Expo West Favs 2019
by Meg Caccavale
Note: This post reflects my personal opinion, not the opinion of Cocoburg LLC as a whole. I did my best research and fact-checking for accuracy. Take all of this information with a grain of salt, and do what feels best for you! For more information, please read our full disclaimer.
Things have finally calmed down after the craziness that is Expo West. Max and I were manning the Coco-booth for most of the show, but definitely made some time to walk the floor and spot some dope food companies capitalizing on ALL the food trends. Also, as I write this blog post I'm sensing a theme here aka plant based and coconut everything but I promise I'm not biased at all...
This OG dairy-free, flax milk pioneer brand launched plant-based ranch and french onion dips plus sour cream at the show that knocked my socks off. Their dips are not flax based but instead use a blend of coconut oil and pea protein and taste really similar to their dairy-filled compadres.
Our fellow #upcycled friends make supergrain bars out of the spent grain that is leftover after beer is made. They won a well deserved Nexty for the bars at Expo West but also released a new line of supergrain puffs in flavors like Mexican Street Corn, Texas Pit BBQ, Urban Garden and many more!
This company is branded beautifully *swoon* not only that, but they package their dairy-free, plant based coconut yogurt in reuseable planters! As a new plant mama this is definitely a selling point for me - they're not available nationally yet and are currently revamping their online shipping program but I'm definitely ordering some once I'm able to!
The Coco Crew approved of the new Banza rice pre-Expo because we got the hook up and made some curry with the chickpea based rice for dinner on our retreat upstate. They're one of my favorite brands so I had to include them on this list. They sampled the new rice as a risotto at Expo West; since the overall consensus is that the texture is similar to orzo, you could imagine how ahmazing that dish was!
Chosen Foods Avocado Oil Sprays
Chosen Foods is another office favorite! They released some fun ~ new avocado oil sprays at the show - Garlic, Itailian Herb, Lemon Dill, Chipotle, Chili-Lime Ginger, Citrus Pepper... wait for it - Spiced Chai, Simply Cinnamon and Warm Gingerbread. Your girl is also a sucker for an avocado toast bar which they were sampling when I stopped by the booth.
I finally got to try this dairy-free, coconut milk based ice cream at the show where they released 3 new flavors - Marshmallow Stardust, Peach Cobbler and Banana Caramel Crunch. No surprises here but the Cookies & Creme was my favorite.
Tofu based vegan cheesecake that's better than any ricotta or cream cheese based cheesecake I've ever had (please don't tell my Italian American family thanks).
If you know me then you know I'm sorta kinda obsessed with this brand. At first, maybe it was because it's the first protein drink that doesn't make my stomach hurt or because they're top 8 free and I have a tree nut allergy... but now it's DEFINITELY because they just released a new Cookies and Cream flavor which I am so here for.
Beyond Beef launched at Expo West, which shouldn't have been that exciting tbh because I'm sure I'm not the only one that just takes the Beyond Burger and completely deforms it for DIY ground beef lol. However, this brand never ceases to amaze with a massive crowd that surrounds their booth at all the trade shows. The main event was the homemade ENCHILADAS followed by meatballs almost as good as Grandpa's on day 2 and Beyond Sausage on day 3!
Stuff I didn't try because of said tree nut allergy but everyone I talked to raved about -
This brand uses almond milk as the base for their plant-based products. They released new cream cheese flavors - Everything & Strawberry and plant-based dips - Ranch & French Onion. Apparently the real show stopper was their Tortellini with almond milk based ricotta. Our booth was next to Kite Hill's and I can vouch that the tortellini certainly smelled delish.
This probiotic sauerkraut brand shocked everyone by launching a new cashew based cultured brie! I couldn't try it but when I prompted some folks with the question, "What's the best thing you've seen at the show this year?" Wildbrine cashew brie was the answer!
What was your favorite natural products you saw/ate in Anaheim!? Did this post make you hungry?! Order some coconut jerky today!