brands practice. She\u2019s been plant-based for more than 20 years and is passionate about using natural products\u2026 and pickles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There\u2019s the Super Bowl, the Oscars\u2026 and then there\u2019s Natural Products Expo West.&nbsp; This yearly, three-day show in March in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":6573,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v21.1 (Yoast SEO v21.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Trendspotting at Natural Products Expo West 2024<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This yearly, three-day show in March in Anaheim, California, sees more than 70,000 food enthusiasts, health advocates and eco-conscious consumers, covering 512,000 square feet, to learn about the latest and greatest innovations in the realm of natural and sustainable products.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.allisonworldwide.com\/expo-west-2024\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trendspotting at Natural Products Expo West 2024\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This yearly, three-day show in March in Anaheim, California, sees more than 70,000 food enthusiasts, health advocates and eco-conscious consumers, covering 512,000 square feet, to learn about the latest and greatest innovations in the realm of natural and sustainable products.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.allisonworldwide.com\/expo-west-2024\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Allison Worldwide\" 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