Expo West 2025: Dairy Stole the Show

 

“Protecting where your food comes from.” Thank you Organic Valley.

It was wonderful to see so many friends at Natural Products Expo West this week. Wow, what an amazing show. The best part was that some of the aisles were wider (just not in Hall E) and all the halls opened at the same time. This helped prevent overcrowding of the North halls, which in past years, opened up one hour earlier than the main convention center. 

Attendance was also down, but this was viewed by many as a good thing. The two reasons attendance was closer to 65,000 instead of 85,000 (the record breaker in 2018), was the cost to attend for people with a “dot, dot, dot” affiliation to the natural and organics industry tripled. Further, there were many no-shows because of weather. You were missed, but gosh, it was so much nicer to be able to walk and talk in the halls without fear of being trampled on in an emergency. 

Even the Fresh Ideas Organic Marketplace tent on Tuesday seemed more manageable. And look who I was lucky enough to get a photo op with: Albert Straus, founder of Straus Family Creamery, and John Coletta, CEO, Clover Sonoma.  Straus was sampling the company’s new gluten-free Organic Super Premium Cookie Dough Ice Cream made from milk produced using sustainable, regenerative and organic dairy farming practices. The new flavor is the third Straus ice cream cookie flavor, joining Lemon Cookie and Cookies & Cream, which are also gluten-free. For gluten-free eaters who prefer a clean ingredient list and the rich flavor and creamy mouthfeel of ice cream made with traditional dairy, Straus Family Creamery offers a rare treat, as most gluten-free cookie ice creams are made with alternative milks, such as almond, oat and soy, and often include gums and fillers.

 

Thank you to Lifeway Foods for sponsoring Wednesday’s sunrise yoga. And wow, Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) really upped its game at Expo West this year. Besides having a very large booth where Milk50 was sampled, the cooperative sponsored the Community Brunch, which was free and open to all attendees and exhibitors. Dairy foods were served at both events.
Yogis were able to enjoy Lifeway Foods’ new on-the-go 8-ounce Organic Kefir. The lactose-free line comes in 10 on-trend flavors, with each bottle packed with high-quality bioavailable nutrients, including protein, calcium and 12 live and active probiotic cultures. Flavors are: Coconut Pineapple, Grapefruit Elderflower, Guava Jackfruit, Hot Honey, Matcha Latte, Passionfruit Lychee, Pink Dragon Fruit, Pistachio Rose Vanilla, Taro Ube Latte and Wild Blueberry Lavender.

And in case you missed the news on Milk50, this first-of-its-kind real dairy milk is made using an advanced ultra-filtration method. The new lactose-free, reduced-calorie milk comes in Original, Chocolate and Vanilla, with an 8-ounce containing only 50 calories with 75% less sugar than fat-free skim milk and 9 grams of protein. A serving is also an excellent source of calcium (20% Daily Value) and a good source of vitamin D (10%) and vitamin A (15%).

A big shout out to my friends at the California Milk Advisory Board and Dairy Management Inc. (DMI), which hosted a very interactive booth with sampling and storytelling. So proud of how the industry is moving forward and modernizing nutrient-dense milk. 

Now onto the nitty gritty. As I have written in the past, just because you can doesn’t mean you should. That statement applies, once again, to the plethora of new beverages making their debut. Informa Markets’ New Hope Network, the event organizers, called it the “Surging Soda Showdown.” There were way too many prebiotic sodas that are copycats of Olipop and Poppi. The same with Liquid Death, the original canned still water that often sells at events for around $8.00 for a 16-ounce can. It’s water in a can.
Other examples of “just because you can, doesn’t mean you should” include “desalinated water.” Last time I checked, bottled water was not salty. Another example is oat-free oatmeal. It’s made with chickpeas. And, at a time when the cost of eggs is at an all-time high, and does not show signs of coming down in the near future, why would you introduce dairy-free—but made with eggs—yogurt and dips?

There were many great new products to praise. One of my favorite innovations is Chad & Barney’s Sturdy Sauce (pictured above), which claims to be the world’s first high-protein pasta sauce. A half-cup serving contains 20 grams of protein from the company’s proprietary blend of hydrolyzed bovine collagen, hydrolyzed bovine bone broth and whey protein isolate. It’s delicious. The sauce comes in 17-ounce shelf-stable jars in three varieties: Garlic & Herb, Marinara and Sweet Basil. 

 

Protein products showed muscle at Expo West, and dairy was very much a part of the effort. There were a number of new beverages offering “more,” which included using dairy ingredients. Healthee offers ready-to-drink Protein Cold Brew Latte in three formulations: Bone (sea salt caramel), Joint (chocolate), and Skin, Hair & Nails (French vanilla). They include micellular casein isolate and bioactive collagen peptides. An 8-ounce can contains 70 calories and 15 grams of protein. The drinks have no added sugars and are sweetened with stevia. 

 

Asahi Beverages America debuted Refrezz, a postbiotic beverage containing compounds associated with relaxation and supporting sleep. It includes nonfat milk and is positioned as a “wellness soda.”
 

New Protein Pop is a clear, non-carbonated drink that delivers 20 grams of whey protein per 12-ounce slim can. At 90 calories per can, it is positioned as “highly satiating and helps build and maintain lean muscle.” The beverage is lactose free and contain 0 grams sugar.

Mosh finally had a booth at Expo West. The company’s co-founder—Maria Shriver—made an appearance at The State of Natural and Organic Keynote Address.  Mosh bars are “protein bars made for your brain,” according to Shriver. They are brain and body fuel and come loaded with a proprietary protein blend based on whey protein isolate, whet protein concentrate and milk protein isolate. 

These innovations speak to the “Make It With Dary” campaign from today’s blog sponsor, American Dairy Products Institute. Check it out HERE.

In addition, these products are examples of “What Women Really Want: Cracking the Code for Food & Beverages.” This was the title of the educational session sponsored by DMI. 

“Over 50% of women are dissatisfied with their current health and wellness options,” said Eve Pollet, senior vice president, foresight and discovery at DMI. “[The good news is that] we are moving from stigmas to solutions. There’s a shift in the language we are using to address women’s health.”

Norrie Wilson, global innovation and insights consultant for DMI discussed findings from numerous consumers studies on health and wellness that have been conducted on behalf of DMI. Findings include that an overwhelming majority of women believe in the importance of living a healthy lifestyle and they agree that they will take whatever means necessary to control their own health.  

“Sixty eight percent of women are looking for ‘better sleep’ benefits,” said Wilson. “The majority (58%) are seeking weight management solutions. They are looking to mover from the mindset of deprivation to one of balance when it comes to eating.”

This is fueling many dairy innovations centered around protein, including high-protein sweet treats in single-serve packaging. The newest Mosh flavor--Raspberry White Chocolate Crunch--is just that!

“Whey protein is something consumers are responding to,” said Brandon Casteel, vice president of partnerships for SPINS. 

Wilson added, “Women want every day meal and snacking solutions. They want foods that enable them to have an active lifestyle. They are looking for products for endurance, muscle recovery and muscle mass maintenance.”

Bone health is also very important. They are looking protein and bone health solutions for their many varied life stages. Dairy provides all that and more.

“Consumers are super confused,” Wilson concluded. “They need our guidance. They are looking for bundled solutions [that give them many bioavailable and critical nutrients in one package.”

Let’s get busy. Natural Products Expo West 2026 is one year away. Let’s have more products ready for the market.

Over the next few weeks, more of the dairy foods innovations that debuted at Expo West will be highlighted as a Daily Dose of Dairy.