Expo West 2026: Protein Dominates, But Flavor Decides

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0:51Hello, friends, and thanks for tuning in to Taste Radio, the number one podcast for anyone building a business in food or beverage. I'm Ray Lateef, the editor and producer of Taste Radio, and I'm with my co-hosts, John Craven, Melissa Travers, and Mike Schneider. We're in Anaheim, California, wrapping up or close to wrapping up, Expo West 2026. And I, for one, am beat. I'm exhausted. Yeah. So many steps. Yeah. I mean, I don't use the Oura Ring or the Apple Watch or all of the other stuff. Because that stuff goes straight to the government. Okay. So, you know, you add all that information. You don't want to share that.

1:30As you wear your tinfoil hat, I get it. Yeah. I feel like I might have done 60 ,000, 70 ,000 steps in the last couple days. Suspect. My dogs are barking. Yeah. My dogs are barking. Melissa, welcome back to the show. Thanks. Permanent co-host of Taste Radio. I am really excited that you've joined the podcast on a permanent basis. And I know you're excited to be back on the show. And now you have double duties, though, because you are the non-base podcast host. And you are a co-host of Taste Radio. So you've got a lot going on. I've got a lot going on. Yeah, I'm so excited to be joining all of you as a permanent co-host of Taste Radio.

2:07I think I said at some point I was just going to keep showing up, I guess. I guess it worked. I'll just keep coming to the studio, see if they'll have me. That's all it takes. Just keep talking. Yeah, as I mentioned, we're here in Anaheim for Expo West 2026. And I think as expected, the show was as big as ever. You know, and I think that the themes that we thought we were going to see pretty much came to fruition or came true for the most part. As we expected, protein is everywhere. It's in everything. I don't necessarily know if I saw as much fiber as I thought we would see or added fiber into, you know, traditional products and traditional snacks and beverages.

2:48But, you know, let's start with protein because that's at the tip of everyone's tongue. You know, from my perspective, I think it was a little bit of overload with certain categories. You know, there are certain categories where I'm like, this really doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Like, for example, I saw protein rice where, you know, I get that this is something where you could add protein. I don't know if consumers are looking for it as much. Whereas I think in snacking, it does make a lot more sense. You know, I sat down with the CEO and co-founder of Cloud, which makes a protein popcorn.

3:24And clearly there's a lot of demand for that. And I think brands are following that lead and adding protein to potato chips, adding protein to pretzels, adding protein wherever people snack. I mean, even Cloud's a good example of like you're not eating popcorn to get protein or any sort of sustenance. And, you know, I think we're just seeing, I mean, clearly every category try it out. And I'm not really sure that anyone knows which categories and which product types that don't naturally have protein are going to accept this as like an add-on or functional component to it. But I think it's also one that is pretty awesome in that like there's really no education required for it, you know.

4:10I mean, I think of the days of CBD where like, you know, you ask three people what CBD is, you get three different explanations that don't make sense. and this is like straightforward like no one hasn't heard of it you can just say how many grams there are it's kind of like well established so I like the fact that like this function that's being kind of added to new types of products is one that is again familiar and understood in terms of what it does that may be true but again the reason for being for me might be a little bit further in the future than it is today. So Jeff Rubenstein brought up the fact that there are reports that up to 25 % of all Americans will be using GLP-1 drugs in the near future.

4:59Okay, I get that. And as we know, people on those drugs are counting every gram of protein. They need a certain amount of protein with all their meals. So maybe in that sense, a protein mashed potatoes or a protein rice, that might make sense. But at this point, I know it's easily understood by most folks, but I don't know if they easily understand why it's in a particular product. I think they understand that it like fills you up at a basic level too, you know, like it's something that if you take popcorn, it's salty. Like you could eat an infinite amount of popcorn, right? And like, you could still be hungry like 20 minutes later.

5:36But here's the problem. I mean, taste, people taste when added protein is not great when you get some of that grittiness, especially in beverages. But I think also it has to work in the traditional snacks. There has to be no compromise. And I think, Melissa, I was talking to you about this, you know, before we hopped in the mics. I think everyone was coming up to me at the show and saying, what's great? What's this? What's that? And I just said, look, anything that I really loved, I love the taste of. Yeah, absolutely. I absolutely do think that people are tracking their macros and keeping track of things like fiber and protein.

6:09And, you know, eight grams here, 10 grams there actually does really add up. I picked up this product jam pack. I saw that. Yeah. Yeah. The taste I think is fabulous. It's I have the blueberry here. It's eight grams of protein and it comes from collagen. It's super low sugar. It has some fiber in it. And I think this does make a dent in any numbers that you're tracking, but it also tastes great. And the fact that they're using collagen for jam makes perfect sense. That is an interesting point that you're bringing up here, though, that that's collagen protein, which has a different function than, say, whey protein or something like pea protein.

6:46It's a whole different thing. So if there is any education, like the collagen versus whey or any other kinds of pea protein that you're using is the only education hurdle. There's also slower release proteins out there too. And so we're just hearing the word protein being thrown around a lot. And collagen is kind of jumping into that too, even though it has different benefits. I think of collagen as having two main functions. One is protein and one is, you know, joint health, inflammation, that kind of thing. So hair and skin, hair, skin, nails. Yeah. So I feel like, I don't know, I think as a source of protein, I think collagen is really interesting because it serves two main benefits.

7:30I think the thing about collagen, though, is what's the daily amount of collagen that you're supposed to have and how much of that should count toward your protein macros for the day? This is your venturing in the territory where brands who are thinking about this, I think those are the ones that all have a challenge. You know, like what I was saying before about protein, what's great about it is like you don't have to explain it. right you know whereas if you have again certain other functional ingredients that require real explanation of what it does how much you need etc you know if you're starting to go into like collagen or different types of protein like i don't know i feel like most of the products that we saw were just whey protein from a flavor perspective i think is dramatically improved in the past 10 years i mean especially like beverage it's really hard to hide and it had that kind of tart, sour, like gross flavor for a while.

8:25And I don't know, I feel like the beverages that I tried with it were like, really good. Yeah, we tried Lumen, we tried Sky Pop, we tried a few more as well. And they, they all tasted like they still tasted like soda or whatever they were supposed to taste like they still tasted like that. And you could get some, you know, hints that protein was in it. But for the most part, yeah, the taste was good. One product that we didn't get to try at the show that no one got to try at the show was David's new ice cream, which is loaded with protein. There was a billboard truck going up and down the street on West Catella, which is the street right in front of the Anaheim Convention Center.

9:03There were trucks. There were trucks, right? Multiple trucks. There were. We proved that because we were stuck in traffic in more than one pass. I mean, unless they have a rocket truck. Okay. They had multiple trucks. I thought it was just going back and forth and doing U-turns the entire time. I think there were three that were making a little bit. Yeah, so David did not have an actual presence at the show, but they were certainly felt or their presence was felt at the show. So David is the brand of protein bars launched by RX Bar founder, Peter Rahal. And so these trucks were teasing the launch of David Protein, where they showed a picture of the pint.

9:38And it says where our ice cream comes from. And it lists 30 grams of protein, 260 calories and two grams of sugar. And I think... Did you notice the like roided out cow that was on the side of the truck? Oh, is that why? Okay, that's why it says where our protein comes from. Okay. I think the proof is going to be in the pudding in terms of whether or not that's a success because there's already been brands that have had protein-infused ice cream. And one in particular that I'm thinking of that actually has a fantastic product in terms of taste and flavor, and that's Protein Pints. That's a brand that...

10:14No mistaking what it is, right? No, that's a brand that's doing really, really well. I interviewed the founders yesterday. They went from 14 retail doors to over 10 ,000 in one year. And we talked about how it was really about protein as a differentiator, but it was flavor as the foundation of what they were doing. I tried their cookies and ice cream variety, and it was just amazing. If you put their cookies and cream variety next to a Haagen-Dazs, next to a Ben & Jerry's, next to a Van Leeuwen. You'd be like, this is amazing. This is like any one of those. It was so delicious. You just compared it to Van Leeuwen.

10:49That's huge. Yeah, that's big. It was a really, really great tasting product. And so I keep going back to compromise. There was no compromise with this product. So the fact that there was added protein was fantastic. Great. You want to get a little bit of extra macros or extra protein in your diet, fantastic. But I would never buy that product unless it tasted as good as it does. Again, going back to fiber, however, And Melissa, we have the fiber expert here. I love it. I love that. You've become the fiber expert. Yes. Melissa Shett, as it were, you know. Right. Thank you very much. You were in that episode.

11:23Nope. You missed that one. An excellent introduction. Without context, that's weird. Yeah, you missed it. Okay. Go back and listen to old episodes so you can get that reference. So, yeah, I just didn't see a lot of brands promoting fiber as much as I thought I would. I saw a lot of brands calling out fiber almost always alongside protein. But for the most part, it was fiber that the brand already had in the product. It wasn't something that they had added. So, for example, Manitoba Harvest was calling out the number of grams of protein on their signage. I don't remember them doing that before.

11:53They didn't change anything. They're just talking about it now. Yeah, and I think that's the thing that I was a little surprised by. Because, again, with all the call-outs, you know, the PepsiCo CEO saying, you know, fiber is the new protein. I would have thought that the innovation cycle for brands getting into that space would have been a lot faster. Maybe we're going to see that in the second half of 2026. Maybe we're going to see that fiber wave come. But at this point, it just wasn't as present at Expo West as I thought it might be. I think, I don't know, fiber is the next protein. It's just, I don't believe it.

12:25That's what, I'm just quoting the CEO of PepsiCo. That's just me. What does he know? What does he know indeed? Yes. I hope he's listening. Make new Frito flavors. I don't know. No, but I mean, I just don't think the education, and I say this to some extent from all of the prebiotic sodas that had, you know, fiber disclosed on the nutrition facts panel, where I just don't think a typical consumer has a real guidance or, you know, again, it's not the same as protein, where like, you kind of know what is a lot or substantial protein. Do you? I think so. How much is the substantial? Well, but I'm saying the differences are like, you know, 15 grams, a five versus 20.

13:09You know, I mean, I don't know, a steak like that's got what? Well, five isn't very much. We know that. No, but I'm just saying like there is a point of reference in like 30 real normal food that I don't think for fiber has been properly like quantified. quantified. And my point is really that I think there is a pretty significant education hurdle that I just don't think is like, you know, later this year, we're going to solve that. Yeah, I don't mean solve. I mean, just see more of or see more brands getting into or promoting added fiber. And again, I would just caution that because I think it is, unlike protein, going to require any brand that does that to stand there and explain to the consumer how much fiber do they need and so on and so did you go to the the belly welly booth they had an interesting way to talk about five i did see it i saw i think i saw that in your instagram yeah and that's i mean i i'd love that they're doing that but i don't think that's like for me it wasn't enough people like their their counter to talk about how many hot girls had pooped today it was only like in the hundred thousand and i felt bad for the millions who actually did to be clear that's Or I hoped it did.

14:22To be clear to our listeners, like, that was their whole shtick. Yeah, that was their whole shtick. It was a hilarious shtick. It was some sort of a clicker a la, like, the National Debt. Yeah, it was like the National Debt clicker, but it didn't increment, so it only stopped at 120 ,000-something women who, like, scared. I mean, even what you're talking about is not, it's not an appetizing thing, right? No, of course not. Just be blunt. No, it's not. But protein you can talk about all day, even though, fine, You're talking about maybe a dead piece of animal flesh. But it's just not the same. But it is hilarious.

14:56It's hilarious. It is hilarious. But not everyone can do that. Right. Other people copy that. Then it's not. It doesn't work anymore. I think the same people who are tracking their protein on their apps or, you know, wherever it is, they're also tracking their fiber there. So I do think that that's something that people are looking at. And I also think that folks who are on GLP-1s and that whole wave will be affected. I mean, there are issues that come up that need to be solved. So I think that'll be an opportunity for fiber as well. Yeah, and you touched on prebiotic sodas, John. And we're still seeing a few brands enter that space a little bit later than probably they should have gotten into that space.

15:38But with the sale of Poppy, I think certainly there's still a lot of excitement around the potential for prebiotic and probiotic drinks. Ever feel like your inventory's running the show? Belay Financial helps you take back control so you can see profits clearly and grow with confidence. Text TASTE to 55123 for your free inventory playbook download. Cold brew is booming and functional RTDs are leading the charge. Download From Formulation to Final Sip, a free guide from Vibrant Ingredients and BevNet, where you'll learn how to build scalable, flavor-forward cold brew beverages with protein, L-theanine, and clean caffeine.

16:22Grab your copy now at Tasteradio.com slash cold brew. What I saw that was really interesting, and I don't know how far this is going to go, but when I was at the Snackshot event on Tuesday evening, and Snackshot, of course, is an amazing food and beverage sort of media tracking platform launched by Andrea Hernandez. and they had this just amazing... It's a cult. Yes, they had this... Or self-described, yeah. They had this sort of amazing pre-expo party on Tuesday and they had all these different brands. I wouldn't say exhibiting, but like just sort of there to promote and talk about their brands.

16:59One of which was a brand called Pop Sips, P-O-P-S-I-P-S. And it's a maker of spiked prebiotic sodas. And I had some and it tastes like a soda. and you can taste some of the alcohol as well and it has great branding it's really beautiful branding i'll show you guys i mean it just looks like a really polished trendy package for this brand but i question myself i'm like okay am i gonna have this you know on a regular basis am i going to like drink this like you know once in a while is this are people asking for products like this. And I think, you know, the blurring of the lines that we've seen beverage in particular, I almost feel like we've kind of hit that peak.

17:46I don't know that we need a product like this, no stain on what they're doing. And I hope they do really, really well. But, you know, I almost feel like we can go a little too far with these blurring of lines. I feel like if we're going to talk about spiked prebiotic sodas, we should talk about spiked probiotic sodas. Did you guys stop by the Fermenteria booth? Jade Shepard. I love what she does so much. So she has her spiked probiotic soda. She has the non-alc and then she launched the shots at the show. The shots, yes. The spicy pickle. With like bajillions of probiotics. A billion probiotics, really tasty.

18:24And I don't know, that's something that I would drink on a regular basis. I feel like - That stuff is tasty. Yeah, it tastes good and I feel like it's probably good for me. Do you mean the shots or do you mean the Spiked probiotic sodas? I would drink any and all of those. I would drink the shots. Yeah, I guess I'm still trying to figure out who it's for. And clearly it's not for me. You know, I think, you know, certainly it feels like it's for a younger consumer that appreciates a sweeter soda-like experience as an alcoholic beverage. But yeah, it just doesn't, I don't think it speaks to, you know, my generation.

18:56And maybe that's why it'll work, you know? I think if it is like a healthier, maybe more interesting high noon, you know? Yeah. I just wonder how many people are going to be like, okay, this is slightly better for me in that it has a functional benefit. So I'll feel more comfortable drinking this beverage alcohol brand or product versus something else. Fermentation and alcohol go hand in hand. So maybe this can work. But, but that said, like, I think just the packaging of it and the way that it's being marketed is a little on this, I guess, the strange side because they're not just, you know, they're marketing it through the fermentaria name versus just saying, hey, this is a great alcoholic beverage you can try.

19:39I mean, it's also like a really fine line in that you just can't make healthy claims on alcoholic beverages. Right. But maybe just the word prebiotic or probiotic sort of, in some minds, equates to health floor better for you. So, you know, they're saying it without saying it. Yeah, yeah. Absolutely be careful. Do not take that as an endorsement that you should do that. No, no. I mean, I think that companies doing that need to be very careful. Yeah. I mean, that will invite various sorts of legal trouble. For sure. For sure. I mean, I saw a bunch of other really great things at the Snackshot event.

20:17If you follow me on Instagram, BevTrade with a Y, you may have seen them. One thing that really popped out was, let's talk about protein, was a crunchy jerky chip brand called Beast. B-E-E-S-T. Described as crunchy, clean, and high protein. They have a smoked original that I thought was great. We've seen a product like this in the past. Did that compare to Ye's? I'm sorry? Would you compare that to Ye's? Exactly. Ye's, Y-A-Y apostrophe S. I think this is a similar type of product. Cool. We've seen lots of jerky brands come to market, jerky sticks or meat sticks, things like that. But the crispy jerky, I think that's, I think it's, you know, it might be the next, next great thing that's going to happen.

20:57I can't stop. If I get it, if I get a package of Ye's, it'll be gone. Yeah. It's so good. Is it thicker than like a biltong? No, it's somewhere. It's like thinner. It's almost a consistency of like a chip or tortilla chip, something like that. It's a little bit crispier. But it's meat. And it's also a little bit chewier as well. So yeah. Did you all get to the Startup CPG Alley rally? We did. Yes. Yeah. That was, it was pretty eyeopening. I mean, there were a ton of brands that were there and it almost felt like this was, these were these brands that were going to be at Expo next year. Or in a few years.

21:31Yeah. Or in a few years for sure. Very, very early stage, really interesting concepts, very cutting edge and perhaps ahead of their time concepts there. Mike, you seem to have talked to every single brand based on your Instagram. I tried to. Anything really stand out to you? I liked the Tezza strawberry yogurt. It's 12 grams of protein. It was actually made with soy. It's a soy yogurt. How is it spelled? T-E-Z-Z-A. Yep. Very good stuff. That one had little bits of strawberry too in them, which was amazing. I love that texture. I mean, I like soy anyway, and I'm glad to see that soy is making a comeback.

22:14The founder was giving me the story of soy, and apparently we use a lot more soy to feed animals than humans. And we're both really happy to see it becoming popular again. Did you try the Bitter Love? I have tried that in the past, but I didn't try it at the event. I love that brand. Great beverage. My first beef tallow chip was called Tips. Your first of many. Yeah, my first of very many. It was really great to see our friends from the UK, Mother Root there. Did you see them? Yes, I did, actually. They said they saw you right before me, so I knew. Yeah, that's right. Yeah, it was so good to see them.

22:53They're super excited about launching in the United States. And they do have such a special product for folks who are looking for an alternative to drinking. It's honey, something a little spicy, apple cider vinegar. Yeah, really tasty stuff. It's really tasty, and it comes in a very special bottle, too. And, I mean, it's just a premium product. It's really cool. Did you try Osaya, which is a non-alc adult drinking occasion without, like, the most functional thing in it, I think, was ginseng. But the flavors were really thoughtful. Yeah, OSIA, delicious product. Comes in a slim 12-ounce can. And I tried their Bliss Spritz with raspberry, yuzu, and pineapple.

23:40That was amazing. Really great tasting products. And definitely felt like you were getting the experience of a cocktail, albeit a carbonated one, without, again, going back to that word I love to use, compromise. It was great. Yeah. Dime MSG was really great. They gave you a dime bag. Don't skip over that. This is a brand that is bringing MSG back and saying it's okay to eat it. It's MS Genius. I love it. I mean, I love any brand that wants to give us more MSG. It's like, it's just one of the most amazing flavors there is. It's delicious. Yeah. Mike, did you get to try Black Beverly Hills Seamoss Lemonade?

24:15Yes. China, the founder, we met him at BevNet Live, and it was good to see him like doing his thing and finally get to try his product. Yeah. He's going to join us for an episode of Elevator Talk in a couple of weeks. Oh, thank you. Yeah. Excited about that. That's awesome. Yeah, I mean, this is a brand of lemonades that incorporates sea moss at a reasonable price point for, you know, considering how expensive sea moss is. It was$7.99 for, I believe it's a 15-ounce bottle. Let me just double check on that. 12-ounce bottle, excuse me. But it's also loaded with ginger and other kinds of really high-quality ingredients.

24:47So I really like what they're doing. I do, too. I also really enjoyed Oh My Dessert Butter. Did you try that? I did not. So decadent. Got to talk to the founders for a couple minutes. And, oh, one thing that I really liked was Sleep Pops, which are kind of like, remember push-ups? They give you like the creamsicle. Yeah, of course I remember push-ups. They taste like a better for you push-up. So good. There's Chara, which was like a Greek frozen yogurt, very tart, but also a little sweet. Amazing. A brand called Benny Bites that uses Japanese sweet potatoes to make a bar that was... oh so good oh simium oh i'm butchering it but it means oh this is good in french and uh the raspberry french cake was so good and so moist i mean there was just so many good brands kia's was there and hidden somewhere apparently i didn't know like there must have been some vip room with royal guards and and a throne that i didn't i didn't see goto it's a brand of uh dates I believe they're filled with a flavoring.

25:53The one that I have is filled with a pistachio cream. Come on. Really? Look at my belly. Yeah, I'm going to throw this one to Melissa because she's awesome. There you go. I can't believe I had it. Well done. Well done. Well done. Oh, I thought you were going to try and steal it. I got it. Mike's trying to steal the gut there. Don't do that. I stole it with a fist bump. Yes. I gave it back. Maybe you should do that now. It's like a ball for who decides who's going to talk next. So like Melissa gets to talk next. That's right. Melissa, I was going to point out, I was like, Mike was talking about all these indulgent, you know, from our childhood treats.

26:22And you saw some Jell-O at Expo West? I sure did. You know, I don't remember the last time I saw Jell-O at an Expo West. But this year I saw a couple of Jell-O brands, actually. And both of them spoke to the nostalgia that we probably all have for eating Jell-O as kids and how, you know, there's a whole generation that doesn't eat it. But also with the protein trend and, you know, gelatin, there is certainly a tie in there. Both brands, you know, by no surprise, were both grass fed gelatin brands. So they're targeting millennial, maybe Gen Z moms. The first brand was Lasso Jell-O, grass fed, really tasty product.