Startup CPG supports emerging brands at Natural Products Expo West
Numerous brands from the Startup CPG community present foods, beverages and personal care products in the Hot Products pavilion. Click through the gallery.
![Startup CPG supports emerging brands at Natural Products Expo West Startup CPG supports emerging brands at Natural Products Expo West](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt09e5e63517a16184/bltffd74423f153a51c/65debc909ca2d5040aef3fe2/startup-cpg-cover-72.png?width=700&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale)
Bear Maple Ginseng Sparkling Elixir
Booth 8712
Bear Maple uses only high-quality red ginseng on the market, containing 10% rare ginsenosides. Made with hydroponically and sustainably grown ginseng root.
Supports cognitive function, mood, memory, sleep and gut health.
Caffeine free.
Naturally sweetened with maple water.
Supports 1% for the Planet.
Bear’s Fruit
Booth 8817
Bear’s Fruit is a probiotic sparkling water made with whole fruit, herbs and billions of probiotics.
Available in four flavors: Watermelon Mint, Mango Habenero, Strawberry Basil and Blackberry Sage.
USDA Organic, Fair Trade Certified and non-GMO.
Black Mamba
Booth 8709
Black Mamba offers spicy chili sauces, pestos, chutneys and jams made with ingredients grown in Eswatini, Africa. The brand is committed to crafting spicy, bold flavors that bring the soul of Africa to the world.
Practices regenerative agriculture methods
Supports small-scale growers in Eswatini, a landlocked country in southeastern Africa.
Uses widely recyclable or biodegradable packaging, such as glass and cardboard.
Sent only 5% percent of its waste to landfills, as leftover produce is composted or used as animal feed. Its goal for 2024 is to reduce landfill disposal to 2.5%.
Hot honey ingredients: Pure, raw honey (93%) apple cider vinegar, chilies
Chili crunch ingredients: Canola oil (seeds), onions, sunflower seeds, brown sugar-coated chili flakes, garlic, habanero chilies, spices, salt
Bored & Thirsty
Booth 8816
Bored & Thirsty was founded with the idea that a CPG could also support creative people and projects. The cans of ionized alkaline water feature images celebrating artists, fashion designers, music and more.
Through ionization, the brand formulates a combination of electrolytes and Trace Minerals that results in a smooth, clean taste and an alkaline level of hydration.
Does not contain fluoride or chlorine.
Cans, which are 100% recyclable aluminum, are BPA free.
Brune Kitchen
Booth 8812
Two law-school classmates and friends couldn’t find nutritious treats that sparked joy. So they created a variety of tahini-based, chewy, soft-baked cookies and founded Brune Kitchen.
Comes in three flavors: Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Fudge and Peanut Butter Chunk.
Made with tahini, organic coconut oil, organic maple syrup and tiger nut flour, which is naturally gluten free and grain free. Organic chocolate is sweetened with coconut sugar.
No refined sugar, soy or gum. Soy free, grain free, gluten free.
Vegan and Paleo.
No preservatives, chemicals or artificial additives.
Women founded.
Capitana by Lorenza
Booth 8809
Capitana by Lorenza makes Mexican-style chili crunch salsa machas in flavors that aren’t well known to people who live outside of Mexico.
Original flavor is made of olive oil, dried morita peppers, peanuts, sesame seeds and brown sugar. It does not have a tomato or tomatillo base.
Salsa macha with cherries and the version with figs are milder than the original flavor. Each version contains the same ingredients as the original, with dried cherries or dried figs, respectively.
Women founded.
Cleo+Coco
Booth 8713
Cleo+Coco makes clean, sustainable personal care products such as deodorants, plant-based hair and body powder, and solid body wash and body scrub bars.
Ingredients include coconut oil, activated charcoal, shea butter, arrowroot powder, raw organic honey, and plant- and flower-based oils.
No fragrances or perfumes.
Prioritizes using raw materials from sustainably managed sources. Bulk goods are shipped by sea when possible to minimize the carbon footprint.
Body wash bars are plastic free; uses post-consumer recycled plastic for deodorants and body powders.
Packaging is recyclable from home.
Date Better Snacks
Booth 8813
Date Better Snacks uses fresh-ground nut butters to stuff Medjool dates, which are then coated in 85% organic chocolate.
Available in four flavors: Cashew Lime Crisp, Peanut Butter Crunch, Almond Java Crunch and Hazelnut Praline.
Ingredients include Medjool dates, organic dark chocolate, organic quinoa, organic peanuts, organic cacao nibs, cashew butter, almonds, espresso beans, hazelnuts and sea salt.
No soy, dairy, palm oil, preservatives or artificial sweeteners.
Doughpamine
Booth 8716
Doughpamine makes gourmet frozen cookie dough, created by a pastry chef who also worked as a senior inspector for the Michelin Guide.
Flavors include Miso Peanut Butter, Salty Chocolate Chunk, Blueberry Corn and Rhapsody Road—similar to Rocky Road, but with dark cocoa and crispy, milk chocolate sprinkles.
All flavors contain tree nuts, milk, eggs and wheat. Salted Almond and Rhapsody Road also contain soy. Miso Peanut Butter contains Peanuts and soy.
Drink Plink!
Booth 8808
Drink Plink! helps consumers hydrate without lugging home bottles of electrolyte beverages. These tablets are available in pomegranate-berry, watermelon and pineapple-grapefruit flavors.
Made with citric acid, dextrose, avocado oil and Stevia.
Founded to reduce the environmental impact of packaging beverages in cans or bottles. The pill wrappers are not curbside recyclable.
Lower carbon footprint than delivering beverages that contain water.
Each tablet provides 280 mg sodium and 200 mg potassium electrolytes, 1 g sugar.
Vegan.
Non-GMO.
Eat Happy Kitchen
Booth 8814
Eat Happy Kitchen, created by cookbook author Anna Vocino, is known for its Italian sauces. Now, it is offering USDA Organic spices.
Three flavors are available: BBQ Dust, Taco and The Dill Ranch.
Ingredients include sea salt, organic onion, organic garlic, organic smoked paprika, organic cumin, organic dill, organic oregano, organic chili pepper and organic black pepper.
One serving size, 1/4 teaspoon, of BBQ Dust, contains 170 mg sodium; 2 tablespoons of Taco contains 1,640 mg sodium; and 1 tablespoon of The Dill contains 1,350 mg sodium.
Explorer Cold Brew
Booth 8711
Explorer makes a variety of coffee and chai concentrates, flavor enhancers and elixirs.
Coffee concentrates available in four caffeine levels: 99.9% caffeine free, half caffeine, standard caffeine and extra caffeine.
Chai concentrates available in four flavors: honey, dirty spice, chamomile spice and turmeric.
Concentrated format creates about 25% of the emissions of other cold-brew products. It also generates a higher yield per bean, which maximizes the brand’s environmental efficiency.
The Classic Black coffee is single origin from the Sidamo and Yirgacheffe regions of Ethiopia. All the coffees contain French chicory for a naturally sweet flavor.
Coffee is Fair Trade Certified and USDA Organic.
Brand supports Charity:Water to provide clean water access in Africa.
Heraclea Food Co.
Booth 8718
Heraclea offers olive oils that have been harvested at different times because each is best used in different foods.
Fruit is hand harvested and PDO-certified Memecik, grown in the Aegean region of Turkey.
Packaged in fully recyclable glass bottles that are UV coated to keep light from reaching the oil.
Grown without chemicals and in the process of becoming USDA certified.
Family owned.
Non-GMO Project Verified.
Supports 1% for the Planet.
Howling Moon Kombucha
Booth 8719
Howling Moon Kombucha is made with low sugar and low vinegar content in several exotic flavors inspired by travel and adventure.
Available in several flavors: Cactus Nectar, Dragon Slayer Garden of Eden in bottles and “kegs;” Sea Breeze, Mango Sticky Rice and Island Hopper are available in kegs only.
Made with Fair Trade Certified tea, non-GMO and organic ingredients.
Vegan.
KefirLab
Booth 8821
KefirLab creates a variety of kefirs and probiotic shots to help consumers have healthy guts. With a medical doctor as an advisor, the team focuses on functional products, sustainability and quality.
Provides 24 potent probiotic strains via 100 trillion CFU per 8-ounce serving. (Two servings per bottle.)
Vanilla flavor offers 290 mg calcium and 370 mg potassium per serving. Chocolate flavor has the same amount of calcium and 380 mg potassium.
Sources milk from Straus Creamery, an organic dairy farm that values sustainable practices and environmental leadership.
Ingredients include organic whole milk, organic Madagascar vanilla extract, organic cacao extract, organic vanilla beans, organic monk fruit, and live and active probiotic cultures.
Lunar Lifts Nutrition
Booth 8811
Lunar Lifts Nutrition brings Asian-inspired flavors to protein powders.
Available in four flavors: Classic Milk Tea, Coconut Mango Cream, Matcha Latte and Taro Ube.
Classic Milk Tea has 133 calories and 26 g protein per 1-scoop serving.
Made with grass-fed whey protein isolate, black tea powder, coconut oil powder, coconut powder, mango powder, taro powder, ube powder, stevia, monk fruit extract.
Uses ceremonial-grade matcha powder.
Made without artificial flavors, colors or sweeteners, fillers or preservatives.
Moon Fruit
Booth 8819
Moon Fruit is whole-fruit, freeze-dried, crunchy, smoothie-blend bites.
Available in Blended Berry, Straw-Bana and Apple Cinnamon flavors. Each serving contains 1/3 cup of whole fruit.
No added sugar, no sodium and no artificial preservatives, colors or flavors.
Does not contain juices or concentrates.
Reprise Health
Booth 8717
Reprise Health offers superfood, plant-based supplements in a gummy format to support sleep, stress relief, focus and energy.
Supplements are available in Jujube Seed, Reishi Mushroom, Panax Ginseng, Turmeric, Goji and American Ginseng formulations.
Made with full-spectrum extracts of high-quality Chinese herbs and 100% plant-based whole herbs. Other ingredients include natural fruit flavors, pectin, sugar, malt sugar, malic acid, citric acid and sodium citrate.
Vegan.
Rif Care
Booth 8815
Rif Care offers disposable period care made of hemp fiber. The brand focuses on making safe period care that won't disrupt women's hormones.
Founder Val Emmanuel competed in Expo West 2023 Pitch Slam. Watch a video interview here.
Pads and tampons are made of hemp fiber and cotton.
Period underwear is made with a custom blend of regenerative hemp fiber, organic cotton and tencel (eucalyptus) fibers.
Reusable. Machine washable.
Does not contain PFAs, SAP, titanium dioxide, chlorine, bleach or harsh chemicals.
BIPOC, women-owned company.
Donates 2% of all sales to programs that support women who have suffered family violence and sexual assault.
Founder Val Emmanuel competed in Expo West 2023 Pitch Slam. Watch a video interview.
Save Da Sea
Booth 8720
Save Da Sea makes plant-based alternative seafood such as smoked salmon, smoked salmon with dill and capers, and tuna salad.
Salmon products provide omega-3 and vitamin A.
Tuna salad offers omega-3, 5 g protein, vitamin E, thiamine, riboflavin, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12.
Salmon contains 550 mg sodium per 50-gram serving, while salmon with dill and capers contains 760 mg. Tuna salad contains 600 mg sodium per 100-gram serving.
Gluten free and soy free.
Vegan.
Made in Canada.
T is for Tame
Booth 8714
T is for Tame makes hair taming cream, taming gel and conditioning mist, dry shampoo and more for children.
Made with natural and organic ingredients such as organic coconut oil, jojoba oil and tapioca starch.
Made in the United States.
Supports A Doll Like Me, a nonprofit that provides children with disabilities with free, handmade dolls that have the same disabilities to help boost the children’s self-esteem.
Vegan and cruelty free.
Certified Women Owned.
Tea Drops
Booth 8818
Tea without a bag or infuser? Tea Drops make it possible, with premium loose-leaf tea pressed into single-serve drops. After they are dropped into hot water, a perfect cup of tea is ready quickly, without a mess.
Available in a broad variety of herbal, green and black teas; boba and jelly teas; and latte kits. The website notes which products have high caffeine, medium caffeine and no caffeine.
No artificial flavors.
No bleach or microplastics.
Less waste.
Supports Thirst Project, which provides clean water to people who need it.
Fair Trade Certified, USDA Organic
The Chai Box
Booth 8810
The Chai Box founder grew up in a family that drank chai daily. Based on the founder’s mother’s recipes and blends inspired by different regions of India. The brand offers chai concentrates in sweetened and unsweetened flavors.
Loose-leaf options include Masala, green tea, caffeine free, herbal and black tea blends. Several flavors available.
Teas support healthy digestion and heart health, provide antioxidants and may reduce inflammation.
Certified Women Owned
The Chai Box
Booth 8810
The Chai Box founder grew up in a family that drank chai daily. Based on the founder’s mother’s recipes and blends inspired by different regions of India. The brand offers chai concentrates in sweetened and unsweetened flavors.
Loose-leaf options include Masala, green tea, caffeine free, herbal and black tea blends. Several flavors available.
Teas support healthy digestion and heart health, provide antioxidants and may reduce inflammation.
Certified Women Owned
It’s no secret that being successful in the natural and organic products industry is difficult. But it’s not unusual to hear entrepreneurs in this space praise the support, cooperation and advice they’ve received from those who’ve walked ahead of them.
Startup CPG is just one organization in the natural and organic products industry that offers emerging brand founders information about events and opportunities, answers to questions they might have and resources such as blogs, podcasts and a Slack channel so they can network across the country.
At this year’s Natural Product Expo West, buyers can find several emerging brands from the Startup CPG community on Level 3 of the Anaheim Convention Center—part of the Hot Products exhibition area.
New this year, anyone with a green buyer badge has exclusive access to Level 3 and the North Halls from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday, March 13. These areas will be open to all exhibit badge holders from 1-6 p.m. Wednesday; and 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Thursday, March 14, and Friday, March 15.
Natural Products Expo West, the leading trade show in the natural, organic and healthy products industry, begins March 12 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. Click through for the agenda, registration, travel information and more.
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