Expo West 2024 Recap: Trends, Brands, and Swag

Join Daniel Scharff and team—Patricia Menegoto, Kiki Huddleston, and Grace Kennedy—in this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast as they delve into the vibrant world of natural products at Expo West 2024. They share their experiences, observations, and opinions on the latest trends dominating the industry. From the gummification of products to the rise of natural sweeteners and the prevalence of protein-infused items, they dissect the key themes shaping the market.

Get ready to discover standout brands that caught their attention, explore innovative booth setups, and hear about their engaging interactions with exhibitors. From mushrooms making their mark in various products to the art of swag selection, they leave no stone unturned in their exploration of Expo West highlights.

But it's not just about the products—They also reflect on their personal preparations for the event, discuss the importance of networking and brand camaraderie, and share valuable insights for future trade show participation.

Whether you're a seasoned industry professional or an aspiring entrepreneur, this podcast offers a treasure trove of knowledge and inspiration. Tune in now!

Listen in as Grace, Kiki, and Patricia share about:

• Trends at Expo West 2024
• Standout Brands
• Product Choices and Trends
• Alley Rally Party and Brand Demos
• Trendy Topics and Product Preferences
• Future Plans and Opportunities for Future Events
• Favorite Moments and Experiences from Expo West
• Personal Preparedness and Tips for handling the intensity of Expo West

Episode Links:

Grace’s LinkedIn
Kiki’s LinkedIn
Patricia’s LinkedIn

Don't forget to leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify if you enjoyed this episode. For potential sponsorship opportunities or to join the Startup CPG community, visit http://www.startupcpg.com.

Show Links:

• Transcripts of each episode are available on the Transistor platform that hosts our podcast here (click on the episode and toggle to “Transcript” at the top)
• Join the Startup CPG Slack community (15K+ members and growing!)
• Follow @startupcpg
• Visit host Daniel's Linkedin 
• Questions or comments about the episode? Email Daniel at [e-mail]
• Episode music by Super Fantastics

Creators & Guests

Host

Daniel Scharff

Founder/CEO, Startup CPG

What is The Startup CPG Podcast?

A podcast from Startup CPG - highlighting stories from founders working towards a better food system and industry insights from experts to give you a better chance at success.

Kiki
I think like any trade show, but especially Expo west, which is like a beast of a show. Like it's so stressful. The feedback I kept hearing from people was like they got the support that they needed, they got their answers, questioned that whatever they had a question about, someone was there to answer. It was generally just good vibes and a good time.

00:29
Daniel Scharff
Hello CPG ers. If you don't do an Expo west recap, did it really even happen? I had a great time debriefing the show with three of our team members who got to walk the floor a lot more than I did. Listen in and hear about their favorite trends, brands and a few special moments that we all had at the show. It was really a banner year for us because we had our 1st 25 booth startup CPG dedicated section at the show. We held 1000 retailer quick pitches at our booth for emerging brands and we set a record with 1300 people registered for our alley rally bowling party. But beyond that, the energy of the overall show was really incredible. I'm excited for you to hear all the takeaways from our team and then let's continue the discussion on our startup, CPG Slack. Enjoy.

01:20
Daniel Scharff
All right, welcome everybody. We've got the Expo West 2024 recap. You might have heard it from some other people, but not from us. So here we go. I'm really excited to have the dream team on the podcast today. I don't think we've assembled such a dynamic group in one place on our podcast yet. So first I just want to introduce, we've got Patricia here, who runs our community and marketing and events. We've got Kiki, your friendly social media manager, and we've got Grace, our editor. What's up, everybody? Are you guys recovered?

01:52
Patricia Menegoto
Really?

01:55
Daniel Scharff
Everyone? Before Patricia said anything? Yeah, everyone just shook their head no. So we're recording on Wednesday. So I think everyone's at the point where maybe their inboxes aren't like an emergency mode, but they're not in a good place and we're all feeling just like kind of a little bit of a hangover from the energy and probably some conference crud that everyone picks up a little bit also. So thank you guys for joining me today. And I'm really excited because I actually didn't really walk around the show that much because I'm usually just at the booth the whole time. So I'm super interested to hear, what did you guys see, what did you taste, what did you hear? And so I think maybe just to start off with, maybe we can just go around and say, know, usual. Everyone wants to hear it. But, yeah.

02:37
Daniel Scharff
What are some trends that you guys saw? Grace, maybe I'll go to you first. Wow.

02:41
Grace
Me first.

02:41
Kiki
Okay.

02:42
Patricia Menegoto
Yeah.

02:42
Grace
I mean, there were so many amazing brands, and I was so excited to meet so many brands that, like, spoken to on slack or via Zoom in person and in real life, if you. You know, one of the things. And maybe you said this, Daniel. And then it definitely rang true throughout the show, was everything in Gummy. So, you know, we had, like, the reprised health guys there with their ancient herbal remedies and gummies, and then we had, like, caffeine gummies and hangover gummies and pre drinking gummies or sleep gummies and all those things. So I definitely noticed a lot of bite sized gummies and then also bite sized things in general. I feel like Patricia said that, too. There were, like, bite sized pancakes and just big things turned into small things. So I thought that was really interesting as a one.

03:31
Daniel Scharff
That is pretty interesting. I remember, gosh, maybe it was ten years ago when I was working for Mars chocolate. That was the big thing, was them creating shareable packs also. So that would be, like, instead of just the big snickers thing, they would create a bag of little snickers, and you could open it and share it and save it for later. So I wonder if we're seeing that hitting this space a little bit more now. So that is pretty interesting. And I am right on with you on the gummification of everything, which I think sometimes is good and sometimes is bad. You don't necessarily need, like, a sugary gummy. Like, you don't need water gummy and make it sugary and stuff.

04:05
Daniel Scharff
But some things, like, okay, yeah, if it increases your likelihood to take something that you might need or just can make it taste better. I don't know. I mean, that sounds good in some instances, but, yeah, I don't know. It can definitely go overboard. Okay, cool. So, Patricia, how about you? Any trend you want to call out?

04:24
Patricia Menegoto
Yeah, definitely the bite size, especially because I feel that in the US, everything is family size. Like, when you go to groceries in Brazil, you don't have this huge package. Like, you have it here. So it always blow my mind. But I love the idea of bite size because sometimes we don't want to open a huge package and it kind of goes to waste. But other trends going back to natural sugar, like, people are using more honey. They are using dates versus the sweetener, which I so appreciate because so many people, also me, like, my stomach doesn't like at all. Stevia or any other alulose, especially alulose. I feel so bad with that. So I think that people in the past felt very, just like they were very against the sugar, the dates, the honey, but they are way more natural, better for you.

05:13
Patricia Menegoto
So I love that trend. And then I think another ingredient that it's becoming very popular is the protein. Protein, everything, like everything has tons of protein now, which I also love. But honestly, last year, the shelfies, I didn't walk a lot of the show too. I stayed a lot at the booth as well, but just from what I walked, I saw little things. But last year the shelf is we got a protein water. So a water with protein inside. That was interesting. I think those are like the trends that stood out for me for my 2 hours walk in during the show.

05:48
Daniel Scharff
Yeah, I think I remember hearing last year some people being like, oh, you just got to put protein in everything then. So, yeah, the proteinification of everything. I don't know where we're going to land on this one because in general, I know, yeah, if you're lifting a bunch, maybe you want protein all the time. I know. Also though, if you actually look at the average consumption of protein, like men in general actually consume more protein than they need. Just if you look at the US statistics, yeah, generally they are kind of getting enough protein from food especially. And I think females index a little bit lower than males. But I think generally, on average, still are getting like whatever guideline is for the amount of protein. So, yeah, I don't know.

06:28
Daniel Scharff
I mean, man, sometimes you have stuff that adds protein and then it doesn't taste good anymore. So I'm always like, well, why wouldn't I just have the protein thing separately and not enjoy that part and then have the regular food that I do enjoy. So, yeah, I don't know, I guess we'll see.

06:41
Patricia Menegoto
The taste has to be there for sure.

06:43
Daniel Scharff
And from a consumer perspective, just myself, I really agree on the kind of the sugar part of. Yeah, I avoid generally trying to have too much of the stuff with artificial sugar. It's hard because a lot of it does for me with my basic taste buds taste pretty good. Who doesn't like diet Coke? Diet Coke is the best. It's so good.

07:08
Grace
Okay, I hate to say I don't like diet Coke.

07:11
Daniel Scharff
We've already established you guys are more evolved humans than I am, with more sophisticated taste buds. Like, I like pretty trashy stuff. Oh, my God. Like a guilty pleasure coke zero. Diet Coke I love. But I am evolving, right? Look, I've got my poppy right here next to me, which I also enjoy. But, man, if I'm just going for it with a pizza, I'm going diet cook. It's just going to happen. But in general, yeah, I have my coffee in the morning. I generally would just put a little bit of sugar in it, and then they have the splendor right there, which is sucralose, which I don't feel great about, but I actually am discovering I might like the taste of the sucralose better, I think, because it's so sweet. Like, sucralose, I believe, is sweeter than sugar.

07:53
Daniel Scharff
And sometimes if I really just want to treat, kind of put the sucralose in there, but I think it's better to use one packet of the sugar instead of almost two of the sucralose. I don't know. That's how I'm feeling personally. Maybe it will resonate with some people. But, Kiki, very interested to hear what you have to say. So any trends you want to call out or any comments about what we've been citing already?

08:12
Kiki
Well, I guess to hit on the sugar topic before moving forward, since we're on it, I agree with you with the. Just using a little bit of real sugar, I think is better than some of the alternatives. I think at this show, I really realized how Alulose affects me. I remember last year people talking about alulose in their products and stuff. And, of course, whenever you talk to the founders or people that work for the brand, they're like, oh, alulose is perfectly this and that. And I'm sure it might be for a lot of people, but I think a couple of people on our team realized after eating some stuff with Alulose in it that were like, I don't feel good.

08:49
Daniel Scharff
What does it do for you guys? Because I don't think I've eaten enough of anything with Alulus to notice something. But, yeah, I don't need to get into. Or maybe you could talk about general symptoms, or we can just gracefully exit this part of the conversation.

09:06
Kiki
Let's just say it causes some Gi irritation.

09:09
Daniel Scharff
Okay, enough said. Thank you. All right, let's see. So alulose. Yeah. I don't know as much about it, honestly. I haven't worked.

09:18
Patricia Menegoto
I think Whole Foods ban, like, if you have alulose, whole foods don't accept your product.

09:24
Kiki
I would say that it is kind of a trend, though, because once I became aware of it, the rest of the show, I was reading the ingredients more closely and so many of these, no sugar added, low sugar, zero sugar keto. If you look at the back, it's being sweetened with alulose. So I think that might be like a trend in the industry. Alulose, it's in a lot of things, but not good in my opinion. I'm definitely looking more for the products that are being sweetened with like monk fruit, honey, maple syrup. More of like the natural sweeteners for sure.

09:57
Daniel Scharff
Okay, I agree with you. And yeah, if it says monk fruit, I'm going to be like, oh, that's fine. I don't know the difference though. Actually, I don't even know what monk fruit is compared to the others, but it sounds better. I don't know. I think maybe is it just a naming thing or do we have consensus that actually it's a safer thing to go for than some of the other options?

10:15
Patricia Menegoto
Yeah, no, I know that a lot of nutritionists, they tell you that monk fruit is like the ones that it likes. The list one that affect your stomach or give you any humans like some issues. And I know they are way more expensive than the other sweeteners as well. So that's why a lot of brands don't use them because then their price will go higher.

10:35
Grace
But I don't know if it's specific.

10:37
Patricia Menegoto
Like why that's better.

10:39
Grace
I think monk fruit is like a real plant. So I think it's just like a whole food that is naturally sweet. But yeah, I don't know why it's specifically better, but I think it is.

10:50
Kiki
Yeah, it's a real plant.

10:52
Daniel Scharff
Well, this is a little consumer insight focus group that everyone's getting here. None of us claim to be experts, but I think it's kind of a nice mix to understand what people in the industry think, especially who don't claim to be experts, but kind of closer probably to consumers. Just when we're looking at all this stuff and making decisions about in this infinite world of options, of stuff that you can have at expo, what are the things that you're going to gravitate toward? I would like to see some kind of a velocity chart from expo. Also, if we could just measure all of the samples that people actually eat there, that would be pretty interesting. Okay, so next topic, let's hit some standout brands. You guys got to check out the whole show.

11:27
Daniel Scharff
Obviously all of the brands that were in our startup CPG, dedicated section, 25 booths, level three acc. I heard everyone saying it was the best part of the show. Best brands of the world, obviously. But I would love to hear, because you guys got to walk the show, just some of your overall favorites, for whatever reason, if it was because of the brand itself or the product itself or the booth design. So maybe, Grace, I'll start back with you again.

11:50
Patricia Menegoto
Oh, my God.

11:51
Grace
Starting with me again. I'm obsessed with better sour. Every time I saw the guy carrying around the samples or when I walked by his booth, I'd be like, can I have another bag of better sour? Because I'm just actually obsessed with their candies. I don't even remember exactly what their booth looks like. I just love their product. But in terms of the booth itself, I loved riffcare's booths. They were part of our section, and they're a personal care brand, so they do, like, pads and period underwear. And their booth was just really pretty. It just really did evoke their branding and who they are as a brand. And so I thought they were really successful in terms of what their booth actually looked like.

12:31
Grace
So I imagine it's also kind of challenging to really evoke that when you're a feminine care brand, because it's not like you can hand someone a sample. Know, hey, here's this pair of underwear. So I thought they were really successful. So those are probably my two favorites. I mean, I also love Walker brothers Kombucha, who is near our booth as well. So I, again, really took advantage of them being nice and giving me some kombucha during the show. But, yeah, those are probably my favorites.

12:56
Daniel Scharff
All right. Okay, cool. So, Kiki, I'm going to come to you next, and I think we also forgot to actually get your trends because we deep dived onto the alyss topic. So can you tell me again what you saw on trends, and then if you want to call out some brands specific?

13:10
Patricia Menegoto
Yeah, sure.

13:11
Kiki
I think the biggest trend that I noticed this year was definitely mushrooms in everything. Especially, like, lion's main mushroom and rishi mushroom gummified, of course, tons of mushroom gummies. I saw it in protein powders. I saw mushroom teeth. Really, the list goes on. Mushrooms, like, everywhere. I also thought that regenerative was a hot word. Like, every product was, like, regenerative. This, regenerative that. I feel like last show, it was like upcycling was, like, the hot word, and this time it was like, regenerative was like, the hot word. And then I would say plant based. Everything is always trending, but it's interesting to see what is popular from year to year. And this year, I noticed that the plant based meat that was trending was hot dogs. Everybody was releasing a vegan hot dog.

13:59
Kiki
I don't know if it's because summer is coming up and they're like, this is going to be our new product. But also, I've been veg for nine years, and there's really never been a good vegan hot dog out there. So I appreciated that. I tried lots of vegan hot dogs.

14:12
Daniel Scharff
That's pretty interesting to me. So I only was able to walk the show the last day I did stop by the impossible booth and tried the hot dog. I was like, well, this is delicious. It tastes like a hot dog. The reason for me that particular product is so interesting is because all the debate about plant based stuff, like, okay, so people debate that the plant based stuff is processed. Whatever is worse for you than the kind of meat alternatives. Burgers. Okay, I get it. But I think when it comes to hot dogs, most people's perception is that hot dogs have a bunch of weird stuff in there. Like, anybody who read the jungle when they were in middle school or whatever, Upton Sinclair's book, and you're just like, okay, so there's just a little bit of.

14:54
Daniel Scharff
A bunch of stuff you don't even want to know about in a hot dog. So I feel like people aren't going to have that same perception about a plant based hot dog. They might be like, oh, good, finally, at least I know what's in there. Probably if you're getting, like, a gourmet hot dog, maybe you wouldn't have the same feel about it. But if you're like me at a baseball game and just enjoy that good old classic hot dog feel, like, yeah, maybe don't think too much about what might be in there, just for your own sake. I don't know. Maybe it's myth.

15:21
Patricia Menegoto
I had an aunt that she worked at a factory one time at a hot dog salami. She never ate those things, like, ever anymore.

15:29
Daniel Scharff
No. Isn't that the saying, like, once you see how the hot dog is made? Like, yeah. Oh, no. Okay.

15:39
Grace
Speaking of plant based, though, kiki and I went by the sobo foods booth, I think, on the second or last day, and they make plant based dumplings, and they are so good, but they have one that's, know, fake pork and chive dumpling. And I'm like, oh, my God, this literally is so good. It tastes exactly like pork. And Kiki, being nine years vegetarian, I mean, you can tell the story, but she was like, it tastes too much like pork for me.

16:04
Kiki
Yeah, no, I spit it out and nothing against the sobo food guys, because honestly, they were definitely a standout brand for me. I think their product is amazing. And for the average consumer I meet, not even the average consumer, I think anybody would really like it. And honestly, I think me spitting it out just says everything about how convincing their meat substitutes are. It tasted good, but it just kind of freaked me out because it was too meat. Like, I was like, I can't do this. But all the other ones I liked a lot, they definitely know what they're doing. It's really good.

16:36
Patricia Menegoto
All right, talking about pork, I think a lot of products, I think pork is also a type of meat that is like rising, like plant based pork, or that is pork and sausage from our ally rally backpack brand, Lottie's meat. They do sausage. Their family has a farm, but their sausage, like, all clean ingredients. So it's know, not the Bs that you're talking about, but it tastes so good. I honestly wish that they sold clothes to me. I would buy all the time because it really stood out for me.

17:08
Kiki
Their sausage.

17:10
Daniel Scharff
Amazing.

17:10
Kiki
Do you remember where Lottie's is located?

17:13
Patricia Menegoto
Where?

17:13
Kiki
They're out of Denver. Oh, they're Denver.

17:15
Daniel Scharff
Yeah. And the sobo foods, you can catch them on an upcoming startup CPG podcast episode, so stay tuned for that. It's a really great team and story, so I know everyone will enjoy it. Okay, so next question. This time at expo, for the first year ever, we did the startupcpgswag.com brandswag fashion show. We had a bunch of amazing brands breaking out. Ridiculously cool swag, great poses. So I'm curious, did you all see any particularly cool swag when you were walking around the floor? Anything that caught anyone's interest?

17:49
Kiki
Yeah, definitely. I think I made everyone on the team go and spin the game at the only bean booth to get one of those edamame bags. They walked in our show, but I had seen it before the show. They had these really cool fanny packs that looked like an edamame bean. And someone on their team literally engineered like a screen that looked like a slot machine. So you'd hit the button, it would spin, and then based on what you got, you would win a prize. I really wanted one of those edamame bags. I had talked to them and tried to beg them for one, and then when were walking the floor, I think I made everybody on the team go and spend to try to get one of those edamame bags. It was definitely, like, the item.

18:29
Daniel Scharff
All right, well, if anybody out there in radio land has an extra edamame bag, maybe hit up kiki and make her day. All right. Patricia.

18:39
Kiki
Oh.

18:40
Patricia Menegoto
I didn't get the chance to really walk the show and see many things, but the one that I always remember when I saw they came to our booth for the buyers meetings is the batter sour. They had this blue jumpsuit with the icons, I think was the icons from their candies. So whenever he's coming, I'm like, I know who you are. So that one stood out for me.

19:03
Daniel Scharff
All right. I love it. Grace, how about you? Anything else?

19:06
Grace
Yeah, I mean, I was trying to get a tote bag, too, the whole show, and I kept coming to the booths, right, as they know, giving out their last tote bag. So I didn't really get any cool tote bags, but definitely a lot of brands that had great ones that I would have loved to get. But I loved the founder of Dopamine in our fashion show, she walked in like a onesie with her cookies all over it, I think, and high heels, and I was just like, I love the commitment to get a onesie just covered with your brand.

19:31
Kiki
It's amazing.

19:32
Grace
But I also always love the brands with cool jumpsuits and everything because they just look chic.

19:37
Daniel Scharff
That might have been my favorite booth set up, actually, was the dopamine brand, just because it was simple but very cool looking. They had the shimmering pink hanging things just as a backdrop, which looked great. And then, yeah, they had the onesies which really popped, and they had great energy throughout the show, and obviously an amazing product. Everybody was raving about them. Any other booth setups you guys saw that you thought were particularly cool?

20:01
Patricia Menegoto
I just want to make a petition for us to do a jumpsuit next time.

20:05
Kiki
Look at daddy.

20:06
Patricia Menegoto
He's like, maybe.

20:10
Daniel Scharff
I'm in. I'm in. Let's do it. Someone just has to explain to me how to use the restroom in one. Oh, yeah.

20:17
Patricia Menegoto
You have to take everything off, basically.

20:21
Daniel Scharff
I don't know if you want to do that in the new Hope bathrooms mid show, but actually, they're usually kept clean. They just run out of, like, TP and soap very quickly.

20:31
Patricia Menegoto
Yeah, they're not very clean. At least the girls that I go, yeah, I wanted a lot of tote bags. There were two brands that I really wanted, but every time I went there, they said that they were sold out. But then some buyers told me that they actually just gave to the buyers. So I was like, okay, well, I'm not cool enough.

20:48
Daniel Scharff
Fair enough. I might do the same thing. You got to use your cash and assets wisely. Cool. Anyone else have another booth that they want to call out?

20:57
Patricia Menegoto
I kind of like the board and Tersey, actually. I want to shoot out to them because they kept us hydrated the whole show. I felt so bad because I was like, I need water. So I just stopped at their booth, but I love their cans, how they partner with artists and everything is different and looks so cool, but I love how simple their booth was. Just, like, this huge refrigerator at the back with all their cool, different looking cans from different artists, but it looked so beautiful at the same time. And I really think that it was different from the tabletop and the banner in the backdrop that other brands use.

21:35
Daniel Scharff
Yeah, that was well done. Just given. I guess it's an alkaline water. And then a point of differentiation is that they have a lot of different design options. Right. So most of the cans, I don't know how many different varieties they have for the design of the can, but maybe they have 20 different ones that are all very colorful and interesting. That was really cool to see. And, yes, I probably drank 100 of them during the show, and also 100 coconut waters. And then I was just desperately looking for chapstick most of the time, because for some reason, our hall, it was kind of like an air conditioned wind tunnel a little bit. And so I think I wasn't the only one that was just, like, my lips just went chapped immediately.

22:14
Patricia Menegoto
Kiki, what about you?

22:16
Kiki
Probably one of my favorite boosts was Bimbamboo, who I had tried their products prior. I really love their products, but just their branding is so on point, and their packaging is really colorful, but they actually had on the back wall it was kind of like a Ferris wheel with their products on it that was, like, spinning around, which was pretty cool, I'd never seen before. And then also sea monsters. I like their booth a lot. They're also a brand that has an artist forward packaging, and their story was really cool.

22:47
Kiki
Grace and I went and visited them, and apparently one of their founders used to work for Pokemon, so he illustrated the characters that's on their packaging, and they were all over their booth, and I think they said that they actually had someone dress up in a costume that was, like, one of their characters that they had drawn. So just really colorful and fun. Yeah, those were probably two that stood out the most to me. I did, like, bored and thirsty a lot as well. And, yeah, I drink a ton of their water so much. And even though all the cans had the exact same thing in it every time, I went, I was like, which one do I want? And took my time picking out the can just because of what they look like on the outside.

23:24
Daniel Scharff
And isn't that interesting? Because I felt the same way. They had all these different designs, and I would think carefully about which one I wanted for the moment. But why? It's like, oh, I think because I want to look cool. And so I was looking for the one that I felt looked cool in the moment. And I also want it to be different. I'm like, oh, yeah, this kind of alternative monkey design, that's what I'm feeling right now. And I'll look cool drinking this. I don't know if that's.

23:46
Kiki
I know exactly what monkey design you're talking about.

23:50
Daniel Scharff
So how would you make the choice in the moment of which of the can designs to pick?

23:54
Kiki
I guess at first it was that, and then it became like, which one have I not had yet? Even though it's like, literally all the same water. It's like alkaline water with electrolytes in it. They all have the same water in it, but every time I'm getting a.

24:06
Daniel Scharff
Different can and kind of expecting it to taste a little bit different, but it doesn't taste the same.

24:13
Patricia Menegoto
Tastes great, though.

24:15
Daniel Scharff
Yeah, that's super funny. Well, yeah, I mean, one trend I was talking about to you guys before the show that I did see at the show a lot is just hydration 2.0. So I expect to continue seeing that just electrolytes as part of everything and more hydration and putting that into, obviously, disrupting the kind of traditional sugary sports drinks and then also expanding and just creating additional water options that also might play in the space of taking share from soda. I think Lacroix did this way back when. Right. So if you go back, I forget how many years, 1015 years. Lacroix started taking a ton of share from sodas with something that was more hydrating. And I really just see this trend accelerating a ton now. I think a lot of people are coming for that space.

24:56
Daniel Scharff
You've got liquid death taking share from alcohol as well. I think we're going to see a lot more of that. And interesting options. I see the rise of tablets also as a way for people to get more electrolytes in kind of a more sustainable fashion also, and just kind of flavor up their water a little bit also with some stuff that probably is good for you. And I also see, I think, taking share from alcohol more, just like, I mean, people are adding electrolytes even to RTDs, canned cocktails type stuff. So I don't know exactly how successful that'll be, but I think in general, just hydration drinks have some very strong consumer forces behind them. Okay. For me, there are a lot of favorite moments that I have from the show.

25:36
Daniel Scharff
I think probably number one is at our alley rally party, which we had 1300 people sign up for. Congrats to Patricia for making that all go very smoothly.

25:46
Patricia Menegoto
That whole team, please.

25:48
Daniel Scharff
Yes, the whole team. You guys were very kind to arrange a birthday cake. And my friend Meredith ran around and got everyone to sign these cards. And then we got the cake delivered. And I remember it's like, what's your wish? Well, no, this was my wish because growing up, my birthday was always during spring break, so I never got to be around my friends for it. I always felt ripped off. And so this time, my birthday just happened to be on the biggest party of the year that we host. So that was very exciting. And I said, well, this was my wish was just to get to do this. So thank you, guys. I think that was my, I would say that was my favorite moment. And then I also was just extremely excited. We held 1000 retailer meetings at our booth.

26:26
Daniel Scharff
So were doing this very new thing for us, which was 92nd quick pitches. We had a line down the hallway of people all lined up to meet with the teams from GNC and Earth Fair and gopuff and Kroger. And it was wild. And you know what, 90 seconds is actually enough time to say what you need to say. They know if they're interested or not, and then we can just cycle through. So those, for me, were kind of my two favorites. How about you guys? Patricia, do you want to go first?

26:53
Patricia Menegoto
I think that for me, I feel like a mom sometimes, like helping all the brands in our section first time or second time, activating. So I do like calls with them, following all the emails, making sure they know they have everything that they need to be there. So I think one of my favorite moments is just see everyone there with their book, ready to be part of the show. And of course, I guess the Ellie rally party is always one of my favorites. Just getting everyone together and seeing the backpack brand there working so hard and we're just like getting better and better at the event, listening you guys feedback, trying to improve and how the team got together, too. I think that it was three big moments for me.

27:39
Daniel Scharff
Yes, it was so nice to have our team assembled looking great in the pink outfits that we had designed. That was very cool. And, yeah, I agree. The brands in our section, I mean, that was, I think, for us as a team, the most important thing is that every brand who committed to having a booth in our section, we wanted to make sure that they would have the best possible show. Level three ACC. It's not first and second floor of North hall that we know are just overwhelmingly busy at the beginning. And so all of us worked so hard to just get retailers to the section, and that was the quick pitches and holding office hours with them as well as, I mean, I emailed 300 different buyers the day before the show and just reminded them where our section was.

28:21
Daniel Scharff
And in the end, I think it worked out really well for all of them. All the brands in the section said, yes, I got to meet all the buyers. And interestingly, I think our floor actually filters out some of the traffic that you wouldn't necessarily prioritize as a brand. So I think, yeah, all the retailers came by. Everyone that I was looking for, they did roll through the section and the brands were meeting them and really excited about that. But it wasn't elbow to elbow. And so I think weren't getting as much of the service providers and agencies, that kind of stuff. So actually, I think it was pretty good.

28:52
Daniel Scharff
I mean, I think for us, we're going to be really happy to go back up into that section again next year and just do everything that we did this time and make it, I think, a really highly productive and manageable show. And we always bring the energy and everything and fashion shows and all that good stuff to the section. But I was grateful to be in a session, like, a section that was, I'd say, a little calmer, maybe. What about you, Kiki? What do you think?

29:16
Kiki
I completely agree. And I was thinking that because we tried to go, Grace and I, were trying to go talk to brands and get interviews, and were, like, on a mission to get to nowhere bakery because they were our backpack winner from last year. So we're like, we have to go see them. We have to go talk to them. And that was, like, our first time getting into hall. And, like, her and I both are like, what the heck is going on? You can't move. You can't hear anything. It's so loud. And I was just thinking, like, I'm just curious. If the brands are exhibiting down here, they clearly look overwhelmed. There's no way to not be overwhelmed. That situation. But I was wondering, is this even a good environment for them to have the conversations that they're looking to have?

29:54
Kiki
Because it was like, people were just like, going up to the booth and just taking stuff. It was a lot of people that were just, like, wanting free stuff. There was kind of like trash all over the place. It was hard to move around. I think that we made it down, like two aisles, and then were like, okay, let's go back to our section. But, I mean, our section was still busy, though. It was busy, but you could walk around, you could move. There was plenty of AC, which I appreciated because in past years, I would rather be cold than hot. But no, I totally agree with that. I thought that our section was really fun.

30:23
Kiki
Probably the most memorable experiences for me during the show was, like, going around and talking with the brands and just hearing their feedback of how the show was going. Eat happy kitchen. I went and talked to her and she was just like, this is the funnest section at the show. The people that are in this section are really cool. It's just like, good vibes. We're making friends, we're having fun. And I think any trade show, but especially Expo west, which is like a beast of a show, it's so stressful. So the feedback I kept hearing from people was know they got the support that they needed, they got their answers questioned, know, whatever they had a question about, someone was there to answer them. And just that it was generally just good vibes and a good time. So those were my favorite moments.

31:03
Kiki
Yeah, it's just hearing from people how good the things were going for them, and it was a good time.

31:08
Daniel Scharff
I like to hear that. And honestly, for all the stuff that we want to do in our section, it would be hard to do it in that kind of an environment. I think for me, having been a brand, I need to be able to fish the stream. I need to be able to be in front of the booth, really hunting the buyers who don't necessarily already know me, but I'm trying to get to know. And if it is elbow to elbow, the stream is just jampacked full of fish. You don't really get the chance to pick some of those out. You're going to miss a bunch of them. I would rather be at a different part of the stream that maybe is a little slower moving where I can just get the fishies that I really need to. So.

31:44
Daniel Scharff
Yeah, I like to hear that. Grace, how about you?

31:45
Grace
Yeah, I mean, I think I would echo a lot of what Patricia and Kiki have already know. I interviewed a couple of the brands in our section and at to, you know, do a feature in our newsletter, and it was so fun to hear from the know one of the brands, like, it's like a family in this section. And I think it was so fun to just see all the brands interact and sort of support each other both at the show and at Ally rally. Like, I interviewed Zinca Foods, who I think was our third winner or third place for our backpack brands, and she told me, she was like, yeah, Lottie's meats helped me carry know my cooler, and this brand helped me with that.

32:22
Grace
So I just really appreciated seeing all the camaraderie happening in the section because it can be lonely, I think, to be a founder and be a brand owner. So getting to see everyone sort of together was really fun. Getting to meet these brands in person that I've maybe admired from afar or done an interview with for a founder Friday or something, but never actually gotten to just chat or even try their product. So getting to meet them was really special and getting to hear about their experiences. And one specific story I'm remembering is, I think Patricia, Kiki, and I, we all walked up to the explorer cold brew booth to get a coffee, and we're, like, waiting, and he's talking to someone, and we're like, who's he talking to?

33:04
Grace
And then the person walked away, and I'm forgetting the name of the founder of Explorer Cold Brew right now. But he was like, oh, my God, that was the Whole Foods buyer. We just had an amazing conversation, and so were, like, witnessing it happen right there. And then we tried his product, and it was delicious. So it was just really fun to get to see everything sort of coming together for people and making all these friends and connections and getting to make some friends myself, so, yeah, really fun.

33:30
Daniel Scharff
Yeah. Speaking of the miniaturization of everything, the explorer cold brew has those lovely, concentrated, small bottles. That's awesome. That's so cool that you were there to see that. And, yeah, I loved hearing all of that feedback from everyone. Okay, so now how about alley rally? So, as we learned yesterday, the brand. So we had a bunch of brands that were demoing there that applied. It was a competitive process. We had about a dozen brands that were able to demo for free at our party. And then the winner, which is Snoods, won a booth at Expo west. Next. Yeah. All right, so we're all very excited now.

34:09
Daniel Scharff
I will say, when I was walking around the backpack brands areas, that was the one where someone was like, hey, did you try, like, you need to try know in a very serious face, like, you need to come and try this thing. Did you guys have a sense that they would be the winners, or did you really not know? And you heard about mean? It's a great product. And I tried it. I was like, oh, this is interesting. Was that a surprise?

34:33
Grace
Kiki called it before the.

34:37
Kiki
Had a. I had a strong feeling that Stu was going to be the winner.

34:41
Daniel Scharff
How come? How'd you.

34:43
Kiki
I mean, I think their product is really mean. They're using upcycled ingredients to make the snack. The snack is essentially, she's using upcycled flour to make pasta, and then she fries the pasta to make, like, a crisp. And then she flavors them like traditional and nostalgic flavors of different sorts of pasta. She has, like a spicy ramen, one, which is really good. I forget what the other flavors are. One's like a tomato basil, whatever, but they're really good. And on top of it being good, I think that their branding and packaging is fun. It's very, I don't want to say Gen Z, but it is trendy. And also, if you've ever met Lauren, she's just such a fun, nice person. She's the type of person that just, like, whenever you talk to her, everyone's smiling and laughing and having a good time.

35:31
Kiki
She just really has a great personality. So those are the reasons why I had a feeling that they were going to win. And the second and third place did not surprise me either, because rooted fair is also a really good product. Absolutely delicious. And something I've not really seen before, like black sesame. I don't really see that a lot, and I could just see it putting it on so many different things. It's good on its own. You can make essentially like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, put it on ICE cream, put on your waffles. It's just legitimately really good. And zinca is also really good. And I've never seen anybody making their product before. So I was not surprised who came in the top three, and I definitely was not surprised who won. So congratulations to snooze.

36:15
Kiki
I'm excited to be at expo with them next year.

36:18
Patricia Menegoto
Yeah, they were in our section at the expo west last year, and when Kiki and I were walking around, we heard so many people commenting about their product too. So it seems that a lot of people try them and they get very excited because it's very innovative too. But I email all the brands. We're 13 brands sampling, so I email everyone. And then Lauren got back to us. She was like all caps, like logboard. She was like, oh, my God, I'm crying. And then it's just nice to see all the brands. Congratulations. Each other. They're supporting each other. So the family vibe that grace was talking about. But it's a hard decision. It's a very hard decision to only pick one to win a reboot. There are so many great products.

37:01
Daniel Scharff
Yes. Well, I'm very excited. So they won a booth, and they'll be in our dedicated section now for next year, so that'll be a party. I also really liked when went around and got every brand to dance in their booth with the boombox that we had. That was pretty good time. And I think a new innovation for us as a section. So always dancing. So last question for everybody before we wrap up, which is just from a personal preparedness standpoint, is there anything that you guys learned that you're going to try to do better next year? Like, everybody knows I'm famous for having two pairs of shoes on me at all times. Like, I've got the running shoes and then kind of, like, flat sneakers. And I switch a couple of times during the day.

37:41
Daniel Scharff
Any of you guys feel like you can up your game next year with any specific tip that you might have learned?

37:49
Patricia Menegoto
I think we should get a foot massage at the booth.

37:53
Grace
But then were saying, patty, were like, we would just have the smell of people's bare feet at our booth, and I don't think that would really attract visitors.

38:03
Patricia Menegoto
But that's so true. I don't know. I just think, like, making sure that we order lunch earlier.

38:10
Daniel Scharff
Very good point. Yes. It always takes a lot longer than you think. And even once you order and then for it to get delivered and bring it back. And also, we have to always remember that they don't bring utensils unless we ask for them. So I don't have to eat salad with straws again as chopsticks.

38:28
Patricia Menegoto
Yeah. No, but I think for me, it's like, one tip is always eat real food because you can just spend the whole day, like, have a real breakfast before you go in. And that if you can order food from uber Eats, they deliver the Marriott, so it's not difficult to get, especially is not far from our section. But eating real food just make me have more energy to keep going because sometimes I can get hangry and then people want to talk to me, and I actually don't want to smile at that time. So I was like, I need to eat something instead of just keep snacking the whole day. That helps me.

39:02
Kiki
Yeah, the eating a real meal was definitely helpful. I'm glad we actually made a point to pause and get a real meal every day. That was definitely improvement from previous years. And then for me, bringing a fanny pack was a game changer for me this year because in the past, I was just carrying my backpack around the whole time, which hurts after a while. So I would just leave my backpack at the booth and just take the things I needed and just stick it in the fanny pack and only carry that game changer. Definitely bringing a fanny pack every year.

39:33
Daniel Scharff
Okay, Patricia, I think that the votes are in. We need startup CPG fanny packs next year.

39:38
Grace
Yeah, we definitely need some fanny packs.

39:41
Kiki
And bucket hats.

39:42
Patricia Menegoto
And bucket hats.

39:43
Grace
Yes.

39:44
Daniel Scharff
That's it. All right, there's the costume and then buckets hat, you guys can all wear. And I'll go with my normal hat. How do bucket hats just don't look good on me? I don't know what it think. Jump. Yeah. I think we got our outfit designed. I think we're ready to rock.

39:59
Patricia Menegoto
And Peter would appreciate the bowling shirts for the alley rally. I know that.

40:05
Daniel Scharff
Yes. He was advocating for those early and often customized bowling shirts for her Halle rally party. I'm in.

40:12
Patricia Menegoto
Yeah. What about you, Grace?

40:14
Grace
Yeah, I mean, I kind of echo what you guys are saying. I think, too, I need to get better sneakers. I don't really run or anything like that, so I was just using kind of old sneakers that were not that supportive, and I was like, am I really going to invest in sneakers for this one week? I don't really use sneakers other times of the year. And at the end of the week, I was like, okay, cool. So I will be investing in sneakers for this week of the year, and.

40:40
Kiki
That'S just my lesson learned.

40:41
Grace
I'm going to got to get the ones with the really thick souls and things like that.

40:45
Kiki
So, yeah, don't be cheap. I would be interested to see what the steps are from people in our community because someone commented one of our social media posts and said that they had 15,000 steps by, like, 09:00 a.m. Which is insane because I was averaging 15 to 20 ish, was, like, my normal for every day. And I'm just like, curious, you know, how companies do those step challenges or whatever. I'm just like, I wonder if there's a way for us to get into something to where we can see how many steps is everyone taking at Expo west.

41:17
Patricia Menegoto
If you're a backpack brand, you probably walk more than having a boob.

41:21
Daniel Scharff
I'd be interested. Yeah. For me, the pain comes from just standing there. I didn't move anywhere. But then the feet get tender and you have to displace the pain somehow and it comes in waves. And then it's 04:00 p.m. And you're aching and you still need to go out for your events that evening. And the hardest part then at five or something, is walking over to the garden walk just like you're moving slow and painfully to get there. So I always like taking that break that I think, well, you guys saw me taking it of just lying down and putting my feet up against the wall for about 15 minutes. There's no way I would have made it to the events without doing that. Otherwise, I think, yeah, next year maybe we go for the motorized scooters.

42:02
Patricia Menegoto
Yeah. Or you know what? They should have. I think that. I don't know if I have seen the US, but I'm sure they had those bicycle where you can sit in the back and people bicycle you around like a petticab. Yeah, but it's like a taxi way that the guy is driving and you just pay and you just sit there to go to the parties because that would be so helpful. Yeah.

42:24
Daniel Scharff
Yes. Well, maybe that'll be our next business for next year. Chariot, maybe chariots love it where you also get your feet massaged in the chariot. All right, cool. Well, guys, I'm going to wrap us up. Thank you all for this lovely recap for me, it was a perfect expo. Honestly, I can't recall one that I think just went so well and had so much fun at. And I think the entire community was just in really great spirits and happy to be there. And I think probably just a better economic climate a little bit than we had last year. So I think just a lot of enthusiasm and energy. Cool. All right, well, thank you each for these awesome perspectives.

43:06
Daniel Scharff
I'm very excited for our next show, which will be fancy foods coming up at the end of June, followed by Newtopia at the end of August. So I think we learned a lot as a team about how to just keep cracking and delivering tons of value for the emerging brands and I'm really excited to build on all of that. Any last comments?

43:25
Patricia Menegoto
Yeah, I actually want to say that a lot of brands are already asking me. So applications to be in our section at Expo West 2025 is going to open soon, so always keep an eye on the slack for our newsletter. So if you're not like in the slack yet, just go to our website, starscpg.com and fill out the form and you get the link we always post everything, the announcements and then we also have a section for Newtopia now, so applications are open. We actually have a call tomorrow with oh yeah, it's not going to be live. Sorry guys, but we are doing a Q a with Newtopia just to talk more about sorry, new hope to talk more about Newtopia now.

44:04
Patricia Menegoto
But we have our section so if you want to be in our section you can reach out to us in slack or just check the announcements channel. Our party is always on a Thursday. Save the date. We get sold out before the show and it's the most fun party ever. At Expo west we do the alley rally utopia. Now we are still figuring out we did the mic drop for Expo east, but we are definitely doing something.

44:28
Daniel Scharff
All right, see everybody at the next one. Thank you.

44:32
Patricia Menegoto
See you.

44:35
Daniel Scharff
All right everybody, thank you so much for listening. If you enjoyed the podcast today, it would really help us out if you can leave a five star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. I am Daniel Sharf. I'm the host and founder of Startup CPG. Please feel free to reach out or add me on LinkedIn. If you're a potential sponsor that would like to appear on the podcast, please email [e-mail] and reminder to all of you out there, we would love to have you join the community. You can sign up at our website, startupcpg.com to learn about our webinars, events and slack channel. If you enjoyed today's music, you can check out my band it's the super fantastics on Spotify music. On behalf of the entire startup CPG team, thank you so much for listening and your support. See you next time.