The annual Natural Products Expo West trade show is the biggest expo of its kind on the West Coast, and exhibitors are eager to book their spot and make the most of this show. There are also a number of other natural products trade shows to consider if you want to market to a more specific location or niche with less competition.

Whether you want to exhibit at the next show or wait until next year, our experts have everything you need to know about planning a successful exhibit. Keep reading to learn more about Natural Products Expo West 2024 and other shows in the industry, their value to exhibitors, and how to design the best trade show booths for Natural Products Expo West and similar shows.

Table of Contents:

• Key Facts About Natural Products Expo West 2024
• Other Natural Products Trade Shows
• Why Exhibit at Natural Products Trade Shows?
• 6 Tips for Exhibiting at Natural Products Trade Shows
• Contact Cardinal to Design and Manage Your Natural Products Trade Show Booths

Key Facts About Natural Products Expo West 2024

Natural Products Expo West and its counterpart, Natural Products Expo East, have been the leading industry events for natural, organic, and healthy products. As of 2023, Natural Products Expo East has been discontinued, with the promise of a new event, Newtopia Now, to take its place in 2024.

Attendees of Natural Products Expo West are predominately distributors, retailers, and industry members, with some health practitioners and food service professionals. Buyers big and small come from around the country to find the best organic and natural foods, clean beauty and home items, supplements, and ingredients.

This year for Natural Products Expo West 2024, the event returns to its longtime location in Anaheim, California, for 5 days from March 12–16. The Natural Products Expo West trade show itself consists of:

• The Fresh Ideas Organic Marketplace, which is open on March 13
• The ACC Level 3 and North Halls, which are open March 13–15
• The ACC Halls A–E and Arena, which are open March 14–16

Starting in 2023, attendees who purchase a pass to the Exhibit Hall are able to join some educational sessions but not all of them. An upgraded Conference Experience purchase is needed to access all educational events. The show has also included parties, happy hours, live music, dining, entertainment, networking opportunities, an organic science fundraiser, an awards ceremony, and more.

Other Natural Products Trade Shows

The competition is fierce at the Natural Products Expo West trade show. At other natural products trade shows, you can target an audience in a specific geographic area or a niche you want to market to, and potentially face less competition doing it.

Consider these shows:

• Fancy Food Shows: The Specialty Food Association hosts annual summer and winter shows, with the next Winter Fancy Food Show from January 21–23 in Las Vegas and the next Summer Fancy Food Show from June 23–25 in New York City. While these events are not exclusive to natural, organic, or healthy foods, these products are always well-represented. It’s a great place to showcase your latest products to retailers.
• Organic Grower Summit: This event covers all aspects of the organic product supply chain, including AgTech, food safety, and sustainability. Organic growers and producers can make valuable connections and deals with supply chain companies and service providers. The next summit takes place in Monterey, California, from November 29–30.
• SOHO Expo and SOHO Healthfest: These two events are dedicated to promoting natural products and healthy options. Connect with buyers, make sales, and stay ahead of changes in the industry as an exhibitor at these shows. The next SOHO Expo takes place in Orlando, Florida, from November 30–December 3, and the next SOHO Healthfest takes place in Grapevine, Texas, from April 26–28.
• KeHE Shows: These natural products trade shows showcase new products, exciting deals, and networking opportunities. However, these shows are exclusive to current customers and suppliers. The next KeHE Summer Show takes place in Salt Lake City, Utah, from February 7–8, and the next KeHE Holiday Shows takes place in Chicago, Illinois, from June 12–13.

Why Exhibit at Natural Products Trade Shows?

The natural and organic products industry increased sales by around 7.7% in 2021 for a total of $272 billion, according to New Hope Network. It is anticipated to grow beyond $300 billion in sales in 2024 and $400 billion by 2030.

At natural products trade shows, a piece of the action can be yours. The Natural Products Expo West trade show reported over 65,000 attendees and 3,000 exhibitors in 2023.

If you’re in the natural products industry but on the fence about exhibiting, consider some of the incredible benefits that trade show exhibitors can experience, outlined below.

Gain Fresh Perspectives

Trade shows are all about displaying the latest and greatest advancements and trends in any industry. Exhibitors can especially benefit from experiencing the wide variety of products and services on display at expos such as Natural Products Expo West 2024. The creativity that abounds in trade show displays can kickstart your creativity, inspiring you to develop new ideas for your own business’ branding, messaging, or products.

Get Feedback on Current Products

One of the best reasons to exhibit at the Natural Products Expo West trade show and others like it is to get feedback on your products. You’ll get input from customers, and you can receive immediate feedback from attendees.

Individuals who attend natural products trade shows tend to be knowledgeable and passionate about these products, so their insights are typically valuable. They can offer feedback on ingredients, taste, packaging, and more.

This can help improve your products. There may be issues you haven’t noticed, and feedback from attendees can allow you to refine your products further.

Trade shows can also give you insight into which of your products resonate the most with specific audiences. This kind of market research is invaluable when it comes to meeting the needs of your customers.

It may even be a good idea to have a form that allows attendees to suggest new scents, new tastes, or a new direction. Their ideas can help you better meet the demands of your target audience.

If you receive positive reviews at natural products trade shows, you could consider adding those reviews to your website. Positive reviews can validate the quality of the products you’re offering, and they can bring in new buyers.

Launch a New Product

Do you have a new product that you can’t wait to share with your customers? The Natural Products Expo West trade show or one of the other major natural products trade shows is the perfect place to launch it.

For starters, there will be high visibility. Launching your product at a trade show means it will be seen by a large group of people who are interested in health-conscious, eco-friendly, and natural products.

You will also have immediate exposure that you can use to generate buzz and excitement. Plus, 92% of trade show attendees report that finding new products is a priority for them. So, give them something new!

While you’re getting feedback on your regular products, you can also get feedback on your new product and how it compares to your regular offerings. Is this new product a direction you should go in? Does it align with your brand? These are the kinds of questions attendees can help answer for you.

One of the key advantages of natural products trade shows is the media and press coverage they get. By launching a new product at this kind of event, you could get coverage in relevant news outlets, social media, and publications.

Engage in Unique Marketing Opportunities

Trade show marketing is incredibly unique. Unlike the Internet, where algorithms and search trends help determine what audiences are exposed to, trade shows showcase hundreds or thousands of businesses all at once.

Capturing an audience’s attention in a large, exciting environment such as a packed convention center means that exhibitors can truly pull out all the stops when it comes to their marketing techniques. Between swag bags and raffles, displays that integrate video elements or eye-catching lighting, or even double-deck booth complexes, exhibitors have an exciting array of ways to market themselves on the trade show floor, as compared to more traditional advertising spaces.

Expand Your Network

In any business, networking is essential—the more genuine connections one can build within their market, the more they open their business up to unexpected opportunities for growth and success. Trade shows are a great way to meet other leaders within your industry, make contact with clients both new and old, and put your strongest work on display for an enthusiastic audience of potential customers. When you follow up with meaningful leads you generate on the trade show floor, you could turn a one-time interaction into an ongoing partnership that both sides can benefit from greatly.

6 Tips for Exhibiting at Natural Products Trade Shows

At natural products trade shows, it’s critical to configure your booth to capture attention quickly, and showcase your products and services in the best light possible. Interested exhibitors should consider the following tips to make the most of their trade show booths for Natural Products Expo West and similar events.

1. Plan Well in Advance

While trade show booths for Natural Products Expo West and other expos are a wonderful way to exhibit your products and your brand, they can be stressful if you’re not well-prepared.

Start by creating a budget where you allocate resources for your booth rental, promotional materials, travel, accommodation for your team, and other expenses. Try to avoid last-minute surprises and late fees, because this can push your budget up quite a bit. At the same time, you want to set aside money to handle any last-minute surprises so they don’t ruin your exhibiting experience.

Take your time to design promotional materials that are high-quality, eye-catching, and have all your contact information. Don’t leave these kinds of creative projects for the last minute. If you do, they may end up looking unprofessional.

Prepare your products too. Make sure you have chosen any samples carefully, and that you have enough inventory, giveaways, and other materials needed for the event.

2. Analyze the Floorplan

One of the best resources the expo provides is a detailed map of the space and how exhibitors at this show will be organized. When considering where to book your booth space, see if the show has a dedicated area for your business category so customers interested in your product or service will have a simple time finding you.

The next step is scouting out a prime location for your booth. Potential exhibitors would do well to keep an eye on locations near bathrooms, food stalls, major displays, and hallway junctures, since these areas will be hotspots for foot traffic throughout the exhibition. For example, when looking at the floor plan for Natural Products Expo West 2024, the spots by the entrances and exits are likely the first to be booked, since these are high traffic areas of the show floor.

3. Prioritize Your Business’ Needs

No two businesses are alike, and neither are any two trade show booths! At large expos like Natural Products West, you’ll find a wide variety of booth sizes, styles, and purposes representing businesses all across the natural products industry.

When dreaming up your ultimate trade show booth for Natural Products Expo West or similar shows, you want to prioritize your business’ specific needs and goals on the trade show floor. The following questions can be a good starting place for considering what your trade show booth should look like for this show:

• What is your budget for this trade show?
• Is it better for your business to buy or rent a trade show display?
• How do you want your booth to function best: as a place for sit-down discussions, a space for product display and demonstrations, a mix of both, etc.?

Learning from and partnering with a trade show service provider like Cardinal Expo can help you navigate these questions with ease and confidence.

4. Promote Your Presence

Want a successful exhibition at the Natural Products Expo West 2024 or another upcoming event? Promote your presence on your website and social media.

• Let your audience know that you’ll be at the event, where your booth is located, and that you’ll be exhibiting your products.
• Post often, and get people excited.
• You should also contact influencers, bloggers, and publications that promote natural products to let them know you’ll be participating in the trade show and what you’ll be offering.

Promoting your presence is one of the best ways to reach a broader audience. You can build anticipation too. Get your followers excited about the trade show and everything that they’ll get to see there. Use countdowns and teasers to pique people’s interests on social media. Make it fun!

Want to engage your audience further before the trade show? Have polls and Q&A sessions about your participation.

• Ask what products you should exhibit.
• Ask what kinds of free samples you should offer.
• Ask for any questions your followers have and answer them.

While you’re at the show, have a team member give real-time updates to your social media followers. Not all your followers can attend the trade show, but it can be exciting for them to follow it in real time.

5. Offer Product Samples

People love to collect product samples, especially in the natural and organic industry, where it can be pricier to try new things. Let attendees experience what you have to offer firsthand, and provide enough samples to last for your entire time there. If you offer high-quality product samples, you can gain new customers both at the event and afterward.

Even small product samples create a positive and lasting impression on people. They also give your team an opportunity to interact with individuals and explain what you’re offering. If you hand out product samples, you can answer questions, talk about why you use your ingredients, and educate your audience about your brand.

Offering product samples is also a great way to get more foot traffic to your booth. And more foot traffic means more potential sales. It can also give you higher conversion rates. Attendees will be more likely to buy your products during and after the trade show.

6. Prep Your Team

A prepared expo team can make all the difference when it comes to taking full advantage of a trade show. Make sure you and your team create a plan for a few days before the show to ensure everything is packed and arrives on time, as well as plans for during and after so your teams know what to expect.

Have your booth staff study the floorplan and analyze it for exhibitors you want to connect with or do competitor research on. Since you’ll be working the floor, you’ll likely not be able to meet everyone, so make sure you have a list of people you want to reach out to.

Before the show, review your company’s goals for the expo and best practices for interacting with potential clients and connections. Practice with the staff working the floor so they can rehearse what to say and be comfortable and professional while interacting with attendees. Working the floor of a trade show is hard but rewarding work with the right preparation.

Contact Cardinal to Design and Manage Your Natural Products Trade Show Booths

Cardinal Expo has 30 years of experience in helping businesses showcase their best selves on the trade show floor. Our comprehensive expo services ensure that your team is prepared throughout every step of your trade show preparations. We provide onsite supervision as well, so you can be sure that there won’t be any unexpected hiccups on show day.

From the first stages of booth design to breaking down that booth at the end of the weekend, Cardinal is there for you with our talented, experienced team. If you would like to see how we can make your next trade show experience spectacular, contact us below.