Expo East | Fall 2022: Recap and Highlights
Natural Products Expo East was A BLAST! It was fantastic to reconnect with colleagues, clients, and meet new brands that are shaking up their categories. The show was dominated by three main categories of products: Keto Treats, Plant-based Alternatives, and Elevated Waters.
Keto Treats
Sugar continues to be in the spotlight. Companies like Genius Gourmet are creating keto bars with classic indulgent flavors such as Birthday Cake and Salted Caramel, but with less than 1g of sugar. Newcomers to the category, such as Supplant are launching convenient brownies utilizing sugars derived from upcycled crop fibers! This is another sugar alternative to hit the market that also delivers on taste. We can’t talk about Keto without mentioning one of our favorite savory products from BranchOut Food. Their crunchy avocado, cheese and nut snack mix is bold, flavorful and wonderfully satiating.
Plant-based Alternatives
In the sea of meat analogues, some new fun forms surfaced: BBQ Ribs by The Very Good Butchers, tuna cubes by Current Foods and Disturbingly Delicious Foods charcuterie spreads. It was nice to see many companies focusing on the inherent flavor, color, and texture of vegetables to provide great tasting animal alternatives. Actual Veggies created a line of boldly flavored, vegetable-centric patties that are meant to look and taste like the vegetables they are made of. As a fun twist, they also launched a line of breakfast oatmeal patties. Leveraging a familiar eating behavior in a new day part has differentiated this brand from a highly saturated category.
Speaking of veggies, another standout brand at the show was Veggies Made Great This year Veggies Made Great sampled a wide variety of not-so-secret, veggie-based products, from muffins to frittatas, and my personal favorite–stuffed cauliflower bites. The benefit of not targeting meat analogues is that these companies can focus on ingredients that deliver a great tasting end product. Sure, it doesn’t taste like beef…. but does it need to? In the non-dairy category, Bettermoo(d) has harnessed the flavors of herbs to replicate the natural grassy notes of high-quality dairy products in an oat-based beverage. This is truly unique to the plant-based category and remarkably similar to animal dairy milks.
Elevated Waters
From functional to elevated flavors, water was everywhere at Expo East. Wildwonder was sampling their pre- and pro- biotic botanical infused sparking water that delivered on the slightly sweet but boldly fruity flavors. ASARASI recently launched a line of sparking maple tree-drawn waters. Unlike other tree-waters, ASARASI focuses on champagne-style bubbles and clean fruit and botanical flavors. Rambler launched a new line of energy waters that leverage Yaupon as a natural and sustainable source of caffeine. Partnered with their unique limestone filtration process, this mineral water is nothing but ordinary. Sunboy was a shining light after a long day at Expo. Their boozy coconut water with real fruit was a perfectly refreshing alternative to the saturated Setzer category.
Bonus Highlights
A few products that left us coming back for a second bite of their delicious innovations, include Nona Vegan line of pouched pasta sauces. The cashew based carbonara was a particular standout that delivered a creamy and indulgent texture with no sacrifice of flavor. Fillo’s Salsa Verde Walking Tamale had a delightfully subtle kick of spice along with a blend of tomatillos, corn, and garbanzo bean. With no surprise Tia Lupita’s new line of salsa matchas delivered big bold flavors with surprising pops of texture from ingredients like cranberries, pepitas and peanuts. A delicious taste that stood out in an Expo filled with neutral nut cheeses and sparkling water.
Though this year’s Expo was not back to pre-pandemic attendance, those of us who were lucky enough to touch, taste and experience new products in Philly, could see the exciting trends in Natural Products. Just in case you missed it check out our Expo East Highlights on IG.