I started my Expo West Day 3 with a 6 mile run with Becca. [In case you missed it, here’s a link to my post from Day 1 with links to prior years and my Day 2 recap.]
We went for a run, grabbed a Starbucks, cleaned up and headed to the Expo. We met up with Jenny and Bopha. On the last day, the main halls are open and two smaller areas. I didn’t cover much of the main halls the first two days as I focused on Hot Products. I wanted to hit up Hall E where many of my fave brands are.
I started in the Arena Hall and I’m glad I did. I saw Chicago brand Path of Life and talked about collaborating with them. They make healthy, convenient, frozen meals. More to come. Then I said hi to Live Love Pop and grabbed a new find from Terrabites. I swung by Skratch Labs and tried their Peanut Butter & Strawberries and Raspberries and Lemon Anytime Bars. Love these! I also grabbed some drink mixes. I also found a show fave – new Black Rice and Vegan Cheese Crackers from Laiki. I don’t know how they make these – but I love them!
Then I headed to Hall A and met Ashley. We were going to meet Tosi and stopped by to admire Lesser Evil’s new branding and to say hi to Enjoy Life Foods. It was so fun to meet Kathleen from Enjoy Life in real life! We took some fun pics, grabbed some breakfast bars and headed on. We headed over to Tosi and tried the new flavors of Superbites. They are Peanut Chocolate, Almond Blueberry and Almond Dragonfruit. I love the small packs and new flavors. They’re perfect for travel!
We headed to Hall E. On the way, I grabbed a new WellWell Adaptogen Drink in Pear + Ginger. Functional drinks were big this year and this one tasted good, too! We also stopped by to grab some Nothin’ But bars and to see their new “bites” – another big trend.
We met Zora and Hanna from Wild Zora. I’ve been a fan of Wild Zora for years. I love their meat and veggie bars and recently tried their soups and Paleo meals. It was fun to spend time learning about the brand and Zora’s “why” – healthier food options for her family. After catching up a while, I set out to tackle the rest of Hall E.
I started with my friends at Kodiak Cakes. I grabbed some boxes of pancake/waffle mix to bring to my SIL. She said my posts made her want to give pancakes a try again. I also tried the new Bear Bites graham crackers. Yum! Then I said hi to Perky Jerky and caught up with Andrew from Dang Foods. It’s exciting to see their expansion and success with coconut having a heyday! I stopped by to check out Rick’s Picks pickle snack packs.
Then, I headed over to Skinny Dipped Almonds. I explained that The Husband thinks that they have the perfect chocolate to nut ratio. Tahnee asked me to see if I could get some new Chocolate Mint almonds. They were so wowed that she sent that specific request that they gave me a big bag for her! I stopped by to say hi to Munk Pack. I grabbed a new Snickerdoodle Protein Cookie to try and tried a cookie bite. I’m excited for these portion control packs! I grabbed a new Cherry Berry kombucha and a photo at Health-Ade. This is a brand I always enjoy!
I stopped by to admire Cocoburg’s new branding. It’s now Coconut Jerky! I tried Cheribundi’s new Hydrate drink with coconut water. It’s AMAZING! Another show fave. I tried Mikono’s vegan cream cheese. Becca was raving about the Un-Lox Your Dreams. It did not disappoint. I can’t wait to get my hands on this! I stopped by Vigilant Eats and learned that they now have larger bags as well as on the go cups. I was excited to learn that they’re now with another company so we’ll see wider distribution and lower prices.- YAY!
I stopped by to see RxBar. I was bummed to find I’d missed their new Tig chickpea savory bar in new products. I did check out the new oatmeal cups. I’m looking forward to those! I said hi to Fruit Bliss and saw they’re on trend with new fruit and nut bites. Next up, Honey Stinger. I checked out their new branding and grabbed some chews, snack bars and waffles for the road. I tried Chicago brand Upton’s Naturals new jackfruit jerky. It was surprisingly good!
I finally got to try Simple Mills’ GF Almond Flour Brownie. There was a lot of buzz and I can see why! Then I tried Jica Foods’ jicama tortillas. I’ve been a fan of their chips for years. They now have fresh, seasoned jicama sticks and thin sliced tortillas. Healthiest tacos ever. I can’t wait for these to come to Chicago! Next up, I tried Quinn’s new dark chocolate’y peanut filled pretzels. What!? Yes. And I grabbed a bag to go. They’re delish!
Expo would not be complete without a visit to my friends at Karma Nuts. They completed their brand refresh and I love it! It’s always amazing to connect with Ganesh and the team. They also saved me some of my fave flavors. Three new flavors are coming soon. Keep an eye out for more on this! I stopped to try Health Warrior’s new protein mug muffin. It was very tasty! Then I tried Chameleon Cold Brew’s new organic Oat Milk with Cold-Brew. OMG. Run, don’t walk, to try this when it comes out! It will be in Whole Foods.
I stopped by to say hi to Bobo’s. Their booth looked like a supermarket before a snow storm. It was cleaned out! I grabbed a few bites. I saw that Eating Evolved is launching chocolate chips for baking. That’s a trend, too! I tried Nexty winner ReGrained bars. They contain “upcycled prebiotic supergrains.” They use the grains left over from processing beer – ingenious and tasty! I stopped by to see The New Primal. I learned that their new Noble Made sauces and marinades came from the jerky marinades. That makes so much sense! I’m excited to try the new BBQ sauce and salad dressing.
On my way out to meet Becca, I saw that Hope Foods donated their space to Hope for the Day. This is a mental health awareness charity that focuses on suicide prevention. Bravo Hope Foods!
Wrap Up
And just like that, it was time to go! I had a bit of FOMO because I know I missed some friends like Redd Bar (missed their new look!) and many others. I also missed beauty pretty much entirely and barely scratched the surface of supplements and some of the major brands. That said, I know I spent quality time with brands I love and saw many friends old and new. It was a really great trip and I look forward to sharing my finds in the weeks and months ahead.
I’ll do a top trends post, but the two cent version is ahead. Be on the look out for… “bite sized” healthy snacks, lots of kids’ bars, CBD everything (check the water labels before you drink it!), lots of fat (keto still IN), plant based milks (getting better and better) and plant based everything else, too, cauliflower, adaptogens and functional food and drink and amazing meat alternatives (you won’t believe some of these things are vegan.)
Day 3 Haul:
What product/brand and trends are you most interested in from Day 3?
You can find many of these great products on my Amazon List! (Affiliate link)
Please note: I was provided samples but I was not compensated to mention any of these brands. All opinions are my own.