I had the opportunity to head out to Expo West again this year and it did not disappoint. Becca joined me again, Kaila and Ashley came out for their first Expo West! If you’re interested in my finds, check out my Instagram “highlights” from Day 1 +2 and Day 3 (Instagram app only). [If you’re interested, here are my posts from 2016 (day 1 and recap), 2017 (day 1 and day 2) and 2018 (day 1 + 2, top trends and day 3).
This year, I attended Thursday, Friday and Saturday. They shifted the schedule so that I went up to see family in Pasadena overnight before returning to Chicago. I was able to share tons of kid friendly snacks with them and to visit. That made this year even better than the last!
By far, the thing I love most about Expo West is reconnecting with brands I’ve worked with and meeting new brands. It’s so exciting to see some of the small brands that I found a few years ago doing so well! I also love seeing people I’ve met online in real life. I get so jazzed up when I meet a new brand that has a great product, too. Great people work in the natural foods industry!
Day 1
We met Becca at the breakfast tent and then went to check out “Hot Products.” The Hot Products are in 2 huge halls in the North building and in the Hilton. They’re not open on Saturday so we started there.
In the first hall, I stopped by to profess my love for Cece’s Veggie Noodle Co. as I do every year. I checked out some low FODMAP foods at Frusano for a friend and got some samples. I was intrigued by Wax Wrap. It’s a new reusable wax paper that can be used 200 times! I sampled the new, plat based, Keto bars from my friends at Dang Foods. I learned about Magsol – a natural deodorant with Magnesium. I saw all of the line extensions from From the Ground Up. They added Butternut Squash pretzels and Cauliflower tortilla chips among others! Swoon!
I checked out Teatulia’s Tea Soda. It was one of my show faves. Each can has less than 100 calories and it comes in a cool variety of flavors. Stay tuned for a full report. I saw Outer Aisle. I stopped by to thank them for sending product coupons for my recent fundraiser. They were awesome! (I went back on Day 2 to eat all the cauliflower sandwiches and pizzas.) I headed upstairs to get some coffee from Nutpods and ran into Zupa Noma. Well, it looked like Zupa Noma but the show reveal was a name change! It’s now Medlie to expand beyond soup!
I headed upstairs to get a coffee with Nutpods. They were doing a pour-over bar with new fave Copper Cow Coffee. It was fun to chat with Madeline and Deborah – both companies’ founders. I stopped by to vote for my fave new bar from Truth Bar (Cookie Dough – hands down), checked out what was new with Cocomels and went to meet Kimmi from Crazy Richard’s Peanut Butter. Crazy Richard’s debuted a new frozen PB bite snack called Wholly Rollies. It has no preservatives so freezing keeps them fresh and in form until it’s time to use them. Bite sized was a big trend this year! The PB & Strawberry brought back great memories!
I went over to the Hilton for a meeting and to tackle more Hot Products. I met with another new fave – Aqua Kola. It’s a lightly sweetened seltzer line that comes in Kola, Blood Orange, Pomelo and Cherry. It’s so good. More to come on this soon! I tried Planet Oats’ new Oat Milk – another hot trend. I think I could convince The Husband that it’s regular milk! Then, I stopped by to say “hey” to Gloria from Phyter. It’s exciting to see a local company that makes a great product doing so well!
I met with Michelle, the founder of Counter Culture. They make a line of probiotic cleaning products. She was looking for a better natural cleaner and learned of some studies of using probiotics and healthy bacteria to counter the bad stuff like salmonella! She added essential oils and worked on the formula for use at home. Then, her friends started asking for it and her business was born. These solutions are available in Australia and are launching now in the US. I have some to try at home, so stay tuned for more on this!
While I was in the Hilton, I visited some faves – Kate’s Real Food Bars and Pop Zero. I grabbed some goodies. I met the folks from Humble. It’s an all natural deodorant with essential oils. They have “humble ingredients and real results.” They’re launching a CBD line. (Interesting idea as the underarms are a great absorption spot!
I headed over to meet with Amazing Grass and Om Organic Mushroom Nutrition. Amazing Grass was tasting its Beauty protein line that I tried at Expo East and I tried the new Protein and Kale line. Om was sampling it’s energy sticks. I grabbed all five flavors to test out and share! I swung by Stash Tea to grab some “Asian Pear Harmony” for Sapna. I saw fave Safe Catch and got some sample pouches of their new seasoned salmon line! I’m so excited to try these.
I never pass up the opportunity to say “hi” to my friends from Peanut Butter & Co. They were giving out “Peanut Butter Spoon” Sundaes. Yes, please and thank you! I tried Nancy’s new Oat Milk Yogurt. It was so creamy. Oat Milk was hot at this show and I say “yes” to this oat milk yogurt! I grabbed some of Go Raw’s new Sprouted Organic Snacking Seeds to try. I saw Ethan from Ethan’s and thanked him for supporting my event last week. He and his brother and sister and law were so sweet! I also sampled their new MCT and Hot Shots. All so good (and on trend). Speaking of ACV, I ran into my friends from Fire Cider who are now making shot pouches, too!
I went over to Chomps for their Happy Hour. I thanked Conor for supporting my charity event and got all the Chomps to try. They have a new re-brand and it looks great. They also have two AIP compliant flavors coming out so I grabbed them for Lynn. Afterwards, I swung by to try the new Flackers Toasted Seed Crips (awesome). I saw my friends from SF Salt Co. and learned that they have a new Bacon Salt that’s kosher (no pigs were used!). I have to try this!
Before I knew it, it was time to meet my friends from Covet PR for a little tour. I was eagerly awaiting the new Perfect Snack Bites. They did not disappoint. I got to meet Leigh from Perfect Snacks and to hear more of the “why” behind the bites. The genesis was people asking for these for kids and families. I think they’re perfect for pre-run or workout when you just need a little something. They have them in PB and PB Chocolate Chip. I’m pretty obsessed!
We then stopped at Banza to try their new Chickpea Rice. The chef had prepared some as fried rice. It was AMAZING! This was one of my show faves, too! We stopped by to say “hey” to Tcho Chocolate and I snagged a Dark Chocolate Snickerdoodle bar. AMAZING! We fought the crowd to try Beyond Meat’s sausage. So good!
We headed upstairs to see Barukas. They’re offering a new Brazilian nut that’s packed with antioxidants and fiber. I supported their Kickstarter and was excited to find that I loved them – another show fave! We checked out Roar electrolyte drink and had a cocktail, too. It was definitely time for a cocktail!
While I was upstairs, I got to meet the folks behind Pocket Latte and Nooma. Pocket Latte is a chocolate square with coffee for an afternoon pick me up. I supported their Kickstarter and love the product (and their adorable design). They launched two new flavors! Nooma is a coconut water and electrolyte drink that I love. They supported my recent event and I was so excited to meet the founders and to thank them in person! On the way out, I stopped by to say hi to Hu Chocolate. They are launching baking chips! Then I said hi to This Bar Saves Lives and checked out their updated line and grabbed some bars.
I headed out to meet Kaila and Becca and to head to check in to our hotel. Becca and I attended the LMS and Covet PR party again in the evening. It was really fun to see some friends, make some new ones and try some great products. We enjoyed pizza from Cali’flour Foods and sauces from Noble Made by The New Primal. We got an awesome swag bag that had new to me products like Sunday Scaries (CBD Gummies) and Wilde Chicken Crisps. There were also some faves like Smashmallow and High Brew Coffee.
All in all it was a very successful day! We were totally beat and crashed early to get up for the Nuun 5K Fun Run.
Day 1 Haul:
What products interest you the most?
You can find many of these great products on my Amazon List! (Affiliate link)
Please note: I was not compensated to mention any of these brands. I was offered samples at no cost. All opinions are my own.