Expo West

With consumers hungry for low-sugar, protein-rich options — a trend that has recently migrated into cold cereals, of all places — brands are bringing bright ideas to other breakfast staples. Pasture-raised egg brand Handsome Brook Farm is launching egg yogurt under a new brand, Chikaraka, while superfood brand The Osso Good Company is launching nutrient-packed waffles made with bone broth.

Dogged by key cancellations from retailers and big brands, followed by social media protests before yesterday postponing Natural Products Expo West, New Hope Network today put the big question front and center: “What’s next?” That question, posed in a statement from New Hope at 5:30 today, is being asked by the event’s exhibitors, attendees and City of Anaheim partners, showing the ongoing chain of uncertainty that remains.

Expo West is known as the viewing ground for rebranding and refreshing existing products and product formats. NOSH will continue to provide a look at those brands who planned to use the show to reveal their new branding or an updated look and feel.

Prior to the postponement on Monday, as much as 60% of attendees had informed New Hope they planned to skip this week’s event. But many others — including early stage entrepreneurs — were surprised by New Hope’s late decision. For many, the news came after they had already arrived in Anaheim, and for some — such as Pillars Yogurt CEO Eric Bonin — mid-flight.

Despite the show being postponed, BevNET and NOSH will continue to bring to the industry the brand initiatives — new products, line extensions, branding changes, and company launches — that are going to flow through this Expo season.

Sunk costs. That’s what a lot of food and beverage companies facing the potential of a Coronavirus-reduced Natural Products Expo West show were regretting over the weekend as they wondered whether they could do enough business with the show’s drastically-reduced retailer contingent to justify the money they had already laid out.