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- How Expo West shifted from snacks to science-backed wellness
- Startups testing buyer and consumer interest in person
- Why retailers are rethinking where to place wellness items
- Key trends spotted across the Expo West floor
- How founders and buyers navigated a competitive landscape
- Quick reads and industry headlines editors are watching
- Recent coverage from our newsroom worth reviewing
The 2026 Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim felt different this year. What started as a food-and-beverage showcase has broadened into a major display for ingestible beauty, hormonal supplements and scientifically positioned wellness products. The trade show floor brimmed with familiar protein snacks and a surprising wave of collagen, menopause care and nootropic brands vying for retail attention.
How Expo West shifted from snacks to science-backed wellness
For years Expo West was synonymous with natural foods and indie snacks. Now the event reads like a wellness market.
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- Booths ranged from traditional better-for-you sodas to brands selling collagen powders and hormonal supplements.
- Retailers like Ulta and Target are expanding wellness assortments, pulling these brands into mainstream aisles.
- Investors and buyers say the offerings feel more legitimate than the early fringe products once seen at the show.
Notable wellness presences on the floor
New wellness exhibitors made an impression alongside longtime natural food brands.
- Grüns sampled nootropics and immunity gummies as a first-time wellness exhibitor.
- A corridor near the convention center featured feminine and menopause care brands such as The Honey Pot Company, Flex, O Positiv and the newcomer Libré.
Startups testing buyer and consumer interest in person
Smaller companies used Expo West to build retail relationships and collect in-person feedback.
Several approaches were on display. Some booked booths. Others scheduled meetings and moved through the halls without formal displays.
Gummy makers and the quest for real differentiation
Berlin-founded Urvi, launched in 2024, showcased functional gummies in the show’s Hot Products area. The founders emphasized flavor and clinical formulation. They pitched gummies meant to blend authentic gummy candy taste with measured, bioavailable ingredients.
- Urvi already sells in Germany and on Amazon in the U.S.
- The team shipped materials sourced in the U.S. to set up a compact booth in Anaheim.
- The goal: convert Expo conversations into retail placements.
Brands that showed up without booths
Not every brand invested in a full exhibit. Some founders preferred informal meetings.
- Seeq, a protein beverage startup, circulated the show to meet buyers.
- Resbiotic, focused on gut health, used Expo West to seek retail partners after a DTC launch in 2024.
- These companies emphasized medical backing and measurable outcomes to stand out amid trend-driven products.
Why retailers are rethinking where to place wellness items
As ingestible beauty and functional supplements enter mass channels, placement becomes a strategic question.
Revive Collagen returned to Expo West to promote drinkables such as Revive Sleep and Revive Inner Calm. The brand has moved into The Vitamin Shoppe and Ulta, and it’s planning broader retail moves.
- Retail buyers want clarity on whether these items sit in beauty, supplements, or a hybrid area.
- Brands are using Expo West to gather retailer input on merchandising and to demonstrate shopper demand.
- Retail launches: Several companies reported new big-box rollouts or pending national launches later in the year.
Key trends spotted across the Expo West floor
Observers tracked recurring themes that hint at bigger shifts in CPG and retail strategy.
- Protein beverages and sparkling sodas: A surge in protein-forward drinks followed viral hits from last year. Rise Wellness previewed a 30-gram protein can rolling out at Costco.
- Meat brands expanding into drinks: Beyond Meat sampled Beyond Immerse, its first beverage line, signaling category crossover.
- Protein-packed frozen desserts: Several companies pushed lower-calorie, higher-protein ice creams. David Protein ran citywide truck ads teasing 30-gram pints.
- Sour and tart flavor profiles: Brands leaned into sour puffs, cherry cola launches and tart cherry recovery lines from niche players.
How founders and buyers navigated a competitive landscape
With consumers growing skeptical of fads, founders pitched science, transparency and retail readiness.
- Smaller teams treated Expo West as a customer-research lab as much as a sales venue.
- Investments in booth design, sampling and influencer programming were used to win buyer meetings.
- Data-backed claims and clinical advisories were highlighted as purchasing differentiators.
Quick reads and industry headlines editors are watching
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