03/17/2024
10 lessons from Natural Products Expo West:
1. SIZE & SCOPE: With >3,300 exhibitors and >70k attendees, NPEW is the place to meet the 'better for you' ecosystem i.e. natural, organic & conscious products; from CPG to retail to suppliers and players along the fragmented yet fuzzy value chain. This includes big, small and young companies.
2. ALTERNATIVE PROTEINS: With over 120 exhibitors, the field is here to stay.
3. DEFINITIONS do not exist i.e. natural, organic, health-conscious, alternative proteins etc. all have a wide range. It's great to see many who enter this buzz. Yet, consumers may be confused as to who are the top / strict players in the field.
4. THE SWEET toothache: Sweetening is an issue. 'Sugar' or 'artificial sweeteners' seem like a curse. There are many shades to color the shame: from organic cane sugar or 'lagave syrup to using juice as the sweetener ...to using natural sweeteners e.g. a mixing stevia and monk fruit, which often affects flavor. Many admit that some hate the taste (poor supertasters like myself) while for most the taste is fine. There is a huge need for solutions like of Amai Proteins which will soon hit the market.
5. LEVEL OF PRESENTERS: Some brought their top brass while others had paid stewards who didn't know much about the company they represented and were more a place to show.
6. FOCUSING HOMEWORK: We identified the most relevant companies and touched base ahead of the event. Without this you are surely to miss some of the most promising connections you want to make.
7. WALKING THE FLOOR: While going to pre-defined exhibitors is essential for business, you learn so much from walking the floor; from vibes and trends to hidden gems that were missed in the focusing homework.
8. OPENNESS TO PARTNERSHIPS: When talking with potential partners about our upcoming tasty, healthy, sustainable and cost-efficient sweetener, some wanted to learn and made sure we speak (and give samples) to the decision makers. Others were business card collectors / badge scanners. Others were interested in future trends but were at a stage where they didn't want to change their current product.
9. IMPACT FOCUS: Surprisingly, the environmental focus (17 UN SDGs) were largely missing. I expected more on . Seems like the US is behind the EU.
10. WHEN TO REGISTER?: We thought we registered in advance, but hotels were fully booked (... in outrageous prices) i.e. we had Ubered ...which is usually not an issue ...except end of day traffic jams.
See you next time with a bigger team ...and a product in the market.