Expo West Recap: Part 3 - Trends & Discoveries

0:00Danielle Calabrese:Welcome to the Emerging Brands podcast. Sharing the stories behind brands you'll want to shop next. I'm your host, Kelly Bennett. I am a New York City-based brand strategist for CPG Food and Beverage Brands. In each episode, I'll take you behind the scenes of founders that are building better-for-you products and bringing them to market. it. Also, I talk to brand builders, retailers, industry experts, and tastemakers who help bring those cool products to your shopping cart. You will hear stories of real-life founders, their launch strategies, and practical advice you could use to grow your own brand or simply discover what's next on shelf.

0:42Danielle Calabrese:And the best part is you could shop all the brands featured on the show. This podcast is brought to you by Glimpse. Glimpse is an AI powered deduction management tool that disputes and recovers invalid deductions, winning brands, thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours back to founders so that they can focus on what really matters most. If you're a brand selling and retail, go to tryglimpse.com backslash trial for 30 days free and let them know I sent you. Now let's dive into the new episode. Okay, Danielle, we are back for part three of our epic recap of Expo West. And I wanted to close off with a trend report, fun things that we saw on the floor, things that caught our attention, and also some like sneak peeks of things that we're working on without giving too many details, but we could hint to some things that we know are in the works with clients and things that we really see of what's hot and next in CPG food and beverage.

1:55Danielle Calabrese:So do you want to kick off a trend that you saw and we can maybe like popcorn back and forth? Sure. I think more so than a trend, I think there's a couple, there's a few brands that I have my, I, my eyes on. Um, a couple of them were at the snack shop party actually. Okay. Um, so I have to say my favorite brand who I'm like really bummed. I didn't see them at the show. My favorite brand right now for myself is mama me the temp chips oh I haven't tried those yet obsessed with them they are so good they were at the snack shop party it was like in because like they had like a whole dipping station like a big long long table and where Kendall from Cotto was sampling her dips and then there was like produce to dip in and then there was like different chips and there was mama me bags of chips like all over the party it was really cool and everybody was trying them and like dying over them they're so so good and they exhibited tempeh temp tempeh i guess yeah okay really clean ingredient they're baked not fried the branding is so cute and look them up i'm just totally obsessed i think there's like there's a new wave of chips coming in and like different, all different.

3:30You know, like I'm seeing it in tallow and like different types. We have a shared client that's like going into the puff chip space. I have a beef tallow potato chip company. That's a client of mine, It Chips. I'm not sure if you, if you met that founder at, she came to Ladies Lounge.

3:48Danielle Calabrese:Oh, cool. I haven't met her yet, but I want to try the chips. Yes, she just got her samples. So I'll arrange for you to have some. Please. Cool. And the branding is super cute. Yes, the branding is super cute for Itchips. But Mamma Mia honestly is awesome. I'm sure. I've seen Mamma Mia on a ton of like Instagram trend reports, but I'm obsessed with them. Okay. I need to check those out. But who are you obsessed with right now? So it was more so obsessed with a category that I saw over and over again. And we have a shared client going into the space. I know she's currently in Launch Lab. That's all I'll say.

4:30Danielle Calabrese:And I just finished her brand strategy is hydration. All different ways to hydrate. There was a ton of coconut water, which is cool. Some cactus water. I will say, though, the hero ingredient she is going to use in her hydration drink, I did not see on the floor. And I'm really excited for her, say, next year, ideally, to have a presence. Because I think people will be so into what she's doing with her hero ingredient. And it kind of the cousin to coconut water. I'll say that. That's like the teaser I'll say. But all the different ways to hydrate, I was really taken by that. I was like, wow, we are a dehydrated culture and we're all trying to be the winners.

5:22Danielle Calabrese:I think Leisure Hydration has done a great job. Their booth was fabulous. But I would say hydration overall, there was a lot of hydrating products and using new hero ingredients too. Yeah. Yeah. I completely agree. You want to know what's interesting too. is that we have two brands in Launch Lab right now, totally different positioning, completely unique in the kids' hydration space. Going after different age groups though, because, right, like kids have different needs. One is going for super young, one is going for older, but we do have, you know, there's some up and comers happening, guys, in the hydration world.

6:09Danielle Calabrese:Yes, that's a really good point. I have a call with one of them to talk shop, which I'm really excited about. And I think that also leads to the second one that I saw of it's still growing. And we have, like I said, shared client with Nomi is just kid products that feel more elevated and not just like boring kid foods, but like. pouches, like the pouches and the puffs and like all that kind of stuff. People are finally starting to innovate more with real food and in other categories. I totally agree. Yeah. I thought that was really exciting to see. I think Sunny's is doing a great job. They were on the podcast.

6:51Danielle Calabrese:We went by their booth. Um, they were at the snack shop party. Oh, they were. Okay. They were. I got to taste their product. I met the founder. So good. Yep. I mean, June, June pistachios, they were at the snack shop. I mean, such a great product. Like, come on. They're so good. It's just one of those like hands. You're just like, okay, you win it. Like, great job. You know? And their branding is really good. Yes. It really is. Their pistachios. um was there any um kid brands I know Nomi is going to be coming soon but any other kid brands that you saw that you thought did a good job um gosh I'm sure that I mean I know Yumi had a presence like we did I walk by the Yumi booth we did yeah yeah and I think they've recently rolled out some innovation.

7:47I mean, it's such a cute brand. It really is.

7:50Danielle Calabrese:And they've got, I saw them in a lot of trend recaps too from expo. Yeah, totally. Anybody who's OG, I'm, you know, they used to be refrigerated in glass. It was like this really, really? Oh yeah. My first daughter like got the luxury of eating like Yumi blended foods. Totally. So it was a subscription based out of LA. That's how Yumi started. It was a very posh subscription. All the food, all the baby food came in glass jars. It was like gorgeous, like beautifully layered, like really, really nice. And then they pivoted into shelf stable products, kept the same brand, the look and feel of the brand, but just expanded the category and pivoted into shelf stable.

8:39I can only imagine what it was like trying to run. Like I can't even imagine, you know what I mean? Like a perishable baby food company, but like filled in glass. Yeah.

8:51Danielle Calabrese:Oh my gosh. Well, good for them. I think that's also a good example of pivoting and innovating and knowing where you want to take it. I would, I would say also, I don't think they were at the show, but little gourmets, they were on my podcast and they pivoted, um, to pouches and now they're really expanding, um, in retail because more retailers now have refrigerated space for kid products in particular, which is cool. And so if anyone is curious, thank you once upon a farm, thank you once upon a farm for carving that space out. They did all the hard work to, get that shelf space that refrigerated kids shelf space to exist because it didn't exist until until John Forker and Jennifer Gardner decided to spend spend the big bucks yeah shout out to them that's totally fair that's a really good point and I think also shows that it takes some people who are willing to invest in in really carving out a category and then all tides rise.

10:01Danielle Calabrese:Right. And it, it, it really also opens the gate for some emerging brands. Um, was there any other trend? Oh, what were you going to say? I, I loved that oat milk brand that we stopped by that. Um, she, you knew her, she loved that brand. I was like, so obsessed with the, Oh yeah. They have a kid's skew. Yeah. They have a kid's skew. super cool. It's in a Tetra pack, like a small, um, you know, like a small carton, but super high quality, clean ingredient label. Like I just get really excited when there's, um, an all dairy milk on the market that only has a couple ingredients. Cause that's what we drink at my house.

10:45Um, and I feel like gone are the days where like, it's okay to have like gums and fillers and so much crap in your plant milks.

10:55Danielle Calabrese:I'm obsessed with that brand. And it was inspired by their grandma's recipe for oat milk. And they use the whole oat, which is different. It's a differentiator so that they have the most nutrition from the oats in their oat milk. And it's super clean ingredients. It's like three ingredients. Great founders. Yeah. I love them. I'm so glad that we got to see them. And they have kids SKUs now, which is super cute. And the branding. And I love also, that's a great example of a brand expanding and still having the same through line and quality, but having a kid's innovation, which I'm really obsessed with this brand extension of kid products.

11:38Danielle Calabrese:I think it's so clever. I agree. I agree. You know who always just shows up so well is Pistachio. they just they yes they killed it so they showed up so um I saw them at the snack shop party and then they were at the anti-expo party which was a really fun house party in orange I'm so happy that you went I was like dead tired already I was like Danielle's a trooper I was very impressed oh I was I had been hit by a bus at that point but I was like girl you've gone this far. Like just take it, take it to the finish line. You know what I mean? No hats off. But we roll up at the party and the pistachio truck is parked in the driveway.

12:23And I'm like, okay, they're, they're here. Like Fran and Nico, they're here. Um, but they have their whole truck branded. Um, and they rolled, they rolled up into Anaheim like that. And they had a, uh, a pistachio butter fountain at the snack shop party. Um, and they're just, they're doing such great things. I love those founders.

12:43Danielle Calabrese:And Fran was at Ladies Lounge. Fran showed up at Ladies Lounge. Yeah, she was just so kind. She's such a badass. She's been, she was a contributor, her and Nico were contributors in Launch Lab for our last group. Oh, cool. Yeah. Everybody loved hearing their story because they have such like a great, like, like grassroots, you know, DIY story. And they're still, you know, know, they're still like on the up, but they have really come a long way. Absolutely. And I've had them on the podcast to such a great brand story. And I think also a good example of a brand that didn't have a booth at Expo, but got really clever and creative with how to create a presence, because also it matters what trucks and cars are going around Anaheim Convention Center.

13:32Danielle Calabrese:and I saw them do that and like of course they got clever and did that like right I mean we all saw that we all saw the David truck right yes everybody saw the David truck and David announced to the industry that they're getting into ice cream and it was it was uh you know it was a moment right when we pulled up remember we saw the truck and I was like wait hold on I have to record this that was the first that was a Tuesday yeah they announced it essentially through those I think they were circling the show. Like that was like a strategic move. They literally. Oh, I'm sure they were. Yes. Okay.

14:09Wait. So America's next top snack. All right. Yes. At Bubba Gump Shrimp, Bezzy won. So, I mean, are you surprised? Right.

14:20Danielle Calabrese:I'm so proud of her. So at the show, if you were at the show, if you were at the snack shop party or, you know, if you saw her pitch at the Bubba Gump, um, you know, shrimp event for, um, America's next top snack, she's getting ready to roll out her like in single serve with crackers that you dip into the lab, the lab knot. I mean, can we just talk about how freaking genius that is? I mean remember when hummus started being manufactured like that and everyone was just like like a mate you know mind's blown and she's it's genius she's so smart Eli is one of those founders that just gets it and I've seen her over only just like the year and a half she only has been out for about a year technically but just seeing her in New York seeing her like to your point doing events, doing sampling, doing tasting.

15:23Danielle Calabrese:She's really been hitting the pavement, going to door to door to retailers in the city and is now growing in Whole Foods and then now innovating in what she's bringing to market. It's so smart. I'm obsessed with Bezzy. It is a favorite here in our house. And so focused, laser, laser focused. So one of the judges asked her, oh, so are you getting into crackers now too? And she was like, nope, we're not getting into crackers. We're all of our efforts and our marketing dollars are going towards educating the consumer on Labna, but this is just like an extension. This is just part of the product, but no, we will not be getting into crackers.

16:09And I was just like, yes, girl, like you are focused in people like founders get so distracted with like, we need to do this product line and we need to do that product line and, and this and that. And it's just like, no, you don't like, don't actually, please don't.

16:26Danielle Calabrese:That's such a good point, Danielle. And just a bit of a side note, I I've been sharing with you that I'm now starting to get into angel investing. And there was a CPG brand that I really liked, really great margins, really great founders. But the thing that made me uneasy about taking a next step was that the founder was so open to feedback of trying so many different things. What they're doing is working and working really well. And I was like, oh, I feel like she might lose the plot. Like she's onto something really good. I want her to stay there and iterate on that. But she was just really saying that she was open to all these ideas that had nothing to really do with what she was setting out for.

17:12Danielle Calabrese:And I was like, oh no, don't, don't do that. Like it's okay to choose a lane and double down in your lane. So I'm glad that you said that out. Double down on it. Double down on it. And sometimes, you know, sometimes, yes, you do want to expand into other categories and it makes sense. And like, okay, you look at Googles, right? Like you look at, you look at Bonza, you look at, um, uh, the Lupini, the Lupini bean company and Brahmi, um, like they're, you know, Siete, they're having successful expansions and yeah, sometimes it does make sense, but like oftentimes for the first, like five years, you probably shouldn't have any more products because it takes a long time to gain distribution and you have to double down.

18:04And especially if you're launching like flavor extensions, right? So say you start with two or three SKUs and then you roll out another SKU and another SKU, it can take several years for one SKU to gain distribution in all of your current accounts, right? So say you have two, 3000 doors with three SKUs, and then you roll out another one. It's not just like you launch that and like, boom, all of a sudden that fourth skew is just on shelf everywhere. Like it doesn't, it can take a year to get everything everywhere. Right. So like imagine if you're launching multiple skews and like, you know, so oftentimes you need to really just stay super, super laser focused.

18:45Danielle Calabrese:And I would say also of the brands that are expanding into multiple categories. The brands that are able to do that have owned and dominated one category. Now they're moving into a next category, right? And that the people know of their brand and able to follow along to where they are in all the other categories and not just doing that right off the that. Exactly. Yeah. Um, any other trends? I know obviously fiber and protein, but fiber and protein. Yeah. I don't think they're going anywhere. They're not. Um, you know, our, our other shared client, Leah, she went to a spins. There was a spins workshop about protein and they presented all of, we were talking about it when I, when I chatted with her a couple of days ago and they were talking, the whole presentation was about, well, there was, sorry, there was a couple of slides about dairy versus plant.

19:58Danielle Calabrese:Oh, interesting. Okay. Tell me more. So plant-based is declining. Yes, we know that. I'm not surprised at all. And dairy is gaining more traction. Clean sources are crucial. and there was a big question about if, you know, like is protein here to stay? Like, is it a trend? And like the data just shows like protein's not going, yes, it's on fire and it's booming. And it's like, you know, there's a lot of innovation happening, but it's, it's more than a trend. It's actually here to stay. Um, and essentially like, yeah, this, this whole presentation was all just about like dairy versus plant and like why protein is isn't going anywhere.

20:52Danielle Calabrese:I think that's a really fair point. And I think, you know, I was vegan for 15 years. So and I was very much in the vegan world. I think that it had a really exciting moment, but it really could feel like this is the you have to go vegan in all aspects of your life or maybe you don't have a food allergy or you don't have a sensitivity and there isn't like other reasons why and find people then finding other sources of protein and fiber and kind of having like a mix of both that it's not an all or nothing though I think like dairy is still like people are sensitive to dairy So I still think like nut milks will have a moment because there's an actual dietary need where.

21:41Well, but we've. Yeah. But the A2 thing though, right?

21:46Danielle Calabrese:Which is really exciting as someone who is lactose intolerant and really sensitive. A2, I'm able to tolerate. And I didn't even realize that until like the last year. So that's why these like subcategories of like really high quality dairy are leading the charge on the growth. And that's where the innovation is coming from, which I think is great and encouraging because, yeah. Yeah. And you know what else is interesting is there's a couple plant-based companies that are diversifying into dairy, um, plant-based protein. Um, yeah, recently I've, I've been looking at, um, a couple of these and of course right now I'm blanking on the names.

22:37Danielle Calabrese:But did you see beyond meat now is doing a protein drink? Yeah, I did. Yeah. I didn't, I didn't get to that booth. yeah a part of me like I feel like I just need to try it just to say I tried it but I think that is like also innovating and just today I interviewed the co-founder of Actual Veggies who was at Expo and she was saying that Whole Foods really liked the fact that her veggie burgers was using real veggies that it wasn't trying to be a mock meat fake meat yep and that actually made them stand out and get doors. So I think we're going to see like the pendulum swing, like a lot of the vegan products were trying to be something else.

23:19Danielle Calabrese:And I think we're kind of swinging back of like, no, you could just eat vegetables and like, that's cool. That's great. Yes. I mean, clean label, clean label is important now more than ever. And thank God, thank God, honestly, because just, I don't know, like, look, there's always going to be those products out there that have, you know, probably too many ingredients, but clean label is just, I feel like it's just so crucial and like clean sources of protein, right? Yes. And real foods. I think that also more than anything of just like real food that you can identify and you know, people are trusting that more than say something that feels like it was made in a lab.

24:09Yeah, exactly.

24:11Danielle Calabrese:One other thing that I wanted to touch upon with real food that I think was a really good segue is the growth of frozen. And we all we both have a shared we have a shared client Nita that is flash frozen aromatics that's going to be coming to the market and walking the floor and seeing the innovation in Frozen, I got even more excited for her because I think that Frozen is also benefiting from people wanting to buy real foods and learn the consumer education of like, actually, you can lock in a lot of nutrients and not need to add preservatives because it is frozen. So I love Frozen. I shop in the Frozen aisle like crazy for that reason.

24:58Specifically, the technology is amazing what we can do with just freezing food and how you can preserve the freshness. Um, I cook with a lot of frozen food. Like I like frozen produce specifically. Um, and I always have it stocked and I'm so happy that, and, and also just like meals, like ready to eat, like high quality meals from like different cultures to like so many amazing Indian food brands.

25:31Danielle Calabrese:I was going to say Indian food is definitely coming into the mainstream as it should. Uh, truly Indian, I thought was really great. Um, beautiful branding, uh, there, but yeah, I agree. I think that we're seeing it become more mainstream to have frozen meals, but again, clean ingredients, better for you. Yeah. And we don't have to add stuff to it. All we have to do is freeze it. Right. That's why frozen is amazing because there's, we don't have to add if, you know, if you're trying to do a shelf stable product, that's when the ingredient panel gets weird. Right. Yeah. That's when things get weird when, you know, you're trying to put something that's normally a fresh, you know, cooked product.

26:19You're trying to get it to live on a shelf for a year or six months or something. Right. That's when you have to do weird things to it. But if you're freezing it, there still is a lot of challenges though with having a frozen company. You know what I mean? A lot of distribution challenges. It's not easy.

26:37Danielle Calabrese:No. One other thing that the co-founder Haley said from Actual Veggies, that with so many more people shopping their grocery delivery style, like in Instacart, Fresh Direct, that driving traffic to the frozen section is not as hard anymore because they're already looking for products. So if it's in the frozen or not, they're still looking for it in the same platform. And that was a light bulb moment when she said that. I'm like, oh, that totally makes sense. And also probably why we're seeing more innovation is that the friction is decreasing with more people shopping for their groceries online.