Where’s all the food at? Surviving Expo West 2026

Controversial opinion: there’s no real food at Expo West.

At least, not much of it.

The show opens today in Anaheim CA, and for the hordes that attend they’ll find a plethora of protein products, a bevy of hydration beverages, and a downright avalanche of pet products more nutritious than what most (human) Americans eat on a daily basis.

Functional product startups dripping with aura will be everywhere, boasting ingredients like cordyceps, lion’s mane, creatine & ashwagandha.

And yet, attendees will likely leave the show at the end of each day hungry, with upset stomachs from all the tiny samples of a thousand different products co-mingling in their guts.

Why is that?

In an industry awash with data, there’s a real temptation to follow trends of “what’s hot” instead of what’s REAL. This can lead to a thousand new entrants into a single category, but the reality is that almost all of these new brands/launches will fail… Statistics consistently confirm that at least 90% of new CPG food brands will fail within five years.

For those who make it thru the gauntlet to survive and even thrive, there’s one thing they all have in common: Consumers want to actually CONSUME the products. (duh)

So here at Secret Ingredient, we’re constantly on the lookout for those brands that understand how people eat, and why they want to eat certain foods more than others. Data will always matter, and for good reason. 📈 But choosing winners has a ton to do with human intuition and nailing sales strategy & building solid supply chains, too.

With that in mind, here are some excellent brands you won’t want to miss this year. They’re serving REAL food at their booths, and you can grab a decent bite while learning more about why they’re on our list of top picks.

Here’s where to head this week for some genuine nourishment:

🍱 Mishima Foods (#544 in Hall A) – Mishima’s well-known in Japan for high quality products and clean, sustainable sourcing. Their miso soups are by far our faves, and their furikake line is not to be missed.

🍉 Just Ice Tea (#N115 in North Hall) – the manufacturer of our favorite bottled iced teas will have their new Watermelon Lime White Tea on sample, it’s delicious (we tried it at the KeHE Summer show).

🥛 Alexandre Family Farm (#N718 in North Hall) – the leader in U.S. regenerative dairy always gets a visit from us. Check out their soil samples pulled right from their land… 🌱🌾🌿 Those roots don’t lie.

❤️ New Barn Organics (#1504 in Hall B) Speaking of leaders in regenerative, we never miss a chance to swing by the New Barn booth at a show. Their ROC certified coconut milk is like nothing else on the market, and it’s a refreshing sip of realness at the show.

🐮 Sourmilk Yogurt (#N535 in North Hall) - Sourmilk did the impossible this year, they won a free booth at the show!! 🤯 This gut-forward yogurt company was founded by two women who want to use better milk & better cultures to improve our guts, one shopper at a time. Their yogurt can definitely help prevent the Expo stomach upset!

🍵 Dongwon (#870 in Hall A) – They’ll be sampling their bottled green tea line, which we’ve tried and they’re FABULOUS. In a sea of teas and tinctures, these organic certified green teas taste great and go down smooth. We can never get enough!

🍝 Pasta Felicia (#5450 in Hall E) – A gluten-free pasta that actually tastes good AND the products are made with cool nutrient-forward ingredients like buckwheat, spirulina and red lentils? Plus it’s certified organic and made by actual Italians. 🇮🇹 Be sure to congratulate them on their NEXTY nom while you’re there!

🌾 Wild Oats (#1205 in Hall A) – This relaunched old-school natural foods brand was launched at KeHE’s recent summer show, and everything is certified Regenerative Organic. Try their juices, we promise you won’t want to miss these.

🥟 Dumpling Daughter (#N1836 in North Hall) – While we do wish these products were organic, we can’t deny how delicious they are. Soup dumplings, chicken dumplings, pork & chive dumplings… and don’t miss their excellent apricot/orange Duck Sauce. 🍑🍊🤤 We tried these at a distributor tabletop show this year, and we almost couldn’t tear ourselves away. HIGHLY recommend for a yummy lunch bite!