Expo West: High-Protein Breakfasts and Brand Refreshes

The Natural Products Expo West show floor was buzzing on day one with new products, refreshed brand identities and stories about shifting category focuses. Here’s a look at the Nosh team’s thoughts, observations and analysis from the first day of the natural products Super Bowl.

High-Protein Breakfast Proliferates

Even more protein is being pumped into breakfast items at a rapid rate. During the show this week we spotted a handful of new, high-protein products proliferating across breakfast categories with new offerings aligning with a wide variety of other key attributes such as plant-based, simple ingredients, regenerative organic and more.

Plant-based alternative dairy brand Cocojune (Booth #N1846) introduced a new high-protein line of flavored, organic, Greek-style yogurts made with the addition of pea protein. Available in Vanilla Cinnamon, Raspberry, Blueberry Lemonade and Pineapple Yuzu flavors, the items contain 8 grams of protein, 160 calories and 7 grams of sugar per 5 oz. cup.

The upstate New York-based brand also reintroduced its dip line, previously positioned as dairy-free labneh, as organic and dairy-free yogurt dip, adding a Chipotle variety to the original flavor array.

Overnight oats maker MUSH (Booth #5606) added a new high-protein iteration of its flagship product, now packing 15 grams of protein, with the addition of milk protein isolate, into a Cookies and Cream flavored cup. The product also includes a no refined sugar callout and contains 290 calories per cup.

Blue Hour (Booth #N1540) made its Expo West debut with instant scrambled egg cups. Using dehydrated eggs, salt and pepper, the just-add-water microwavable cups produce a meal with 12 grams of protein, 140 calories and 510 mg sodium in under a minute. The brand was created by founder and CEO Senem Yaman, a former commodity trader looking for a convenient and healthy breakfast solution, who joked about the irony and timing of launching an egg-based product at a moment when the prices of the commodity have reached an all-time high.

Stoked Oats (Booth #N2133) exhibited its new Protein Oat Cereal launching exclusively with Sprouts later this year in three varieties. The Cheerios-like item contains 5 grams of protein per serving and 3 grams of fiber. The brand also expanded its OatRice format, adding an herby garlic variety to the Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC) line.

ChiChi Foods (Booth #8503) is capitalizing on the protein craze with its updated packaging, which now refers to the product as “Protein Hot Cereal” rather than “Grain Free Hot Cereal,” as consumers were more focused on the brand’s protein content than its grain-free attribute. Each serving of the chickpea-based, oatmeal-inspired breakfast item has 10 grams of protein.

Additionally, the brand discontinued its Banana Bread flavor and replaced it with a new Dark Chocolate variety. All four flavors – Maple Brown Sugar, Original, Apple Cinnamon and the aforementioned Dark Chocolate – also feature an improved texture now that the brand has removed the skins from the chickpeas.

Sunnie Expands Lineup, Refreshes Packaging

Sunnie (Booth #5479) showcased refreshed packaging, a new sweet offering and a retailer exclusive at Expo West. The better-for-you snack maker is slated to launch its grain-free crackers at Whole Foods Market stores nationwide this summer in multi-serve standup pouches and multipacks. The rollout includes the brand’s sea salt crackers as well as new cheddar crackers, which co-founder Lisette Howard described as a healthier take on Cheez-It. Sunnie’s crackers are crafted with organic cassava flour and avocado oil.

Joining the brand’s line of refrigerated snack packs is a new s’mores inspired dipper that combines coconut sugar-sweetened crackers with a pumpkin seed-based chocolate spread and a sweet fluff made with dates and egg whites. Like the brand’s other combinations including Pizza and Strawberry Jam, the item was created as a modern twist on nostalgic flavors, Howard said.

At the end of the month, the brand is rolling out its new look, which features bright colors, front-of-pack protein callouts and, above the brand name, a new tagline: “Snacking, Made Better.”

‘The’ New Primal Changes It Up

Archer (formerly named Country Archer Provisions) is not the only meat snack brand modernizing its identity. The New Primal (Booth #5527) showed off its own brand refresh to Expo West this year, shortening its name and bringing a bolder look to its packaging.

“We’ve been The New Primal since the beginning. Just like The Facebook, we dropped the ‘the,’” said founder and CEO Jason Burke. “2024 was a really big growth year, in terms of distribution, but what we’ve done a bad job of on the shelf is, people don’t know who we are.”

The new packaging places more emphasis on the brand name, making it bigger and bolder on both the boxes and the meat sticks themselves. Previously, the flavor took precedence over the brand name, making it difficult to recognize New Primal within the increasingly crowded meat stick category.

Meat sticks are still riding the wave that started a couple years ago, driving meat snack category growth beyond jerky. Most of that growth is coming from natural-channel positioned brands like Chomps, Archer and New Primal, according to Burke.

“We haven’t given ourselves the brand equity that we deserve on-shelf,” he said.

New Primal is in about 10,000 doors now and ended 2024 with a Costco exclusive flavor, Chicken & Maple, in 350 club stores for the brand’s kid-positioned Snack Mates mini sticks. For now, the refreshed branding will only be on the larger snack sticks and hasn’t carried over to Snack Mates.

Later this year, the brand is launching a Rotisserie Seasoned flavor, leaning further into its poultry-based line of mini sticks. Snack Mates, which is mostly made up of chicken and turkey options, represents New Primal’s entry to new consumers, Burke said.

Beef represents about 80% of the category; whereas poultry is about 8%, he said. “We think over the next few years [poultry] will grow to 15% to 25% [of the category]. Generally speaking, parents see poultry as a cleaner or healthier option than beef, so we’re skating to where the puck is going.”

Eclipse Gets Into Plant Milk, Drops Pints

Eclipse Foods’ signature line of non-dairy frozen desserts were not to be seen at the brand’s North Hall booth (Booth #N1205) on day one of Expo West. Instead, the company used the event to showcase its new non-dairy milk, its first beverage launch, which comes packaged in a 32 oz. carton.

The milk is shelf-stable and is made with chickpea and pea protein and aims to function as close to dairy milk as possible in flavor and usability; the milk will foam when blended into a milkshake or coffee drink, both of which were being sampled at the booth. However, co-founder Thomas Bowman said the brand hadn’t yet done “the full gamut” of testing to determine if it can be used in baking as efficiently as dairy milk or not, but he said early tests suggest it “performs very well.”

While many plant-based milk makers have introduced Barista Blends and other products with similar structural properties as milk, Bowman said he believes Eclipse can compete in the segment with a product that is less heavy on gums and emulsifiers (although it does use some gellan gum, according to the ingredient panel).

“This one you can keep re-foaming, just like dairy,” he said. “So there’s more functionality in how we put it together. It mimics dairy versus trying to be close to it with a gum system.”

The milk launch follows Eclipse’s decision earlier this year to end production on its non-dairy ice cream pints, which Bowman said had been declining in retail. The company is still producing frozen novelties with its Bonbons line, a growing segment where there’s less competition for plant-based products, he suggested.

SimplyProtein’s New Leader Talks New Products, Refreshed Packaging

Protein-packed snack slinger SimplyProtein (Booth #5200) showcased its new better-for-you Stacked “candy” bars – available in Tangy Cherry Nut, Salted Caramel Crisp and Fudgy Almond Crunch varieties – as well as two new flavors of its Tortilla Protein Chips, Kickin’ Jalapeño Ranch and Fiesta Taco.

The new bars contain 10 grams of protein and are sweetened with agave and cane sugar, while the restaurant-style tortilla chips contain 7 grams of protein per serving from pea protein isolate. The Jalapeño Ranch and Fiesta Taco flavors are reminiscent of Doritos and designed to be more “snackable,” whereas the other flavors (Hint of Lime, Sea Salt and Hint of Habañero) are meant to be more “dippable” like a traditional tortilla chip.

According to Linda Zink, SimplyProtein’s new president and COO, the protein content of its snacks resonates with everyday consumers seeking better-for-you products.

“We’re targeting a more mainstream consumer that doesn’t want to make trade-offs. There are a lot of [protein] products out there that are either expensive or so nutrient-dense that you’re not going to put them in your kid’s lunch box. This is a mainstream brand with a mainstream offering,” said Linda Zink, SimplyProtein’s new president and CCO.

The four-year-old brand – which also produces Baked Oat Bars, Crispy Bars and Energy Bites – currently has regional distribution in H-E-B, King Soopers, Central Market and Stop & Shop. Zink, the former chief growth officer at Simply Good Foods, joined SimplyProtein in October and is confident Expo West will help the brand build awareness, build relationships, and build on its retail successes.

At the booth, SimplyProtein is also highlighting its revamped packaging, featuring bold colors and a more modern look. According to Zink, the refresh was, in part, driven by retailer feedback that the brand’s products looked “a little too functional.” The new packaging, which SimplyProtein worked with retailers to develop, will help push SimplyProtein further into the mainstream.