Let me be real with you: everything in this is biased.

Natural Products Expo West is inherently biased - it’s a trade show that focuses exclusively on natural, organic, and health-focused products. The exhibitors must align with the broader ‘natural products’ industry. The 80,000 person event is designed to showcase brands that support the movement toward health-conscious, environmentally friendly, and socially responsible goods. So, there’s already a giant filter over everything you see.

Then there’s my own bias. Every writer claims they’re objective, but bias runs deep in ways we don’t always recognise. Maybe I ignored a category without realising it. Maybe I dismissed a brand because I didn’t understand it.

But let me be perfectly clear: I tried damn hard to keep bias in check. If I stumbled across something I didn’t get, I doubled back. If something seemed odd, I asked more questions. It’s easy to get swept up in the spectacle of these trade shows, but my goal was to go deep and understand beyond the surface.

At the same time, let’s also remember: none of this is the real world. The average consumer at Walmart or Woolies would walk into the Expo and laugh at the circus. They’d be baffled that this much effort goes into snacks, drinks, and shampoo. They don’t think twice about the ingredients, claims, or packaging of a chocolate brand.

But this isn’t designed for the average. It’s for those at the edge. That’s where you find interesting ideas, learn new things, and carve out your own unique space.

This report aims to cover the ‘trends’ of Expo West 2025. I’ve done my best to make it comprehensive and help settle your FOMO.

So buckle up, grab a coffee, and get ready for a week’s worth of conversations with industry-leading brands, distilled into one long-form piece.

Let’s. Fucking. Go.

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The sweet spectrum

I’m going to take you on a little tour through the world of sugar. For years, we’ve condemned sugar as a society, whilst simultaneously producing and consuming endless amounts of it. Remembering that Expo West is a battleground of both new and natural, the stance of sugar was one of the most interesting and immediate things that stood out to me.

I don’t think there is one core theme, mindset or approach to sugar that we can wrap a bow around and call it a trend. The reality is it’s complicated, messy and unclear.

But across the food and beverage industry, factions of the ‘no sugar’ movement are emerging. Let’s take a wander through