breaking down trends @ expo west 2025

+ the latest in consumer

📰Latest Consumer News:

• Pistakio launches the first-ever crunchy pistachio spread

• Liquid Death Iced Tea signs a multi-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles

• Walgreens to be acquired by Sycamore partners in a $10B deal

• Next in Natural acquires Aura Bora, a clean-ingredient sparkling water brand

• Jupiter, a scalp care brand, launches at Target

With Expo West wrapping up last week, there’s a swarm of reports and posts sharing trends, successful brand activations, founder stories, and so much more. Expo West isn’t just a playground for the consumer-obsessed (like me) — it’s a buzzing, sensory-packed experience where brands test their product in front of curious shoppers, seasoned investors, and retail giants. Despite consistent challenges with building in consumers, this event is a front seat to the wealth of bold ideas and breakout innovation in this space. Disclaimer, this post is focused on the food & beverage side of CPG as that is a majority of products that end up at Expo West!

One day, I’ll make it out there🤞🏽 but for now, here’s what I’m reading on where consumer is headed.

LinkedIn looked a little wild

1. More brands are emerging with a planet-forward, climate-conscious thesis

The Nexty Awards highlight select brands from the thousands that attend Expo West. The main categories that are centered around environmental sustainability are planet-forward product, certified regenerative product, and sustainable supplement.

• Brands like HoldOn and Bim Bam Boo are using compostable materials for everyday products, such as packaging and toilet paper. A 2024 PwC report found that consumers are willing to pay 9.7% more for sustainably produced or sustainably sourced products.

• Maeve (formerly Seattle Chocolate Company), Alec’s Ice Cream, and Lundberg Family Farms are just a few examples of brands using sustainable or regenerative farming practices to ensure their sourcing techniques protect the planet. Now, more than ever, certifications are critical and must be audited regularly, as some brands that have promoted its sustainable practices have been under allegations of unethical practices (take a look at this Vital Farms article)

2. Global flavors are proliferating the CPG scene

Global influence is penetrating every snack category, bringing disruptive flavors to somewhat stagnant markets. Asian flavors, in particular, are seeing more attention among US consumers.

• Prepared frozen products are now seeing House of Kajaana’s Cauliflower Tikka Masala, pi00a’s Miso Eggplant Pizza, and Saffron Road’s Tteokbokki. This is driven by the additional 25.6 billion at-home eating occasions since pre-pandemic and a 24% higher chance of Gen Z purchasing globally-inspired products.

  

• Ever since Bachan became Amazon’s most popular barbeque sauce, more brands have been entering the sauce and dips scene with an authentic twist.

  • Notable examples include Ithaca hummus, Maazah’s Lentil Dip, ¡Ya Oaxaca!’s salsas

  • As global flavors saturate the broader condiments market, incumbents are trying to keep up:

    • Kraft Heinz just launched three new flavors: Mexican-inspired Street Corn, Korean-inspired Sweet & Tangy BBQ, and Thai-inspired Sweet Chili

    • Terrapin Ridge Farms also launches new global condiment flavors, some of which are Blue Cheese Stuffed Olive Dip, Thai Chili Guava Jam, and Harissa Aioli Squeez

      

• The salty snack category is also ripe for disruption with global flavors. At Expo West, products like SuperWow’s Miso Sweet Veggie Puffed Chips and Gheelish’s Organic Popcorn are shaping the way we use global influence not just for better flavor but also for healthier ingredients.

3. Unexpectedly, protein is in everything now

Now, regardless of the meal occasion, consumers are choosing a protein-forward option. This means protein is entering snack and dessert categories, like chips and cookies, and traditional protein-centric categories are using better ingredients at a favorable price point. Chomps has been a leading brand in permanently shifting how consumers snack. In 2024, Chomps was halfway to hitting $1B in sales.

No need to spend more time on this one, we knew protein was coming in full force this year.

4. BFY soda breaking into new “health” directions

My next blog post is an entire deep dive on the beverage landscape, but Expo West didn’t fail to show that BFY soda is going in several directions.

• Brainwater is “fortified with vitamins and nutrients for your brain health”

• Slice and Popwell are pushing on prebiotic sodas, despite heavy competition with Olipop and Poppi

• Caliwater, co-founded by Vanessa Hudgens, built a brand around hydration and wellness using pricky pear cactus water

• Melting Forest uses functional mushrooms to provide a non-alcoholic mocktail beverage

It worries me that this market is getting so fragmented that consumers will be confused on which emerging products to buy and may just settle for brands that already have a winning stake in the market. These brands need to have a clear advantage over others to create a compelling enough case that will draw consumers in.

4. Caffeine goes beyond beverage

Canned coffee is surging, with Laurel and Chameleon Coffee having the most jaw-dropping branding. At the end of the day, consumers LOVE drinks in a can. But caffeine spans further than silly little drinks. Caffeine is entering staple snacks, like bars and chocolate.

With about 85% of adults consume 135 milligrams of caffeine daily, it’s surprising that it’s taken this long for us to create other ways of consuming caffeine. Other functional ingredients, such as I-theanine and ashwaganda have been claiming space on packaging by serving as “energy” buzzwords to replace the somewhat negative connotation “caffeine” can sometimes have.

I think we’ll definitely start seeing more caffeine options beyond beverages stocked up in office pantries and college snack areas.

5. Other eye-catching brands and trends to keep an eye on

• Anti-sugar is so “in” right now, and I’ve been loving the replacement of refined sugar to dates and raw honey in products. I can definitely count on a brand’s healthy ingredient ethos if they have made this swap!

• Plant-based is still expanding into some crazy offerings - just saw caviar made from chia seeds…

• Oats have always been a controversial topic, so ChiChi has created oatmeal made out of chickpeas.

• Pickle and dill-flavored products continue to thrive

🛍️Things I’ve been loving:

switching this up a bit, but I was in India for the past week so here are the things I love and miss about it:

• The Whole Truth chocolate bars with cacao and dates as the main ingredients

• quality and affordability of the spa

• hotel breakfasts are immaculate - still reminiscing the fresh idlis and chutney

• coconut water straight from the coconut

• you can order just about anything off Zomato and get it delivered within minutes

  ( we ordered a nail clipper and it was <$5 to get delivered)

Thanks for reading,

Sanjana