Expo West 2026 to showcase natural snack and bakery selections
While Natural Products Expo West covers all industries, food is a key innovation category.
Are better-for-you, sustainable, naturally formulated products on your mind these days? If so, you’re not alone—in fact, during the 2026 edition of the Natural Products Expo West conference in Anaheim March 4‒6, you can expect to rub elbows with about 59,999 other like-minded professionals, all gathered in search of such products. While bakery and snack products will be on display, the entire convention center will be packed corner to corner with beverage exhibits, household good sessions, supplement insights, and the latest offerings from firms across the entire CPG spectrum.
Education and events
It might be easier to enumerate who won’t be there in terms of pros interested in the BFY and natural products field. Show organizers have been at it for about 40 years, providing organizations offering new products, retail solutions, and market insights a place to gather and share their wisdom. Speaker sessions, exhibits, special pavilions, and other show features offer attendees a wealth of opportunities to network and learn.
Photo: Bryan Beasley PhotographyBecause show organizers have a great deal to cram into the agenda, programming begins March 3, a day before the official Expo West opening. Highlights include:
- CPG Innovation Summit, March 3: This day-long gathering (new to the 2026 event agenda) invites brand teams, investors, service providers, and others to collaborate on solutions in the field; the Tuesday keynote will feature leaders from Whole Foods CEO Jason Buechel and food justice advocate Mark Bittman.
- Fresh Ideas Organic Marketplace, March 3: Hosted in an invigorating outdoor setting, the show collects a select group of organic product innovators in an exhibit floor designed to mimic the open-air environment of a farmer’s market.
- State of Organic, March 4: This 90-minute session will share the latest developments in organic products, presented by a trio of experts from the Organic Trade Association; the presenters will offer insights from the group’s recent Organic Market Report.
- The Disruptive Era of Snacking, March 4: This hour-long session will cover the disruptive consumer and cultural changes impacting the field, including e-commerce evolutions, supply chain challenges, rise in GLP-1 use, and more. The panel is hosted by Mondelēz International’s SnackFutures Ventures.
- Keynote by Gary Vaynerchuk, March 5: With an estimated 50 million followers across the various social media platforms, Vaynerchuk is one of the most listened-to experts in business and marketing. During this address, he will share his thoughts on the forces at play in the natural products industry, offer a glimpse at what might lie ahead, and his lifelong ambition to own the New York Jets.
- Keynote by Dr. Jessica Knurick, March 6: The amount of misinformation about food, health, ingredients, and other aspects of the industry might seem to be flying around faster and more furiously than ever. Knurick centers her work on breaking down some of those myths, helping people better understand food science and policy, and empower people across the industry to more firmly grasp such information (and communicate it to their consumers).
Photo: Bryan Beasley PhotographyExhibits aplenty
As is often the case with shows that have a significant focus on food innovation, Expo West offers so many opportunities to sample morsels of products that attendees might not need to worry about putting meals on their expense reports. Both inside the exhibit halls and just beyond the convention center doors, hundreds of exhibitors will be ready to offer bites of their products, and morsels of insights about their wares. Additionally, suppliers that offer solutions for snack, bakery, candy, and other producers are slated to showcase their solutions.
Exhibitors scheduled to present at Expo West 2026 include:
- Abe’s Vegan Muffins
- Archer
- Barilla/Wasa
- Bauducco
- Bay State Milling
- Belgian Boys
- Biena Snacks
- Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods
- California Walnut Board
- Cargill
- Catalina Crunch
- Chomps
- Day Out Snacks
- Food For Life
- Giant Snacks
- Gimme Seaweed
- Glanbia
- Hampton Farms
- Hippeas
- Icon Foods
- Justin’s
- Kerry
- King Arthur Baking Co.
- Kodiak Cakes
- Lindt & Sprungli Chocolate
- LK Meat Snacks
- Loacker
- Luker Chocolate
- Mason Dixie Foods
- Mondelez International
- Once Upon a Farm
- Our Home
- Palermo’s
- PepsiCo
- Popcornopolis
- Pork King Good
- Quinn Snacks
- Schwan’s Consumer Brands
- Second Nature Brands
- Simple Mills
- Skinny Dipped
- T. Hasegawa USA
- Tetra Pak
- Uglies Kettle Chips
- Unique Snacks
View the complete list of Natural Products Expo West exhibitors and booth numbers.
Awards and honors
With the focus of Expo West centered around retail products in bakery, snack, candy, beverage, and other CPG arenas, a product innovation competition seems natural. The NEXTY Awards, an annual program produced by show organizers, are designed to shine a spotlight on innovative, inspirational, and integrity-driven natural products; categories cover the whole gamut of the natural products industry, with many created especially for food and beverage producers. In the months leading up to the announcement of finalists (scheduled this month on newhope.com), judges review the nominations and product samples to determine which new items are worthy of making it to the next stage. Next, they review the finalists to determine which will take home the top prizes in their respective categories—winners will be announced during Expo West.
Photo: Bryan Beasley PhotographySustainability often is a priority for producers, consumers, and other stakeholders, and packaging plays a crucial role in a product’s planet-friendliness. To that end, the One Step Closer (OSC) Packaging Collaborative will salute those that go above and beyond with its Packaging Innovation Awards. The program aims to give props to innovators who are addressing global concerns, setting new standards, and breaking new ground through innovative solutions. While the deadline to apply has passed, interested parties can review the grading criteria here for possible future entry.
Fun in the sun
In addition to the dynamic education and innovative exhibits on display at Expo West, the show organizers have set aside time for attendees to kick back and enjoy themselves:
- Expo West Block Party, March 3: After the day’s activities have started winding down, show organizers will be throwing a lively celebration for attendees in the plaza outside the convention center. In honor of the expo’s 45th anniversary, the party will treat guests to a night of food, networking, and other attractions, all under the 2026 theme Through the Decades.
- AHPA Herb Walk, March 3: Because food folks find learning fun and often enjoy outdoor excursions, this American Herbal Products Association event will lead participants through the 26-acre Fullerton Arboretum botanical gardens, sharing wisdom about a wide range of botanicals.
- Community Brunch, March 4: This session, taking place outside the convention center, invites Expo West attendees to connect with colleagues, clients, and other food-minded people while enjoying a morning meal, complete with coffee and beverages from sponsor Planet Oat.
- Evenings on the Plaza, March 4 and 5: Before Expo West attendees head out back to their hotels for a night of well-deserved rest, these nighttime sessions give them a chance to cap off their expo experience with a few hours of live music. Artists scheduled to perform include Blind Melon (of “No Rain” fame) and Capital Cities, best known for their 2011 hit “Safe and Sound.”
Navigate to the Expo West site for more information or to register.
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