Natural Products Expo West 2026 returns to Anaheim, California, March 3-6, marking the 45th anniversary of the natural and organic industry's most important gathering. Whether you're a founder building your first retail partnership, an operations manager optimizing your supply chain, or a finance professional modeling growth scenarios, this event offers an unmatched opportunity to accelerate your brand's trajectory.
Why? Because Expo West isn't just a trade show; it's where the entire consumer goods ecosystem converges. Retail buyers from Amazon, Whole Foods, Target, Kroger, and Costco scout their next hero products. Founders connect with investors, manufacturing partners, and distribution channels. Operations teams discover solutions for the inventory and supply chain challenges keeping them up at night. Marketing leaders identify emerging trends six months before they hit mainstream.
This guide will help you navigate Expo West 2026 strategically.
What Is Natural Products Expo West?
Natural Products Expo West is the largest trade show for natural, organic, and health-focused consumer brands in North America. More than 86,000 attendees from 136 countries converge on the Anaheim Convention Center, including:
- 3,600+ exhibiting brands showcasing products across food & beverage, supplements, beauty & personal care, and lifestyle categories
- Major retail buyers from national chains, regional grocers, independent retailers, and e-commerce platforms
- Investors and acquirers actively seeking emerging brands with strong unit economics and growth potential
- Service providers across the full value chain: 3PLs, co-manufacturers, marketing agencies, demand planners, technology platforms
- Industry media and influencers shaping consumer trends and brand narratives
If you're building a consumer brand selling through any combination of DTC, Amazon, wholesale, or retail, the people who matter to your business will be here.
Why Your Brand Should Care About Expo West
For Founders & CEOs
Expo West is where major retail partnerships get initiated, investor relationships begin, and strategic decisions get validated. You'll gain competitive intelligence that informs category expansion, pricing strategy, and channel prioritization. The brands you're competing against for shelf space will be here; understanding their positioning, innovations, and go-to-market strategy provides a decisive advantage.
For Operations & Supply Chain Teams
Walking the floor provides direct access to co-manufacturers, 3PLs, packaging suppliers, and logistics providers who understand the unique complexities of consumer brands. You'll discover solutions for demand forecasting, inventory optimization, and supply chain visibility that can transform your operations from reactive firefighting to proactive planning.
For Finance & Strategy Teams
Expo West offers concentrated market intelligence: which categories are growing profitably versus burning cash on unsustainable customer acquisition, what retail partnerships actually require in terms of working capital and promotional support, and how emerging brands are achieving scale with lean teams. You'll benchmark your assumptions about inventory turns, promotional lift, retailer deductions, and channel economics against real-world data.
Retail Buyers at Expo West: Who's There and What They'll Ask
One of the most valuable aspects of Expo West is direct access to retail buyers who control shelf space at the accounts that can transform your business overnight. But walking up to a Whole Foods or Target buyer without understanding what they'll ask is like showing up to an investor pitch without knowing your unit economics.
Retail buyers think in financial terms. They evaluate risk, forecast velocity, and model profitability. If you can't answer their finance questions with confidence, the conversation ends before it begins.
Major Retailers Attending Expo West 2026
Retail buyers from these major accounts consistently attend Expo West to discover emerging brands and evaluate line extensions from existing partners:
National Grocery Chains
- Whole Foods Market
- Kroger
- Albertsons/Safeway
- Publix
- H-E-B
- Wegmans
- Sprouts Farmers Market
Mass Retail & Club
- Target
- Walmart
- Costco
- Sam's Club
- BJ's Wholesale Club
Natural & Specialty
- Natural Grocers
- The Fresh Market
- Earth Fare
- Independent natural retailers (represented through cooperatives like INFRA)
E-Commerce & Emerging
- Amazon (Fresh, Whole Foods, online marketplace)
- Thrive Market
- Pharmaca
Convenience & Drug
- CVS
- Walgreens
- 7-Eleven
- Circle K
Not every buyer from every banner will attend, but the concentration of retail decision-makers at Expo West is unmatched. These conversations can lead to test programs, regional rollouts, or national distribution deals worth millions in revenue.
The Finance Questions Retail Buyers Will Ask
Retail buyers are financially sophisticated. They're evaluated on category performance, and every SKU they bring in displaces another product. They need confidence that your brand can deliver on projections, support promotional programs, and avoid out-of-stocks that damage their category metrics.
Here are the finance and operations questions you should be prepared to answer:
Cash Flow & Working Capital
- "Can you finance the inventory required for this program?" (Translation: Do you have the cash or credit to fund 60-90 day payment terms?)
- "What's your current working capital situation?" (They want to know you won't run out of cash mid-program)
- "How are you financing growth?" (Equity, debt, cash flow positive?)
Pricing & Margin Structure
- "What's your wholesale cost and suggested retail price?" (They're calculating their margin immediately)
- "What promotional support can you offer?" (Co-op dollars, TPR funding, placement fees)
- "Is there room in the margin for future promotional activity?" (They want flexibility to discount without losing money)
- "How does your pricing compare to category leaders?" (Premium, parity, or value positioning?)
Velocity & Turn Expectations
- "What velocity are you seeing in similar accounts?" (Units per store per week)
- "What inventory turn rate do you forecast?" (They're modeling cash tied up in inventory)
- "How quickly can you scale production if the program succeeds?" (Can you handle 10x growth?)
Supply Chain & Fulfillment
- "What's your lead time from PO to delivery?" (They're planning inventory flow)
- "Can you deliver to our distribution centers, or do we need a distributor?" (DSD vs. warehouse delivery)
- "What happens if we see unexpected demand? Can you ramp production quickly?" (They've been burned by stockouts before)
- "Do you have backup co-manufacturing capacity?" (Risk mitigation if your primary manufacturer fails)
Promotional Lift & Marketing Support
- "What lift have you seen from in-store promotions in other accounts?" (Historical data from comparable programs)
- "What marketing support will you provide during launch?" (Social media, influencer campaigns, sampling programs)
- "What's your customer acquisition cost, and how does retail compare to DTC?" (Understanding your channel economics)
Performance Metrics from Existing Channels
- "What's your Amazon velocity?" (Buyers check this independently, so be honest)
- "Which DTC or wholesale accounts have been most successful?" (Case studies showing traction)
- "What's your repeat purchase rate?" (Indicator of product-market fit)
- "What does your customer feedback look like?" (Reviews, NPS, return rates)
Risk & Contingency Planning
- "What happens if the program underperforms?" (Return policies, markdown support)
- "Have you worked with retail at this scale before?" (They want to know if you understand the complexity)
- "What financial projections are you using for this partnership?" (Your model vs. their model)
How to Prepare for These Conversations
The worst thing you can do is stumble through these questions or promise to "get back to them" on basic financial metrics. Buyers have limited time and dozens of brands competing for their attention. Confidence and preparedness separate serious brands from wishful thinkers.
Create a One-Page Retail Snapshot
Build a simple reference sheet you can review before buyer meetings:
- Current wholesale cost and suggested retail price
- Velocity data from existing accounts (units per store per week)
- Available promotional support (co-op %, off-invoice discounts, placement fees)
- Lead times and MOQs from your manufacturer
- Case pack configuration and pallet quantities
- Current capacity and scale-up timeline
Model the Financial Impact Before the Meeting
Use scenario planning to understand what a retail partnership actually means for your business:
- "If Target orders 5,000 units with 90-day payment terms, how much cash do we need?"
- "What happens to our cash flow if the program succeeds and they reorder 3x?"
- "Can we afford the co-op spend and promotional support they'll require?"
- "What's our breakeven timeline for this retail program?"
The brands that get retail deals aren't always the ones with the best products. They're the ones who demonstrate they can be reliable, scalable partners who understand the financial realities of retail.
Practice Your Answers Out Loud
Rehearse your responses to the questions above with your team. The goal isn't to memorize scripts but to internalize your numbers so you can speak confidently under pressure. When a Costco buyer asks about your promotional lift, you should be able to answer immediately, not pull out your phone and start searching through spreadsheets.
Bring Visual Aids (But Keep Them Simple)
A one-page sell sheet with product images, pricing, and key metrics is useful. A 40-page PowerPoint deck is not. Buyers want information density, not presentation theater. Think "reference card" not "pitch deck."
Know When to Say "I Don't Know"
If a buyer asks a question you genuinely don't know the answer to, it's better to say "That's a great question, let me get you the exact number" than to guess incorrectly. But this should be the exception, not the rule. The foundational finance questions above should never be surprises.
What Happens After the Conversation
If the conversation goes well, you'll typically leave with next steps: a follow-up call, a formal presentation to their buying team, a request for samples, or a proposal for a test program in select stores.
This is where preparation pays off even more. The buyers who were impressed by your command of the numbers will expect detailed financial projections, promotional plans, and supply chain documentation. You'll need to model the program comprehensively: inventory investment, cash flow timing, promotional support, velocity assumptions, and breakeven analysis.
This is exactly the kind of scenario planning Drivepoint was built for. The difference between "sounds interesting, send me more info" and "let's move forward with a test" is often the speed and confidence with which you can deliver credible financial analysis.
The Unspoken Truth About Retail Partnerships
Retail partnerships can be transformative, but they're also risky if you don't understand the cash flow implications. The revenue shows up on your P&L immediately, but the cash shows up 60-90 days later. Meanwhile, you're funding inventory for the next order, paying for promotional support, and managing the complexity of DSD or warehouse delivery.
Many brands get their first big retail PO and celebrate without realizing they just committed to a working capital cycle that could strain or break their business. The brands that scale successfully through retail are the ones who modeled the scenarios beforehand, understood the cash requirements, and built sufficient runway to weather the payment timing.
How Drivepoint Helps You Prepare for Retail Conversations
This is exactly why Drivepoint exists. The buyer meetings at Expo West happen fast. You have 10-15 minutes to make an impression, answer financial questions confidently, and demonstrate you're a credible partner who understands retail economics.
Before Expo West: Model the retail scenarios you're likely to encounter. What happens if Target orders 10,000 units with 90-day terms? What if Whole Foods wants to test in 50 stores? What promotional support can you actually afford? Run these scenarios in minutes, understand the complete P&L and cash flow impact, and walk into buyer meetings with confidence instead of anxiety.
During Buyer Meetings: When a buyer asks "Can you support a national rollout?" you'll know the answer immediately because you've already modeled it. When they ask about promotional lift assumptions, you can reference comparable programs and explain your methodology. The brands that get deals are the ones who demonstrate financial sophistication and operational readiness.
After the Meeting: When buyers request detailed proposals, you need to deliver quickly. The window for responding is measured in days, not weeks. With Drivepoint, you can generate comprehensive financial projections, model multiple program scenarios side-by-side, and deliver professional analysis that builds buyer confidence. Speed matters; opportunities don't wait for finance to finish building spreadsheets.
Our customers manage retail launches through Drivepoint constantly. They model Target programs, forecast Costco velocity, plan inventory requirements for regional Kroger rollouts, and understand exactly how much working capital they'll need before committing. The result? Confident decisions, successful launches, and retail partnerships that actually improve profitability instead of creating cash flow crises.
Meet With Drivepoint at Expo West
If you're heading into buyer meetings at Expo West and want confidence in your numbers, we can help.
Schedule a Meeting Onsite
Our team will be at Expo West all week. We'd love to meet with you to discuss:
- The retail opportunities you're exploring
- Financial questions you're expecting from buyers
- How to model retail partnerships with confidence
- What other consumer brands are seeing in similar accounts
Can't Meet at Expo West? Request a Demo
Whether you're preparing for buyer meetings, evaluating a retail PO, or just tired of drowning in spreadsheets while opportunities pass you by, we'd love to show you how Drivepoint transforms retail planning from anxiety-inducing guesswork to confident, data-driven decisions.
Schedule a demo and see how consumer brands are using Drivepoint to answer retail buyers' toughest questions in real-time, model unlimited scenarios in minutes, and turn retail partnerships into profitable growth engines instead of cash flow nightmares.
Walk the Expo West floor with confidence. Know your numbers. Model the scenarios. Answer the questions. And when you meet that buyer who could change your trajectory, be the brand that's ready.
Brands to Watch: Visit These Booths at Expo West 2026
Several innovative consumer brands building with strategic rigor and operational excellence will be exhibiting at Expo West 2026. These companies represent what's possible when brands combine great products with disciplined planning and execution. We're proud to work with many of them and recommend adding these booths to your must-visit list:
Drivepoint Customer Brands
Oats Overnight – High-protein overnight oats disrupting the breakfast category with impressive velocity
Immi – Low-carb instant ramen reimagining a classic category for health-conscious consumers
Mosh – Brain-boosting protein bars and snacks solving real nutritional gaps
Fire Department Coffee – Veteran-founded premium coffee brand with powerful mission-driven positioning
Brez – Functional cannabis beverages navigating complex regulatory landscape while scaling
Savannah Bee – Artisanal honey and body care products with authentic sourcing story
Dropps – Sustainable laundry and cleaning products leading the eco-friendly household category
Huxley – Plant-based and low-sugar energy drink launched in early 2024
Legendairy Milk - Lactation supplements designed to support breastfeeding mothers
Ancient Crunch – Sprouted seed snacks bringing ancient grains to modern snacking
Innovative Brands Worth Your Time
Wise Bar – Allergen-friendly nutrition bars solving real dietary restriction challenges
Dr Squatch – Natural men's soap and grooming products with remarkable DTC-to-retail journey
Chike Nutrition – High-protein nutrition shakes with exceptional taste profile
Smash Kitchen – Ready-to-eat meals making healthy convenience accessible
Mezcla – Plant-based protein blends with authentic Latin flavor profiles
Gruns – Seed-based snacks riding the seed snacking mega-trend
Bragg Live Food – Legacy brand (apple cider vinegar and seasonings) successfully navigating modern retail
It's Skinny (It's That Simple) – Better-for-you beverage mixes with clean positioning
De La Calle – Latin-inspired authentic foods bringing cultural flavors to mainstream retail
Stop by these booths to see how brands at various stages (from emerging to scaling to established) are navigating the opportunities and challenges you're likely facing. These teams are building real businesses with strong unit economics, thoughtful channel strategy, and operational discipline. Whether you're looking for competitive intelligence, partnership opportunities, or simply inspiration from operators doing it right, these conversations will be worth your time. Check out the full exhibitor list here.
Must-Attend Networking Events at Expo West 2026
Don’t miss these stand-out opportunities to meet fellow attendees. Drivepoint will also be popping up at each of these events with our Cash Flow Challenge giveaway.
Tuesday, March 3, 2026
- Expo West Block Party | Time: 3:00pm - 6:00pm Location: Grand & Arena Plaza
- The Kickoff Dinner by StartupCPG | Time: 6:00pm - 9:00pm | Location: Anaheim White House | Register
Wednesday, March 4, 2026
- Early Morning Yoga | Time: 7:30am - 9:00am | Location: Grand Plaza Stage
- Community Brunch | Time: 8:00am - 10:00am | Location: Marriott Parking Lot
- Exhibit Halls Open | Time: 10:00am - 6:00pm | Location: Anaheim Convention Center
- Evenings on the Plaza | Time: 6:00pm - 8:00pm | Location: Grand Plaza
- An Organic Night Out | Time: 6:00pm - 9:00pm | Location: Marquis Ballroom, Anaheim Marriott | Register
- Whipstitch Capital Speakeasy, Sponsored by Drivepoint | Time: 5:30pm - 10:00pm | By Invitation Only
- Alley Rally by StartupCPG | Time: 7:00pm - 10:00pm | Location: Anaheim Bowlero | Register
Thursday, March 5, 2026
- Exhibit Halls Open | Time: 10:00am - 6:00pm | Location: Anaheim Convention Center
- J.E.D.I. Community Happy Hour | Time: 4:00pm - 6:00pm | Location: Arena Plaza
- Evenings on the Plaza | Time: 6:00pm - 8:00pm | Location: Grand Plaza
Friday, March 6
- Exhibit Halls Open | Time: 10:00am - 2:00pm | Location: Anaheim Convention Center
Practical Planning: Maximizing Your Expo West ROI
Expo West is massive and potentially overwhelming. Here's how to approach it strategically:
Before the Event:
1. Set Clear Objectives
Don't just wander. Define 2-3 strategic objectives relevant to your role:
Founder/CEO Examples:
- "Initiate conversations with 5 target retail buyers for potential partnerships"
- "Evaluate 3 co-manufacturers for capacity expansion"
- "Connect with 10 brands 6-12 months ahead of us in retail journey"
Marketing Examples:
- "Identify emerging positioning trends in our category"
- "Meet with 5 content creators/influencers in our target demographic"
- "Discover packaging innovations we could adapt"
Operations Examples:
- "Evaluate demand planning solutions for multi-channel complexity"
- "Meet with 3 3PLs about East Coast distribution"
- "Benchmark inventory strategies with similar brands"
2. Pre-Schedule Key Meetings
Don't rely on serendipitous encounters. Reach out to retail buyers, service providers, and brands you want to meet. Schedule 30-minute slots in advance. Your calendar should have structured time blocks, not just "walk the floor."
3. Research Exhibitors Strategically
The exhibitor list is searchable. Build your hit list:
- Direct competitors (study their positioning)
- Adjacent category brands (partnership opportunities)
- Service providers solving your current problems, like Drivepoint which can help you tackle your FP&A challenges
- Innovative brands you admire (learn from them)
4. Download the Expo West App
Navigate efficiently, save contacts, get real-time updates, access livestreamed sessions: Download the app.
During the Event:
1. Protect Your Energy
You'll walk 5+ miles per day. Pace yourself. Schedule breaks. Eat real meals, not just booth samples. Low energy kills your ability to think strategically and build relationships.
2. Batch Your Time Strategically
- Morning: High-value meetings and buyer-only hours when you're freshest
- Midday: Educational sessions and structured networking
- Afternoon: Service provider exploration and booth visits
- Evening: Relationship-building events where deals actually get done
3. Explore the Expo Floor Systematically.
Consider batching your floor visits by objective:
- Competitive intelligence walk: Your category and adjacent categories
- Trend identification walk: Hot Products Pavilion to see what's emerging
- Solution discovery walk: Service providers solving problems you currently face
- Partnership exploration walk: Co-manufacturers, suppliers, distributors
4. Take Strategic Notes
Capture intelligence systematically:
- Competitive positioning and innovations observed
- Retail partnership opportunities identified
- Service provider solutions to evaluate
- Trends emerging across multiple brands
- Follow-up actions with specific contacts
5. Prioritize Relationship Quality Over Quantity
Collecting 200 business cards means nothing. Having 10 meaningful conversations with potential partners, customers, or mentors changes your trajectory. Focus on depth, not breadth.
After the Event:
1. Follow Up Within 48 Hours
Everyone you met is drowning in follow-ups. Stand out by responding quickly with specific references to your conversation.
2. Synthesize Intelligence
Create a post-event debrief:
- Key trends and competitive intelligence
- Strategic opportunities identified
- Partnerships to pursue
- Action items with owners and deadlines
3. Execute on Commitments
Expo West only delivers ROI if you execute on what you learned. Schedule follow-up calls, request demos from service providers, model opportunities you identified, and maintain momentum on relationships you started.
Pro Tips from Expo Veterans
- Arrive early to sessions: Best networking happens in the 10 minutes before sessions start
- Don't overpack your schedule: Leave buffer time for serendipitous conversations
- Focus on relationships: The people you meet will be in your network for years
- Attend evening events: More partnerships form over drinks than formal meetings
- Use Tuesday and Friday wisely: Quieter days perfect for deeper conversations.
- Wear your exhibitor badge proudly: If you're exhibiting, wear it everywhere, including evening events
Why Drivepoint Cares About Expo West
At Drivepoint, we serve consumer brand operators who are done drowning in spreadsheets and ready to make decisions with clarity and confidence. Expo West represents everything we believe about building modern consumer brands:
Strategic Advantage Comes from Market Intelligence
The best operators aren't just executing today's plan; they deeply understand their competitive landscape, retail dynamics, and category trends. Expo West provides concentrated access to this intelligence.
Speed Equals Competitive Advantage
At Expo West, you'll see the pace of decision-making in this industry. Buyers commit to POs. Brands announce retail launches. Investors deploy capital. Your operations need to support this velocity, not create bottlenecks.
Internal Capability Beats Outsourcing
Walk the floor and you'll quickly distinguish brands that have built strong internal teams from those outsourcing critical functions or reacting constantly. The brands scaling profitably have lean, high-leverage teams that move fast.
Profitability Is the New Growth
The theme at Expo West 2026: investors, retailers, and acquirers care about EBITDA and sustainable unit economics, not vanity revenue metrics. The era of growth-at-any-cost is over. Brands that can model scenarios, understand their complete P&L impact, and make data-driven decisions win.
Connect With Drivepoint at Expo West 2026
We'd love to meet you at Expo West, whether you're:
- A current Drivepoint customer looking to maximize your investment
- Evaluating planning and forecasting solutions built specifically for consumer brands
- Building operational excellence as a competitive advantage
- Simply curious about how modern brands are using technology to scale efficiently
Schedule time with our team here. We're happy to introduce you to Drivepoint customers, share intelligence we're seeing across the industry, or simply talk about the strategic challenges you're navigating.
The Drivepoint Cash Flow Challenge: Real Cash for Real Brands
Cash flow visibility shouldn't be a luxury reserved for enterprise brands with six-person finance teams. At Expo West 2026, Drivepoint is bringing real cash flow with our Cash Flow Challenge giveaway.
How It Works
Find Us: Our team will be roaming the convention center and attending events throughout the week, wearing our signature Drivepoint lanyards stuffed with cash. When you spot us, introduce yourself.
Swap & Enter: Trade your generic conference lanyard for a Drivepoint lanyard and give us your email address. That's your entry into our daily cash prize drawings and the $2,500 grand prize giveaway. One simple swap unlocks multiple chances to win.
Grand Prize: $2,500: In addition to daily cash giveaways throughout the week, one lucky winner will take home $2,500 to put back into their brand or treat themselves. Whether you're facing a cash crunch from inventory orders, planning your next retail launch, or just want to celebrate surviving another Expo West, this is real money you can use however you need.
Why We're Doing This
Consumer brands live and breathe cash flow. You're constantly managing the timing between placing POs, receiving inventory, shipping to retailers, and finally getting paid 60-90 days later. The brands that master cash flow management scale profitably. The ones that don't face painful decisions between growth opportunities and keeping the lights on.
We built Drivepoint to give consumer brands the visibility and confidence to make better cash decisions. The Cash Flow Challenge is our way of making cash flow a little less theoretical and a lot more tangible during Expo West.
Plus, we wanted an excuse to meet as many operators as possible. And who doesn't love free money?
The Fine Print (There Isn't Much)
- Look for Drivepoint team members wearing our branded lanyards throughout the convention center and at evening events
- Swap your lanyard for a Drivepoint lanyard and share your work email to enter
- Daily winners announced each evening, via email
- Grand prize winner announced Friday, March 6
- Open to all registered Expo West attendees from consumer brands
Where to Find Us
We'll be at the CPG Innovation Summit on Tuesday, wandering the exhibit halls Wednesday through Friday, and attending most evening networking events. Follow us on LinkedIn for real-time updates on where we'll be next.
Final Thoughts: Where Opportunity Meets Preparation
Natural Products Expo West 2026 represents four days of concentrated opportunity: to discover products, identify trends, forge partnerships, learn from peers, and accelerate your brand's trajectory.
Your competitors will be there. The buyers who control distribution will be there. The brands six months ahead of you on challenges you're facing will be there. The service providers building solutions specifically for consumer brands will be there.
The question isn't whether Expo West is worth attending. The question is: are you prepared to maximize the opportunity it represents?
We'll see you in Anaheim.
About Drivepoint
Drivepoint is the intelligent FP&A platform built exclusively for consumer brands. We transform how brands plan, forecast, and make strategic decisions by automating manual work and enabling instant scenario planning. Run unlimited scenarios in minutes. Model retail launches with confidence. Make faster decisions with leaner teams. Our customers improve EBITDA margins by 6.7 percentage points on average, transforming operations from reactive to strategic.
Ready to stop reacting and start driving your business? Schedule a demo | Learn more
Questions about Expo West or want to connect with our team? Request a meeting
