Digital Marketing Strategist

What Puris Foods heard at Expo West 2026: key nutrition trends, answered. Natural Products Expo West is always a pulse check on where food and beverage innovation is heading. This year, one thing was clear: brands aren't chasing fads, they're solving for how nutrition fits into everyday products. Here are the most common questions Puris Foods heard at Expo West 2026, and what they tell Puris Foods about where the industry is going. Q: Is protein still the biggest trend in food and beverage? Short answer: Yes, but it's no longer the headline. Protein came up in nearly every conversation at Expo West, across categories ranging from beverages and supplements to bakery, cereals, and snacks. But the way brands talk about protein has changed. Rather than asking how much protein they can add, companies are asking: * How can protein fit seamlessly into existing products? * How do Puris Foods improve nutrition without changing taste or texture? * How do Puris Foods add protein to foods people already eat every day? What this signals: Protein is no longer a differentiator; it's an expectation. Innovation now lives in how protein is delivered, not just the number on the label. Brands like BeAmazing are already bringing this protein trend to life. BeAmazing publicly shares its use of PURIS(R) plant protein, highlighting how high-quality protein continues to anchor innovation across modern nutrition formats. Q: Where is protein showing up beyond shakes and bars? Everyday foods are becoming the new protein vehicles. Protein wasn't confined to traditional nutrition formats. Brands are actively exploring ways to add protein to: * Tortillas and flatbreads * Cereals and granola * Bakery items and snacks * Ready-to-drink beverages The goal isn't to create "protein products", it's to make everyday foods more functional. What this signals: Consumers want nutrition built into their daily routines, not added as a separate product. PURIS 2.0 helps you do just that. Q: Why did hydration come up so often this year? Because hydration is no longer just about water. Hydration was the second most common theme at Expo West, but rarely as a standalone benefit. Brands are increasingly viewing hydration as a delivery system for added nutrition. Common directions Puris Foods saw: * Hydration + protein * Hydration + electrolytes * Hydration + energy or recovery * Hydration + gut health Clear, light, and refreshing formats, especially RTDs, are a major focus. What this signals: Hydration is evolving into functional hydration, where performance, refreshment, and nutrition coexist in one product. Q: What matters most in hydration formats right now? Experience matters as much as functionality. When brands talked about hydration products, performance alone wasn't enough. The most common priorities were: * Clean, light mouthfeel * Good solubility and clarity * Stability over shelf life * Compatibility with other functional ingredients Consumers want hydration products that feel refreshing first - and deliver benefits second. What this signals: Formulation quality is now a competitive advantage in hydration. Its ClearP ingredient meets the moment in every experience. Q: Beyond protein, what other nutrient stood out at Expo West - and how is it evolving in beverages? Fiber, especially when paired with protein. Protein remains foundational, but Expo West 2026 showed that fiber is increasingly being positioned as a complement that helps deliver more balanced, everyday nutrition. Rather than being framed solely around digestion, fiber is now linked to satiety, blood sugar support, gut health, and overall "feel-good" benefits. What stood out most was how often fiber appeared alongside protein, not instead of it. Together, protein and fiber are being treated with more equal intention as brands look to support sustained energy and daily wellness. This pairing is now extending into beverages as hydration evolves into functional hydration. Brands are using drinks - such as clear functional sodas and other refreshing formats - to deliver protein and fiber together without heaviness. What this signals: Fiber is moving from a front-of-pack claim to a functional formulation tool. One example of this protein-plus-fiber evolution is its PURIS ClearP(TM) Soda - a clear, refreshing beverage formulated with 10 grams of protein using ClearP(TM) protein, paired with Comet(TM) arrabina dietary fiber. Together, they demonstrate how protein and fiber can coexist in a light, drinkable format that supports balanced, everyday nutrition without heaviness. Q: How are brands thinking about "clean label" now? Clean label is assumed; transparency is the differentiator. At Expo West, few brands asked if ingredients were clean label. Instead, conversations focused on: * Ingredient testing and specifications * Consistency and traceability * Regulatory confidence * Long-term supply reliability Clean label is no longer a marketing claim; it's the baseline. What this signals: Trust is built through proof, not promises. Q: Are brands more focused on innovation - or execution? Execution is winning. While innovation remains important, many Expo West conversations centered on: * Scaling existing concepts * Improving performance of current formulations * Reducing complexity without sacrificing nutrition * Making products easier to manufacture and maintain over time Brands want solutions that work not just in the lab, but in real-world production. What this signals: The next phase of food innovation is about making good ideas work better. The Big Takeaway: What Does Expo West 2026 Tell Us About the Future? Expo West 2026 made one thing clear: Nutrition is becoming quieter, smarter, and more integrated. * Protein is expected, not promoted * Hydration is multifunctional * Fiber supports performance * Everyday foods are doing more nutritional work * Trust and execution matter more than hype The brands that succeed won't be the loudest, they'll be; the ones that make nutrition feel effortless. Want to learn how PURIS can help you stay ahead of protein, fiber, and beverage trends? Contact Puris Foods today to start the conversation. Contact Puris Foods today

Beverages, snacks pack protein at SupplySide. LAS VEGAS - "Tri-biotic" beverages, protein from various sources, and ingredients for sleep or focus were found on the exposition floor at SupplySide Global in Las Vegas held Oct. 28-30. The term "GLP-1 friendly" was heard quite often as well. While soft drinks such as Poppi have introduced consumers to prebiotic fiber in beverages, ingredient suppliers at the show promoted other functional benefits in beverages. ADM, for example, featured a "tri-biotic" soft drink that contained prebiotics, probiotics and postbiotics. The 3.75 grams of prebiotic fiber and 1 billion colony forming units (CFUs) came from a probiotic strain that supports digestion and immune function, according to the company. The Chicago-based company also sampled a ready-to-drink protein beverage containing 30 grams of protein to help consumers retain muscle mass, which users of GLP-1 medications may struggle to do. The protein was sourced from soy, pea and dairy, and it had a protein digestibly corrected amino acid score (PDCAAS) of 1.0, the highest score possible. A "tri-biotic" mocktail from Kerry contained 9 grams of chicory root fiber, 5 billion CFUs of probiotics to help mitigate common gastrointestinal effects and improve quality of life for GLP-1 users, according to Kerry. Comet Bio and Puris partnered to develop a protein drink. ClearP hydrolyzed pea protein from Puris contributed 10 grams fiber, and Arrabina prebiotic fiber from Comet Bio contributed 3 grams of fiber. Protein in beverages and snacks. Arla Foods Ingredients sampled a soft drink that contained 10 grams of protein that featured a whey-derived beta-lactoglobulin. The ingredient is high in leucine to support muscle maintenance and growth, according to the company. The drink is intended to appeal to GLP-1 medication users as it helps to correct muscle mass loss, said Clara Komischke-Konnerup, sales developer - North America for Arla. A protein shot from Arla contained 20 grams of protein. Visitors to Roquette's booth could sample a soft drink with 10 grams of soluble corn fiber and a protein chip with 11 grams of fava bean protein per serving. FrieslandCampina Ingredients featured caseinates in a ready-to-drink beverage that benefits satiety, muscle strength and sustained energy, said Sophie Zillinger Molenaar, global marketing execution lead. The caseinates, through a slow release of amino acids, support muscle protein synthesis, making it GLP-1 friendly, she said. All forms of protein are selling well, said Dan Force, vice president of innovative products for Prinova. Dairy proteins and animal proteins are outpacing vegan proteins, but price increases for beef might change that scenario, he said. Katherine Neshek, commercial product manager at Prinova, said protein is showing up in various product categories, including ice cream, cereal, snacks and chips. Prinova at SupplySide featured a raspberry lemon cake with 11 grams of protein sourced from pumpkin seeds and peas along with pumpkin spice bites with 16 grams of protein per bite sourced from pumpkin seed, milk and eggs. Cognition in the corners. Ingredients with cognition benefits were found at several booths. Givaudan promoted a ginseng extract that was part of a Michigan State University study on race car drivers. Researchers studied mental fatigue and physical fatigue over a two-week period among 42 drivers at Indianapolis-based PitFit, Inc., a training facility for professional race car drivers. The study was published Sept. 9 in Frontiers in Sports and Active Living. Jim Leo, chief executive officer of PitFit, said that in the study drivers might bicycle or spend time in the heat before racing a lap on the track. The study found racers who took the ginseng extract improved their times by 27% when turning corners and by 3 seconds in fastest lap times. Leo said improving by one-tenth of a second on every corner adds up. In a questionnaire, 94% of the drivers said the extract enhanced their focus and 91% said they perceived the effects faster than other products they have tried in the past. ThreoTech LLC launched in April of 2024. The company was created to represent the Magtein ingredient, which previously was part of AIDP, said Laurentia Guesman, director of brand management at ThreoTech. The ingredient breaks through a blood-brain barrier to become bioavailable in the brain, she said. Benefits may come in cognition, sleep and hand-to-eye coordination.