What SPINS Saw at Expo West 2026

The first thing attendees encountered stepping off Katella Avenue wasn’t a supplement brand or an organic snack startup. It was Steak & Shake, handing out free samples of beef tallow French fries. That detail alone set the tone for what Expo West 2026 turned out to be: a show shaped as much by shifting regulatory and cultural currents as by the brands themselves.

The overarching theme was shopper-first. Ingredients, certifications, and brand stories were intentional — built for today’s consumer rather than for aspirational lifestyle positioning. Messaging kept it simple: focused on what was and wasn’t in products, and why that mattered. Approachability was the point. Access to wellness, the show signaled, is for everyone.

What was hot on the floor:

• Energy drinks with layered formulations
• Kosher and Halal certifications
• Clear protein beverages
• Creatine in every format imaginable
• Real dairy is making a visible return at the expense of plant-based alternatives

What held steady:

• Regenerative organic
• Protein expanding across every aisle
• Seed oil aversion
• Whole grains having a cultural moment
• Women’s focused wellness and digestive health

What’s coming:

• Clean Label Purity Awards
• Climate Label certifications
• Non-UPF Verified claims
• Whey protein alternatives are gaining traction as supply tightens
• Collagen evolving beyond beauty
• Diverse fiber sources finding new product homes

For a full look at everything SPINS captured on the floor, download the complete 2026 Expo West Recap here.

Here’s what SPINS saw across the floor.

A unique convergence of consumer skepticism and new FDA leadership is reshaping what ends up in products — and what gets taken out.

Seed oils are losing shelf space fast

The Seed Oil Free Certification has been around since 2023, predating the current administration, but it’s gaining momentum now that cultural and regulatory headwinds are aligned.

SPINS data from the 52 weeks ending 2/22/2026 shows seed oil-free potato chips up 26% in unit sales, tortilla chips up 7%, and frozen entrees up 1% — all small numbers in isolation, but notable given how recently the certification launched and how limited the certified universe still is. At Expo, salty snack booths were the most visible arena for this shift, with tallow-forward brands like VACA, MASA, and Ranger leading the charge. In Frozen, Jesse & Bens leaned into beef tallow while Folkland went simple with olive oil. Lekker Kitchen launched outright with a seed oil-free claim; Saffron Road revamped its entire product line to eliminate them.

Real dairy is having a moment

Plant-based dairy has been in retreat across the refrigerated case — plant-based milk down 5.9%, plant-based cheese down 20.2%, plant-based yogurt down 7.4% — while conventional dairy holds steady or grows.

Brands at Expo were leaning into three angles: high-protein dairy (units up 85% for products in the 25–30g range, same growth for 30g+), A2 formulations (up 29%) for consumers who love dairy but struggle to digest standard A1 proteins, and clean label claims that go beyond antibiotic-free to include grain-free, no artificial colors, and pasture-based sourcing. Organic Valley’s Grassmilk and Pioneer Pastures were among the standouts; Le Zette and Moozy made a case for A2 as a broader audience play.

Ancient grains found their moment

The newly updated U.S. Dietary Guidelines put a specific emphasis on whole grain consumption, and brands took that opening. The framing at Expo wasn’t “healthy” in the abstract — it was “these ingredients fed civilizations.” Purplesful Snacks are built around purple corn, rich in antioxidants. Cob Popcorn led with sorghum. Defi Snacks are centered on buckwheat. Tarwi Andean Lupin Beans offered lupini as a dual protein-and-fiber play. In SPINS data, amaranth, sorghum, and kamut are all growing relative to corn, rice, and barley — still small in absolute dollars, but directionally clear.

Ingredient trends don’t happen in a vacuum. Two supply dynamics on the floor signaled that CPG brands will need to adapt their formulations regardless of consumer preference.

Beef prices are at record highs, and the U.S. cattle herd is at its smallest since 1951

That math is showing up in product development. High-protein meat snacks continue to grow, but chicken is gaining ground in the jerky and meat snacks space as a more accessible price point. On the show floor, game meats — bison, venison, elk — appeared with more frequency, another sign of diversification. Premium beef products are also finding buyers willing to pay up: regenerative organic meat sticks and grass-fed beef jerky crisps were both present, suggesting consumers won’t abandon beef entirely but are increasingly looking for a reason to justify the price.

Whey protein demand is outstripping supply

The Raw Liquid Whey Commodity Price Index has climbed to new highs, which is starting to open the conversation around alternatives. Clear protein drinks continued to show up strong on the floor — improved texture, new flavor profiles, and functional additions like caffeine and electrolytes. Protein is also continuing to colonize new aisles: cereal, ice cream, chips, and yogurt are all fair game. The ingredient pairing gaining the most traction is protein plus creatine, which will come up again in the VMS section. As whey prices stay elevated, pea protein, casein, and collagen are the logical beneficiaries — though none have yet seen the kind of growth whey has.

Energy was one of the most active categories on the floor, and the biggest shift isn’t in caffeine levels — it’s in what surrounds the caffeine.

The category has moved from single-source stimulation to multi-functional stacks. Formulations are now built across four roles: stimulants for alertness, caloric fuel for quick energy, cellular support (taurine, CoQ10, creatine) for sustained output, and nutritional cofactors like B vitamins and magnesium to help the body process it all.

SPINS data indexed against the energy category’s 11% growth shows products layering caffeine with yerba mate and green coffee bean at 1,786 — and stacks adding taurine and L-theanine above 900. The numbers tell the story: complexity is outperforming simplicity.

BeGOAT, using coffee fruit extract for 200mg caffeine with a minimal ingredient list, represents the clean and simple end. Bloom Nutrition, blending caffeine with taurine, L-theanine, green tea, CoQ10, ginseng, and green coffee bean extract at 180mg, represents the stacked end. Both found space on the floor.

Tea is positioning itself as the post-soda energy alternative

Last year’s show was saturated with functional sodas. In 2026, canned tea stepped into the spotlight. Spindrift and Daytrip both announced entry into the RTD tea category. St. James and Just Iced Tea expanded their lines. The case for tea is also structural: as global coffee commodity prices have climbed steeply, tea has a window to capture consumers looking for reliable caffeine with added functionality.

Functional tea is growing fastest in collagen (+84%) and Vitamin C (+58%) — and brands like Pretty Tasty (collagen-infused), Liv Real (green tea caffeine paired with L-theanine and electrolytes), and The Ryl Tea Co (500mg Vitamin C immune support line) are already making the functional play.

If the ingredient side of this show was about what’s in products, the certification side was about what brands are willing to prove.

Six certifications showed up with meaningful frequency: Regenerative Organic Certified, Clean Label Purity Award, The Climate Label Certified, Kosher/Halal designations, Non-UPF Verified, and Soil & Climate Initiative. Each addresses a different dimension of consumer skepticism — sourcing, purity, environmental accountability, dietary inclusion, and processing standards.

Non-GMO Project still leads in certified-product dollar size by a wide margin. But regenerative organic and upcycled are among the fastest-growing, and the categories driving that growth are telling: cold cereal up 156% in regenerative organic certified sales, rice cakes up 136%, frozen fruits and vegetables up 91%, jerky and meat snacks up 104%.

Lundberg was a standout — not only Non-GMO but regenerative organic, with Sweet Cakes made from certified brown rice in facilities powered by 100% renewable energy. Smash Foods represented the upcycled angle, using “imperfect” fruits and chia seeds to produce jam with a fraction of the conventional sugar load.

Digestive health has expanded well beyond probiotics. The microbiome is increasingly discussed in relation to mood and cognitive function, and interest in fiber is rising across every aisle.

In SPINS data, “good source of fiber” products (10–19% daily value) are growing fastest in soda ($52M, +152%), yogurt and plant-based yogurt (+33%), and chips, pretzels, and snacks ($300M, +29%). At the high-fiber level (>20% daily value), the top three growing categories are frozen breakfast foods (+46%), kombucha and other functional beverages (+37%), and yogurt (+29%). Yogurt appears in both tables — and it earns that position, delivering simultaneously on fiber and inherent probiotic content.

The other angle at Expo was fiber-plus supplements: products that deliver fiber alongside functional additions like collagen, magnesium, and other micronutrients. The protein-plus-fiber pairing is also gaining real momentum as consumers look to address both macros at once.

The VMS category at Expo was defined by three converging trends: creatine expanding beyond the gym, collagen evolving beyond beauty, and women’s health getting meaningfully more specific.

Women’s wellness is entering a new phase

Historically framed around PMS and menopause, the category is now addressing hormones, cycle tracking, reproductive health, and life-stage transitions in more targeted ways.

SPINS data shows PMS supplements contributing 41% of new item dollar growth in women’s health, with reproductive health (15%) and menopause (13%) also driving significant new item activity. On the floor, Empress Herbal Powders, FLO Reproductive Health, and PH-D Creatine Menopause Relief each showed how far the category has moved from generic women’s multivitamins.

Creatine is everywhere — and leaving the supplement aisle

Gummies are gaining share (+277% in dollar growth, +244% in units) while powders remain dominant at 74.7% dollar share but are losing share points. Chewable formats and soft chews are arriving. Creatine is also being combined with hydration, HMB, and energy formulations, and is beginning to appear in the beverage aisle.

Collagen is leveling up

Collagen powders are up 45% in dollars, and 61% in units, but gummies at +277% show the format shift clearly. Brands are no longer positioning collagen as a single-benefit product. The new positioning layers collagen with hyaluronic acid, Vitamin C, colostrum for gut health, or electrolytes for hydration — moving it from a beauty ingredient to a broader wellness play.

The Arnold Sports Festival, running the same week as Expo, reinforced the active nutrition side of this story. Performance has extended beyond muscle and joint support to include glucose management, liver health, sleep, and stress. Peptides and nootropics were active conversations on the floor, and the trend toward format innovation — strips, pouches, mists, waterless creatine — shows the category is optimizing for compliance as much as efficacy.

A few other standouts from the floor that don’t fit neatly into a single category: pistachio has survived the Dubai chocolate moment and is now appearing across condiments, snacks, and beverages as a mainstream flavor. Asian flavors and formats continue to see sustained consumer interest. Swicy is holding strong through mango habanero, hot honey, and chili crisp. Hydration has pulled back from triple-digit growth rates but remains in active innovation, with gummy formats, shots, and multi-functional powders that address liver support alongside electrolytes.