Cpgconnect // Vol. 34 // Expo West 2026 - Real Food Returns, Founders Show Up
Expo West this year was a whirlwind in the best way possible.
Brandon and I kicked things off with Pre-Expo West Espresso & CPG, and it ended up being the perfect way to start the week. Great turnout, great conversations, and a packed room of founders, operators, and investors before the chaos of the show even started.
Right after that I stopped by the Snaxshots house party, and honestly I was blown away. I didn’t know you could throw a house party centered around CPG and make it feel that fun. Huge credit to Andrea and the team for pulling it off. There were brand activations throughout the house, but my personal favorite had to be Gato Dates bringing in male strippers in suspenders with hilarious punchline tattoos. Completely unexpected and absolutely hilarious.
The next morning we rolled into Flexpo West hosted by Man Cereal, which was another great gathering. Brands like Zalt, Tuff Pops, Horombles Chormbles, Hol Health Club, and Vivi Coffee were all there. The morning started with a workout and rolled straight into networking and sampling. Great energy all around.
Once Expo officially opened, I tried to hit the floor but quickly realized how easy it is to get sidetracked just catching up with people. The first day on the floor was basically a wash for me because I kept running into friends and industry folks. Not the worst problem to have, but definitely a reminder that you need a real plan to see everything.
One of the highlights of the week was America’s Next Top Snack, hosted by Air. The concept was fantastic. Andrea and Oren were judging alongside two other judges, and the pitches were genuinely impressive. My personal favorite was Ollin Cake Mix. The passion was incredible, and the way she talked about gluten and how only a small percentage of people actually need to avoid it really stood out. All the contestants crushed it though. Noah from Honey Department, Jack & Jacob from Bytem Brownies, Kiki Elan from Sour Milk, and others brought great energy. In the end, Ilay from BEZI took the win. Well deserved.
Later that night we made our way to the Carbone pizza party, where they rented out an entire restaurant for the event. Tons of great people, great food, and a fun way to cap the night.
The following morning started with Rise & Roast, a coffee meetup hosted by Mike Gelb and Dustin Cherry. It was a great reset before diving back into the show.
After that I spent as much time as possible walking the Expo floor, but honestly I barely scratched the surface. The scale of Expo West is hard to describe until you see it in person. The number of brands, activations, and new products everywhere was honestly overwhelming in the best way.
To close out the week, we hosted Anti-Expo with a group of incredible founders alongside Sarah Grosz and Good.CPG. That event ended up being the cherry on top of the entire week. The vibe was exactly what you want from the industry. Founders hanging out, sharing ideas, sampling products, and just having a genuinely good time together.
Overall, what a week.
If there’s one takeaway for me, it’s that next year I need to carve out more dedicated time to walk the floor and really dive into the new brands and trends. Expo West is massive, and it deserves the time.
But before we dive in, take a quick second to fill out this form. It helps me give back to the CPG community we’re building, connect the right people, and surface new opportunities for brands looking to grow.
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Expo West thoughts:
Expo West is always one of the best pulse checks on where the industry is heading. Walking the floor this year, one theme kept standing out to me.
Real products are making a comeback.
Over the last few years, it felt like everything had to be engineered. Protein added where it did not belong. Fiber stacked on top of already complicated formulas. Functional ingredients layered in until the original product barely resembled food anymore.
But something felt different this year.
Across the show floor I kept seeing brands going back to the basics. Less optimization for claims, more focus on making something that simply tastes good.
Two brands really drove this home for me.
The first was Bytem Brownies. Just brownies. No elaborate positioning. No overloaded ingredient story. Just a great brownie. It ended up being one of my favorite things I tasted all week. Watching Jack & Jacob out there sampling, talking to everyone, and proudly owning the simplicity of what they make felt refreshing in a sea of hyper engineered snacks.
The second was Ollin Cake Mix. I saw them during the America’s Best Top Snack pitch competition and one thing stood out immediately. They were leaning into gluten.
In a category where almost every product launches gluten free, dairy free, seed oil free, and ten other things free, they chose to do the opposite.
And the reality is only about one percent of Americans actually need to be gluten free.
So why has the entire premium food category started behaving as if everyone does?
My biggest takeaway coming out of Expo West is this: the “protein everything” era and the race to stack functional ingredients onto every product may start cooling down.
Consumers are getting more educated. They are reading labels. And more importantly, they are craving food that actually feels like food again.
Real ingredients.
Real taste.
Real products.
The brands that win over the next decade might not be the ones with the longest list of functional claims.
They might just be the ones that make the best version of the product in the first place.
Expo West Trend Report 2026
Here are a few other patterns that stood out walking the show floor this year.
1. Simplicity Is Making a Comeback
After years of products competing on added protein, fiber, and functional ingredients, many brands are moving back toward simpler formulas and recognizable ingredients.
Consumers still care about health, but taste and familiarity are starting to matter again.
2. Nostalgia Is Driving Innovation
Many of the most interesting products were not entirely new categories.
They were modern takes on things people already grew up with. Childhood snacks, classic treats, and familiar formats brought back with cleaner ingredients or updated branding.
The product may be familiar, but the cultural framing is new.
3. Shelf Access Is the Real Competitive Advantage
A lot of products at Expo looked surprisingly similar.
The brands that win will not just be the ones with slightly better macros or ingredients. They will be the ones that know how to create demand and move product once they land on shelves.
Retail relationships, consumer pull, and velocity will separate the winners from everyone else.
4. Good Design Is Now the Minimum
Beautiful packaging used to be a differentiator.
Now it is the starting point.
The brands that really stood out were the ones that communicated instantly what they were, who they were for, and why they existed. Clear positioning is becoming more important than just good design.
5. Functional Ingredients Are Expanding Across Categories
Adaptogens, probiotics, electrolytes, and nootropics are no longer limited to supplements.
They are showing up everywhere. Beverages, snacks, candy, frozen foods, and even cereals.
The supplement aisle is slowly blending into the grocery aisle.
6. Frozen Is Quietly Becoming an Innovation Hub
Frozen felt more interesting this year than it has in a long time.
Not just frozen meals, but frozen desserts, snacks, and better for you indulgences.
What used to be a slow category is starting to attract real product experimentation.
7. Breakfast Still Feels Wide Open
Despite how crowded the category appears, most breakfast options are still sugary, uninspiring, or nutritionally weak.
There is a big opportunity for brands that rethink portable, better for you breakfast formats.
8. The Best Booths Felt Human
The most memorable booths were not always the biggest or most elaborate.
They were the ones where founders were present, teams were excited, and conversations felt genuine.
Retail buyers still respond to real people behind the brand.
9. Founders Feel More Grounded
The tone among early stage founders felt noticeably different this year.
Less talk about billion dollar outcomes and more focus on the fundamentals: margins, velocity, and sustainable growth.
The discipline level across the category seems to be improving.
10. Community Is Becoming a Core Growth Strategy
The brands getting the most attention are not just selling products.
They are building audiences.
Creator collaborations, engaged communities, and cultural relevance are becoming just as important as the product itself.
CPG is increasingly becoming a blend of media and product.
One thing Expo West reminds me every year is that while the industry can look crowded from the outside, the brands that actually break through usually follow the same formula.
Make a great product.
Build a clear brand.
Create real demand.
Everything else is noise.
Expo West Take: Robby Sansom on the Future of Food
One of my favorite parts of Expo West each year is talking to founders who have been around long enough to see the industry evolve.
Robby Sansom is one of those people.
If you’ve been in the natural products world for a while, you probably know him from Epic Provisions, the pioneering meat snack brand that helped create the modern meat bar category before being acquired by General Mills. Today he’s the co-founder of Force of Nature, a regenerative meat company focused on higher sourcing standards and premium animal proteins.
Robby has been attending Expo West for nearly a decade, and when I asked him how the show has changed, he didn’t hesitate.
“There’s a buzz. There’s an energy,” he told me. “It’s this big congregation of people who are all trying to move the bar forward in food.”
But he also believes the show reflects a tension that’s happening across the entire industry.
The “Highly Processed Natural Food” Problem
Robby joked that Expo West could almost be renamed “the unnatural food show.”
His critique is something many founders quietly acknowledge: the industry that originally championed whole foods and simplicity has increasingly leaned into hyper-engineered products.
“You walk the floor and it’s like protein is on trend,” he said. “So let’s put some super processed protein in ice cream or chips or popcorn. Maybe it doesn’t even have a full amino acid profile.”
In his view, the industry has drifted away from what food actually is.
“Food grows from the ground or exists in nature. Preparing that with people in real, natural settings… that’s what nourishment is supposed to be.”
It’s a sentiment I heard echoed by several founders this year: the pendulum may be swinging back toward simplicity.
The Founders Still Make It Worth It
Despite his criticism, Robby still believes Expo West has something special.
And it’s not the big booths.
It’s the founders.
“You come across a booth where you can see it in their eyes,” he said. “They’re nervous, excited, scared. They probably just maxed out their credit card to be here because they believe in the dream.”
That energy, he says, is what keeps the show authentic.
Even if the product isn’t something he personally uses, he still roots for those founders.
Why More Brands Are Skipping Booths
Another interesting shift Robby pointed out is how many brands no longer exhibit.
Force of Nature used to have a booth. Now they just attend.
The reason is simple: economics.
Between booth fees, shipping, travel, lodging, and staffing, brands can easily spend six figures just to show up.
“Paying $15–20K for the spot, then all the costs of materials, shipping, travel, food, lodging… it’s a massive commitment,” he said.
For many brands, especially those without immediate retail buyers walking the show floor, the ROI simply isn’t there anymore.
Instead, founders are getting scrappier.
They’re sharing houses, hosting meetups, and scheduling meetings across Anaheim rather than relying on expensive booths.
Robby’s Advice for First-Time Founders
For early stage founders attending Expo West, Robby’s biggest piece of advice is simple:
Come with a plan.
“You’re making a big commitment just by showing up,” he said. “Lay out what you’re trying to accomplish. Who are you trying to meet? What conversations do you want to have?”
Whether it’s landing a distributor like UNFI, pitching a retailer, or building partnerships with other brands, founders should define what success looks like before they arrive.
“Everyone you need to talk to is here,” he said. “If you have intention behind it, you can get a lot done.”
The Real Takeaway
After nearly ten years of attending Expo West, Robby’s view is clear.
The show still matters.
But the real signal isn’t the biggest booth or the loudest trend.
It’s the founders chasing something meaningful.
And if his prediction holds true, the brands that win long term won’t be the most engineered or trend driven.
They’ll be the ones that bring food back to its roots.
My Expo Callouts:
Pistakio Wrapped Truck - loved this, unique and putting your dollars into something that will last instead of just a week at Expo.
Beest Crunchy Jerky Chips - Loved the crunch and YES they are crunchy.
Evies Texas Pecans - REALLY good Pecans, loved the founders out of Houston TX. Bullish on TX in the CPG scene. (Ollin is also based out in Houston)
Humble Organic Chips - Best cheddar and sour cream chip i’ve had in awhile!
Froobies Fruit Snacks - Just launched, the packaging caught my attention.
Cob Popcorn - remembered when they launched at the end of last year, the kernels were smaller than usual but fantastic taste.
Good Grains - Childhood nostalgia of corn pops cereal, literally what I grew up on, just launched this past week.
Lasso - I FINALLY got to try, and it was really good, shoutout to Clarke.
Little Latke - THE BEST CHIP I HAD ALL WEEK, I was blown away with the flavor.
Polkadot - New Drink launch, went all out with their booth.
Noon World - Crushing it with functional gummies, out of this world.
Honey Department - Just launched a few weeks ago, got to try some at the Americas next top snack event… who knew honey could be this good all by itself?
Good Greed - Gummy candy has always been my weakness, and these girls crushed this.
Smearcase - Took 1st place in the 2026 Expo West Albertsons Innovation Launchpad Pitch Competition.
Expo West 2026 was a great reminder of how much energy exists in the CPG world.
Between the events, the founders, and the thousands of products across the show floor, the entire week felt like a snapshot of where the industry is heading.
One theme kept standing out: simplicity. After years of hyper-engineered snacks and endless functional claims, many brands are going back to the basics. Great taste, real ingredients, and clear positioning.
The brands that win over the next decade likely won’t be the ones with the longest list of claims. They’ll be the ones that make a great product, build a strong brand, and create real demand.
That’s a wrap on the Expo West edition of Cpgconnect.
Now back to regularly scheduled programming.
Thanks for following along and loving CPG as much as I do. More brand breakdowns and industry insights coming next week.
Whether you’re launching your first SKU, pushing into retail, or just trying to stay ahead of where CPG is headed, that’s what Cpgconnect is here for. This community exists to connect the right people, surface real opportunities, and share what’s actually working as brands scale.
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Catch you next week ✌️
- Zach
P.S. If this was helpful, pass it along to a founder or teammate who’d get value out of it. And as always, hit reply anytime. I read every message.
Great recap. One thing Expo does better than almost any other event is compress the entire industry into a few days. Founders, operators, investors, retailers, all in the same place. Easy to spend the whole week catching up with people and realize you barely scratched the surface.