Conscious CPG voices: Mesa de Vida gets saucy with nutrition, quality and global flavors

How are “Conscious CPG” companies positioning themselves in today’s fast-changing consumer market—and how are they turning to the Newtopia Now as a vital new resource to advance their brand among key buyers and decision makers?

We asked the founders and leaders of 10 emerging brands who are exhibiting their innovations (many of them for the very first time) at Newtopia Now what are the factors driving their decisions today. Coming from diverse backgrounds, these entrepreneurs all shared at least one thing in common—that gathering with peers, contemporaries, buyers, influencers, mentors, business leaders and others in an intimate setting is critical to learning about the marketplace, building relationships, and growing your business and brand. Enjoy our conversation with Mesa de Vida's Kirsten Sandoval below.

Mesa de Vida - Kirsten Sandoval, Founder and CEO

A former performance and recovery chef to professional athletes, Chef Kirsten Sandoval turned her health around when, as a young mother, she set out to end the cycle of heart disease in her family. Sandoval is also a living kidney donor and mom to two kids with a rare genetic condition. To help care for her family, she originally developed the idea for Mesa de Vida cooking sauces by focusing on nutrition, quality ingredients, convenience and globally inspired flavors. The company, launched in late 2019, will exhibit for the first time at Newtopia Now.

It’s all in the sauce. That’s how it started. Our products have to be cooked and are meant to be combined with a protein, such as a ground protein. They’re made from premium ingredients with no oils and very minimal water, unlike other cooking sauces which are mainly oil, salt, sugar and seasonings. We also pack our products in glass jars—I’ve had a lot of pressure to go into pouches, but I’m standing my ground, as our own doctors are advising my kids to avoid microplastics.

Now that I’m in the ‘Conscious CPG’ game, we see opportunities in some sleepier categories such as sauces, marinades, the cooking sauce section. People should be able to go there for new flavors and products that help get a great meal on the table, but we’ve found very little innovation. People tend to buy the same sauce they like and then go to the hot sauce section to finish off the meal.

That’s where we are talking with retailers, showing them consumer data and letting them know that consumers want more options. We hope to be part of widening the set at the store, making it an appealing hot spot, and helping create shelf space for small brands like Mesa de Vida and others. That’s my guiding light—to be able to hopefully pave the way for other emerging brands.

Newtopia Now is huge for us. It is our first official trade show launch. I hear from so many smaller independent or family-owned businesses and brands that it's hard to get the attention you might need at larger events, so I was excited to see the Newtopia Now platform. It’s aligned for smaller brands like us and we hope to get more direct buyer connections by participating in the show. Also, I like how Newtopia Now has the ‘neighborhoods’ broken out. As a majority woman owned business, we are pleased to be featured in the Represent neighborhood. A lot of retailers—not just natural but conventional retailers, too —are trying to make sure their shelves represent their consumer demographic. They know that people want to see more products made from local, small businesses from diverse communities.

Visit Booth 859 in Represent to see Mesa de Vida.

Newtopia Now, New Hope Network's new trade show, is set for Aug. 25-28 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, Colorado. For more information and to register, click here.