To Expo Or Not To Expo?: Brands Share Why They Skipped Anaheim This Year

The Virginia Food and Beverage Expo, hosted by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services on Wednesday, saw nearly 200 local food and beverage brands showcasing novel products, and for many, it was their first attempt to move beyond the farmers market scene and into wholesale distribution.

But for plenty of others, this was just one trade show among dozens if not hundreds that they’ve attended over the course of their business’ lifecycles. In the current macroeconomic environment those brands say they’ve become increasingly more strategic about where they set up a booth. NoBull Burgers, True Made Foods and Myles Comfort Foods all made the decision not to attend Expo West earlier this month, and we caught up with each of them in the halls of the Greater Richmond Convention Center.

NoBull Burgers co-founder Elizabeth Raymond explained that the 12-year old Charlottesville, Va.-based brand began weighing whether it would return to Expo at the end of last year. The company had already reserved a booth, but was still recovering from a costly co-packing catastrophe amid its national rollout with Whole Foods. Raymond ultimately decided to skip this year’s CPG Super Bowl and invest in production and direct marketing to consumers instead.

“As you’re scaling, you’re investing a lot, and that ROI is so important,” said Raymond. She emphasized that with shows like Expo West, “it’s extremely hard to stand out” and over the years, has found it harder to connect with buyers – “you felt like you were being sold stuff, rather than you selling your product.”

That being said, she emphasized that NoBull intends to return to Expo West again while highlighting the low risk, high value of small trade shows and industry events like the VA Expo. She noted that NoBull locked in its first foodservice contract at its first VA Expo in 2012, and during this year’s show she had “great conversations” with buyers from Kroger, US Foods and a handful of independent stores.

Myles Powell, founder and CEO of Myles Comfort Foods, emphasized that he chose to demo at Whole Foods instead of attending Expo West. Earlier this month the brand was selected to be a part of the retailer’s On The Verge Cohort, a second iteration of its Local and Emerging Accelerator Program (LEAP), that aims to deepen relationships with brands already sold on its shelves.

Abe Kamarck, founder and CEO of True Made Foods, said he also did not make the decision to skip Expo lightly. He still went to walk the show, noting the unmatched opportunity of having a large portion of the industry’s movers and shakers all in one place. But the brand could not justify the costs and “mental gymnastics to manage the show,” he added, saying last year he spent $20,000 on the booth alone and left feeling “fatigued and disillusioned.”

He emphasized that the nearly 10-year-old company is getting back to the basics, with a stronger focus on connecting with customers and scaling its DTC business. He said that became the clear path ahead after True Made Foods was recently burned by one of its largest retail partners after not being able to meet its marketing spend requirements.

“I’ve come to realize that Expo is a major money and time suck that does not connect us with our customers, and in a tight funding environment where our budgets are tight, I cannot risk spending money or time on anything that does not help us win and keep new customers.”

“That was even part of the buzz going around Expo,” added Raymond. “Some brands that you normally see weren’t there. It goes to show how the economy is changing, it’s getting harder for emerging brands to stay in the game, and the ones that do are having to be very strategic with their dollars.”