Anyone in the natural products space knows about the Natural Products Expo produced by the New Hope Network. The "little brother" of the West Coast version, Expo East, just wrapped up in Baltimore and featured 1,500 exhibitors. That's an awful lot of healthy brands.
As passionate partners of companies in this industry, Repsly naviagted the show floor sampling the hottest new products and learning about trends and challenges facing the community. Check out what we found below:
Who We Saw:
- Forager Project shared their plant-based goodness
- Ounce Water kept us hydrated
- We sampled French goodies courtesy of Michel et Augustin
- Got our probiotic fix with KeVita
- Honey Stinger brought the (healthy) sweetness
- We drank guilt-free soda from Zevia
- We tried Shade Tree Lemonade's unique flavors
- We discoverd how delicious cacao juice is with Repurposed Pod
- We hung out with the best-dressed cow at Field Trip
- We followed our gut with Health-Ade
- Stayed caffeinated thanks to illy Caffe
- Hiball brought the energy
- Stayed fuled for the day with Bobo's Oat Bars
What Was Hot:
- The Power Hour! Repsly hosted an expert-led panel discussion and happy hour just across the street from the convention.
- The NEXTY Awards: These brands are paving the way for the future of healthy living.
- Morning CrossFit sessions drew quite a crowd.
- The "feet on the street" outside the venue. Great way to keep passerby engaged!
- The #ExpoEast hashtag kept attendees and exhibitors conected across channels.
What We Learned:
There were dozens of educational events happening on and off-site at the Expo. Here's what we found to be most interesting:
- J.C. Hanley (Co-Founder and COO of Forager Project) and Christina Korkowski (Co-Founder and COO of Ounce Water) spoke on what retail buyers are looking for in a brand and how to get your product into convenience stores at the Repsly Power Hour.
- The Natural Products Business School Pitch-Slam Competition allowed brands to get real-world experience pitching their products to experts and investors.
- Exhbitor-Led seminars and networking events created great knowledge-sharing opportunities within the community
- Seminars centered around the power of connecting with influencers
- A session on what it takes to get an official certification (organic, non-GMO, etc.)
What Should You Do Now?
With so much news, inspiration, and positive energy coming away from the conference, now is a great time to put some of those ideas into action. So stay tuned here on the Repsly blog! In the coming weeks, we'll be bringing you insight from the brands that made the biggest splash at Expo East, like Zevia, Honey Stinger, Critical Mass Group, and more! If you missed us at the show, drop us a line and connect with one of our Repsly specialists!
