Like a music festival without fans, the 4-day natural consumer products tradeshow known as Expo West rages on a formula of creative expression, gluttony, ego, and contradiction.
One year ago, I returned from my first Expo West, and my inner cynic had trouble processing the whole thing. The idea of flying to Anaheim, a mostly un-walkable city immersed in the shadows of Walt Disney, only to spend long days avoiding the natural sunshine and instead walking around indoors sampling snacks that don’t really need to exist—well, it didn’t make much sense to me, especially for an industry prided on health and wellness.
My less cynical side, on the other hand, recognized it was energizing and pretty damn fun.
The convergence of creative makers was something I hadn’t experienced since my early career as a musician. It felt reminiscent of performing at a music festival where you’d play your set and then spend the evening or weekend checking out and supporting fellow bands and artists, alongside fellow bands and artists.
Let’s face it—new snack brands don’t need to exist. In chatting with many people in the space, I was refreshed to quickly learn that most of the industry eats a pretty normal diet built upon some combination of whole foods—meat, fish, vegetables, legumes, fruits, dairy, and grains. This isn’t a group merely surviving on mushroom jerky, protein bars, and adaptogenic sparkling waters (no hate on any of those things btw).
So why make these packaged goods if they don’t need to exist? Well, because they offer an outlet for creative expression and they make the world a little more enjoyable. It’s similar to most creative outlets. We don’t necessarily need more indie rock bands, fusion restaurants, or sci-fi movies, but if they bring people joy, create jobs, and offer the creators a sense of fulfillment, then why the hell not? It also allows creators to build on and improve what already exists, giving consumers better options. Do we need another better-for-you nostalgic snack food? Of course not, but I had a long day and I damn well want a high-protein bowl of chocolate cereal.
Making it in the CPG industry is hard. Not to undermine the difficulty of coming up with a good idea that is differentiated from what already exists, but that’s the easy part. Developing a supply chain, finding investors, staffing, getting products distributed, getting them on shelf, and then oh yeah, getting consumers to actually buy them all while trying to abide by a set of principles and values is a slog. Don’t mind doing this amidst a global pandemic, supply chain issues, a struggling economy, and then the collapse of an entire financial institution overnight.
When you attend an event like Expo West, you get an opportunity to connect and relate with others that are dealing with similar circumstances, and that’s important. There’s an energy of support. So while there aren’t necessarily what I’d refer to as fans in attendance, and instead buyers, media, investors, and other brands, it’s a time to develop relationships—and for what it’s worth, we’re all consumers at the end of the day.
Okay, the two elephants in the room. Expo West is very expensive to exhibit at and it’s chalked full of waste. The environmental impact of Expo wouldn’t feel so extreme if it weren’t for the fact that a majority of exhibiting brands are built on a foundation of some element of sustainability. It’s paradoxical in many ways. Rather than going down the rabbit hole, I think I may sit with this one for a bit and write another post on this subject alone. My three main takeaways here are: let’s all be mindful of how we’re utilizing samples, let’s use our booth displays at least a few times before trashing, and maybe we can collectively push to host this thing in a city that doesn’t require cars to get everywhere.
The cost of exhibiting. Between renting booth space, booth design, accommodations, flights, and all the other little pieces, it’s pretty tough to exhibit for under $30k, meanwhile, there are plenty of brands pushing way beyond $100k. So is it worth it? It’s all relative to what your brand has to spend and what success looks like to you. If you have the money to spend, I suppose why not? If you’re operating a lean business it’s good to ask yourself whether or not it’s necessary. Are you launching a new product? Then yeah, it might be a good opportunity to get it in front of folks looking for innovation. Are you fundraising? Then yeah, it might be a good opportunity to show investors what the brand is up to. Are you exhibiting just to exhibit? Then no, might not be worth the cost.
I do, however, think it’s worth finding a way to attend if you work in the CPG space or have your own brand. The relationships that I have made from just two Expo Wests and one Expo East have been invaluable both in my professional and personal life.
In 1970, a train carrying the likes of The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, The Band, Buddy Guy, and many other greats, trekked through Canada for what would be known as Festival Express. They’d stop from city to city for a set of mini-festivals, but the real magic was happening on the train, away from spectators, where nonstop collaboration and jamming were filling each train car. It was said that Woodstock was a festival for the fans and Festival Express was a festival for the musicians.
If you view Expo West like Festival Express, a festival for brands, and you aren’t overly focused on the direct ROI, it can be a pretty special opportunity to enjoy the company and camaraderie of a uniquely creative and uplifting industry. Sometimes it’s enough for something to simply be fun.
Happy snacking, folks.
