EP.164/ EXPO WEST 2025
Beyond the Badge: My First Expo West Experience & the Trends Shaping Natural CPG in 2025
In this special midweek drop of Retention Chronicles, Mariah Parsons dives into her first-time experience at Natural Products Expo West 2025—the largest and most influential event in the natural and organic CPG world. From breaking attendance records with over 64,000 attendees to spotlighting emerging brands and game-changing trends, this episode unpacks it all.
Tune in as Mariah shares her unfiltered perspective on the overwhelming scale of the event, what it’s like navigating as a first-time attendee, and the deeper industry dynamics at play (badge-checking included). She breaks down five major trends that dominated the show floor—from functional wellness and women's health, to plant-based innovation and the rise of non-alcoholic, functional beverages. Plus, she shouts out the mission-driven teams that left a lasting impression (looking at you, Cornext 🍿).
Whether you're a brand founder, marketer, or CPG enthusiast, this recap will give you a pulse on where the industry is heading—and why Expo West is more than just a trade show, it’s a movement.
EP. 164
MARIAH PARSONS
TRANSCRIPT
This transcript was completed by an automated system, please forgive any grammatical errors.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
E-commerce, customer retention, Malomo, order tracking, shipping experience, Expo West, natural products, CPG brands, Corn Next sustainable straws, biodegradable packaging, plant-based flavors, non-alcoholic beverages, wellness technology, conscious beauty, global participation.
SPEAKERS
Mariah Parsons
Mariah Parsons 00:00
Foreign Hello and welcome to retention Chronicles, the customer retention podcast for E commerce marketers. I am your host and fellow e com marketer, Mariah Parsons. Tune in as I speak with D to C, founders and operators about strategy that works and strategy that doesn't of course, we are able to have these conversations because of our podcast sponsor, Malomo. I have seen 1000s of brand operators power their order tracking with Malomo to make every single message count as a consumer, I personally have come to expect that brands have a phenomenal post purchase experience, or else I'm not really shopping with them again. And a lot of consumers are this way. 84% of shoppers won't return if they have a bad shipping experience. And it feels so important for E commerce brands to have a good pre purchase experience. You're trying to get that acquisition. Your customers are coming through the door. They're coming through your website, it is a very personalized experience. You have pop ups that are timed Well, you have customer testimonials that are easing fears. You have well timed car abandonment, emails, all of that stuff. And then you purchase with a brand, and sometimes there's no communication, and it leaves you wondering. It leaves you mad, maybe scared that you fell for a scam or something like that. And so I think it is such a smart decision to have your transactional shipping emails and SMS, not just be about only business. Malomo helps turn them into a powerful marketing tool. What does that look like? It means you can cross sell other products on that branded order tracking page. You can put educational content on that page. So if you have something that consumers will have to learn how to use for the first time, you can put that there. If you have recipes that they could you know, use your product for when they first get it. You can put that there, your social media, everything, frequently asked questions, whatever you want. You get the control back so that you're not sending your customers to a carrier tracking page, you're putting them right back on your website, and you're also keeping them informed about their order status. Why you do it? That's the beautiful thing about this platform. If you're ready to turn your order notifications into a marketing channel and join 1000s of E commerce brand operators in making their customers happier while also adding to your brand's profits. Visit go malomo.com that's g, O M, a, l, o, M, o.com Hello, everyone. This is Mariah here, and today is a little bit of a different episode. If you have noticed, this episode is being released, not on a Monday. So it's a little bit of a special episode because I am doing a recap of a conference I went to recently. It was the Expo West natural products conference in Anaheim, and this was in March, and I'm recording this in May, so you can really tell how busy I have been lately, because I've been meaning to do this. So sorry to the people who've been waiting, but there's no time like the present. So yeah, just wanted to share my thoughts of going to this conference for the first time. And yeah, so with that, let's dive in. First things first is you cannot imagine how impossibly big this conference is. I was told by multiple people it's huge wear comfortable shoes, which I always do, because I am way, way too focused on my own comfort to ever do anything else. But it is like truly the biggest conference I have ever seen. And again, it was my first year there, so that was just sewing cool. My gosh, that was just so cool to see all these different brands in the CPG realm, and yeah, support them. Next thing. And this is just like my personal thoughts. Then I'm gonna get into a little bit more about the conference itself, and like the I guess, recap the numbers, which is always fun to see. My next thing is, and this goes for any conference, is it is so big, and so many CPG brands go to these conferences with such big goals and such they put in so much effort. And so I could see if it's your first time going to a conference, then you might experience people looking at your badge before they even look at you. And I think this is just a little nuance thing, because it doesn't always happen, and sometimes people will not look at your badge, but it's kind of like a when it happens to you for the first time. And I've been in this space for years, right? So, like, this is not my first rodeo at conferences, and this isn't exclusive to Expo West, but people will just look at those badges because they are trying to hit their business goals, whatever those goals may be, a lot of the times at Expo West, it is people looking for retail buyers or distributors or some type of person who works in. A channel that they're trying to get into. So, yeah, I just thought obviously wanted to call that out. I don't think I've called that out on other podcasts where I've spoken about conferences I've gone to before, but I really want to dive in, because Expo West is so big, and I left with so many goodies and treats from brands. So also, like, just a fun tip to leave room in your suitcase, and I'm still going through those snacks. And like, sharing with my friends and family. And it's really fun to honestly, kind of feel like, you know, I am playing a little part in sharing, you know, with friends that I think will like these treats or whatnot. And that brings me to a shout out that I wanted to give. It's completely organic. This is not paid because I met their team and they I just really liked their mission. It stands with what I believe in personally, and it is the core next team. You heard me right. Core next and so really, what they're doing is they are putting a twist on your everyday straws. So they make them with 100% natural occurring ingredients. That's the word I'm looking for. And so with corn next, or it's a corn, and this is from my research and my understanding, but they are corn based material, and it's 100% naturally biodegradable. And so that means that the ingredients, which is corn starch, water, and I believe, enzymes, it naturally decomposes within, I believe, as little as 30 days. And that means that there's no micro plastics, because there's no plastics in the product to believe or to start with, and that is really so cool. So I took a few, or rather, I got a few from Expo West, from their team, and I was recently at a power of a bridal party, and I whipped them out. I brought them with me, which is like, if you know anything about parties or being in a space, then you like a wedding space, then you know how crazy it can be. But I brought these because I liked them so much, not just because the flavors were good, but also because of their mission. But if you are wearing lipstick or you have your makeup done, then using a straw while you're sipping a beverage really helps, just like not make a mess of your lipstick. And so I brought them for the whole bridal party, and they were so fun. And I know that the sustainable straw space can be a little bit controversial, and that's why I wanted to shout out cord next. Because the critique around other sustainable options for straws, like paper straws, has been that they are flimsy, or that they like, decompose in the water, or like, whatever all that, or like they're too soft. And so what I loved about these straws is that they are so sturdy, they feel like a hard plastic, like it actually is kind of crazy. I have one right here with me. I actually have multiple, but I'm gonna hold it up in the screen, so if you're watching this, you can see it, but here's like the corn next straw, right? It's in the wrapper, whatever we and then this, I took one out of the packaging, and I'm gonna try and hold it up to the microphone so you can hear, I'm gonna break it so you can hear how, I guess, sturdy, how structurally these are, which I don't, you know, I don't, I don't go by lightly. But listen for this. Hopefully that was as cool as I thought it was going to be on the microphone. I'll have to watch back. But like, if you're watching this, look at that crispness of the it literally breaks as if it's plastic. But it is, it is so cool because it is 100% um, biodegradable, okay, that is, that is done for my shout outs. Their team to reach out to me, and they were like, We love what you're doing with the podcast. Would love to support you and, like, send you some extra straws that I want people to know. I denied it because I was like, I love your mission so much that I'm gonna just do this without any extra PR or like PR package or anything like that, because I will be using them as draws going forward and telling everyone about it. So Okay, now let's get into Expo West specific kind of, like data and all that fun stuff. I think that's always fun to hear. So this is our in depth breakdown, like I just said. And Expo West is looked at as one of the largest and probably one of the most influential events in the natural and organic products world. It is held for four days, but the first day is like, kind of like a pre day, I think is how they phrased it. And this is the this year, which was 2025 was the 44th edition of the event, and it broke a lot of records. So I got this from their team, and it's pretty astonishing. Honestly, there were 64,000 attendees, which really just shares. It really just displays how. Big of a conference. This is and two thirds of those attendees were qualified buyers. So that's people like retailers, like major retailers, distributors and food service operators. So they that stat alone really shows how much business goes down or potential business goes down at Expo West of just deals and conversations, and these people that are in buying like a buyer is in the position to try a new snack or try a new food or try a new product and bring it on the shelves because they really like it, or they really like the mission or the founders, or whatever reason. I'm not a buyer, so I wouldn't know. The Show hosted more than 3000 brands, which is crazy, because 30% of those brands were first time exhibitors. So the new brands, of the new blood that is flooding into Expo West really shows how much this conference in the natural products world is making. It's continuously making its way just like through that through that industry as like this is the spot to be. And there was also a lot of international slash global participation. So there are people exhibitors all over from 123 countries, and a lot from pure guy, and a lot from Japan, which is just like so fun to see the different flavor profiles that these countries are bringing and that they're part of the conversation here in the US and beyond. So yeah, that's kind of like the overall, I guess, record breaking metrics of attendance. But now I want to get into the meat and potatoes of it all, which is the key trends and really what people what innovation people are seeing in the industry. So I'm gonna try and break it out, and I think a lot of people who attended the conference will agree with this breakdown. So the first is functional. Wellness continues to reign supreme. There are so many brands out there that are continuing to make mental health and metabolic health the forefront of their products, and that's if you ever see things like adaptogens, nootropics, or like mood boosters and like any any supplements or vitamins like ashwagandha and lion's mane and magnesium and B vitamins, botanicals, like all of that stuff that fits in this category. So it's it's pointing to the direction that brands are paying attention to this, which means that consumers are seeking these solutions. And I don't think that will be a surprise to anyone. Honestly, we are all consumers in our own way, and we see the trends, we feel the things. So that's kind of the first main takeaway. Second is that women's health is, if not already, it is becoming so mainstream that we are focusing on this is for a woman or feminine presenting person, and this is what is different for them, because they are in that category. And I think this goes without reason to the whole movement of just normalizing and prioritizing women's health. So this goes from anything like supplements for hormonal balance, menopause, menopause, symptom relief, reproductive health. And one brand that I that really stood out to me, they had a huge booth, and they're the people I spoke with, were so fun, was O positive, and they did. They had, I mean, it was just fully pink. It's really cute. I'll try and see if I took a picture of it to share. I can, don't know if I took a picture, but there's so many, if you look up on LinkedIn, just the O positive team and Expo West. Because I love that pink, and I also love what these brands stand behind, obviously, as a woman by myself, of just increasing visibility to female founded brands and female focused brands and the clinical research that is really going into female physiology, because with my background in neuroscience, if you know, you know there, there have been so many studies that have only focused on men, because hormonally, it is easier to study men. And so there have just been countless like anyway, from drugs to medicine to like any, any plethora of category in the scientific field that has made generalizations about women based off of studies that were just conducted on men. And so for multiple reasons in my life, I love seeing these brands come through and really focus on women specifically. And it also just always makes me think of women have, for the majority in the US, the purchasing power of a household. And I think it is extremely important that brands start to reflect their consumer or their buyer, who are mostly women, even if they're buying something for their significant other or their family or friends or whoever it may be, okay. Third trend is sustainability and regenerative systems. So I really bump up against anyone who says sustainability is a buzzword, because it is true. Like as a consumer, I will only shop with sustainable brands. I don't I do. I go out of my way to learn. And so there were people at Expo West that and other conferences too, that will say differently. And I will always, I will always push back against that, because it truly is the backbone of a lot of brands, especially merging brands and their ethos. So let's talk regenerative agriculture. One of the brands that I loved seeing in this category was Alex ice cream, because they source from carbon neutral or carbon negative dairy farms, and their ice cream was so tasty. I bought two pints of it, actually when I got back home to Chicago. And they also gave a coupon, which was so nice, so I definitely use that in store. And second is compostable, biodegradable packaging. It really is starting to look like the norm rather than the exception, now, which I personally love, and I think that's how we make change. As people who are higher up have a bigger responsibility, have a bigger ability to make these changes, or making those changes, and then just companies really looking at closed loop systems, so turning food waste into energy or packaging or new products, I think it really, really stands out. And I also want to call out the conference itself, like Expo West, they also had a lot of initiatives on their end to make the experience of the conference more sustainable. So they collaborated with Second Harvest to donate leftover food, which is like the biggest thing that I've seen at these conferences. And I pray other conferences do this, because I look around, I'm like, there is so much potential waste here. So I was so relieved as a participant of this conference, that the leftover food was being donated, and they also had these reusable sustainable cups, like, like a mini trial cup that you would try a sample line. And I think it was called, like an R cup, so you could recycle those after you try all these different beverages from all these different brands. Because if you've ever watched a conference floor before, you know that you're picking up single use plastics after single use plastic at all of these different brand booths. And again, as a consumer who tries to avoid that, it is tough to do it in a conference setting, so I loved seeing Expo West roll that out. Okay, fourth kind of trend was plant based and globally inspired flavors. So this goes into what I was saying earlier about the attendance of you're seeing more you're naturally seeing more global flavors be displayed at Expo West because of the attendance, but also because consumers want that. And so I think that is so cool. And so like Middle Eastern, south, south east, Asian, Latin American, you know, pili nut yogurts and seaweed based snacks and jackfruit algae protein from mushrooms, just like a bunch of different plant based and globally inspired flavors were on display at Expo West. And as someone who always tries to try new things, and prides myself on that, it was really fun to see. Okay, fifth trend was non alcoholic and functional beverages. So the beverage category, obviously, there's a lot that can go into beverages, but having alcohol free cocktails that are, you know, some are infused with adaptogens or nootropics, or those botanicals like we were talking about earlier in this episode, that kind of give the buzz free buzz or a buzz free feeling. I think that's such a cool spin on normalizing non alcoholic beverages. And you see this a lot with like Tom Holland's Bureau brand, of just trying to make different types of drinks that aren't alcoholic, that people can consume, you know, out in the wild, in social events or in their own home. So I love that. Okay, now I want to talk more about kind of product categories a little bit. And I thought it was really interesting that Expo West had a conscious beauty area that really was just highlighting clean, cruelty free skincare, hair care, and just like any wellness products, so things like prebiotic deodorants and skincare from algae and makeup from edible grade ingredients. It's, it's a small but increasing number of exhibitors that are, you know,
19:29
that are that are taking
Mariah Parsons 19:31
up space in this industry, and I really like seeing that, especially as we're starting to see a push towards consumer wanting, consumers wanting more whole foods and more natural flavors. We're learning more about artificial dyes and artificial ingredients, all that stuff. And there was also a good amount of like wellness technology that you could share, you know, track nutrient levels or gut health or biosensors all that, all that stuff. Okay, now I. Final thoughts, Expo West, I will definitely be going back if I'm able to attend next year. I met so many people, I think probably like 250 people that I got information to follow up with, and they were, like, genuinely, so cool. So if you're one of those people, thank you. I do want to shout out I stated at Airbnb with three lovely women all in the space as well. So Amy and Brittany at Maven strategy, and then Natalie at CPG. They were phenomenal roommates. We met for literally the first time, and they made the conference that much more special and unique, especially as someone who was attending for the first time, and they could kind of help guide me, help explain some things. So that was just really cool. And if you and I met at Expo West, hello, please let me know if you're listening to this. But I've been in conversations with a lot of people from there, so it's been fun. Okay, I think I've heard enough of myself talking, so hopefully that was helpful for everyone, and there were tidbits of information that were crucial and maybe trying to help you evaluate if it's worth going to Expo West for you and whatever your company does, whether you're in the tech, brand, agency, media distributor, retail, whatever sector of the industry you're In, all right, till next time bye. Everyone. Thanks. Thank you for listening to today's episode. These conversations bring so much knowledge to the table, and I'm so grateful for that. If you haven't already, please subscribe, follow us on social media and tell us who our next guest should be on our website. Let's give another shout out to our day one sponsor, Malomo. As you know, Malomo is an order tracking platform that enables Shopify brands to take control of their transactional email and SMS through branded order tracking pages. That means you can ditch those boring, all white carrier pages, you know, the ones I'm talking about. Everyone has seen an ugly tracking page in their life, and you can swap it with a page that matches your brand. Customers like you and I obsessively check order tracking an average of 4.6 times per order. That's why leading Shopify brands are turning that engagement into customer loyalty and revenue through branded order tracking. Learn more about how to get ahead of shipping issues, brand your order tracking experience and reconvert customers while they wait for their package to arrive with Malomo. Visit go malomo.com that's G O M, a, l o m, o.com you.
