We Went to Expo West.

We Sampled Everything.

We Have Thoughts.

"There is no way to fully explain Expo West to someone who hasn't been. You just have to go."

That's what I told Allison roughly 247 times in the months leading up to the show. 

This was my maybe 15th trip to the Natural Products Expo in Anaheim — one of the largest natural and organic trade shows in the world, where over 6,000 brands pack the Anaheim Convention Center for three absolutely electric days of snacks, supplements, beverages, beauty, household goods, and enough free samples to power a small city. I've been in the natural products industry for a long time — working with brands like MegaFood, Stonyfield, Curaleaf, and MyForest Foods — so I knew exactly how to navigate the maze. Allison? She was in for a real treat.

A little context on Allison: she comes from a finance and executive leadership background in the casino industry. She is sharp, strategic, and not easily impressed. By hour two, she was completely unhinged (inside joke IYKYK)  in the best possible way — overwhelmed by the booths, the expo fashion (yes that's a thing), the energy, and of course, absolutely the sampling.

We went to the show with clear intention: meet brands we want to partner with for My Companion Box, and reconnect with friends we've made across the industry.

"What we found was something even better — overwhelming warmth, genuine excitement for what we're building, and a level of support that honestly made our hearts beyond full."

There are so many connections we made, it would be impossible to list them all here and we don't want to leave anyone out. So instead, let's talk about what we saw in general.

Stick Pack Everything.

I need to go count how many stick packs I actually came home with, because the answer is: a lot. Powders to mix with water — fiber, collagen, creatine, protein, electrolytes, even bone broth — are absolutely everywhere and they are not going away. Convenient, portable, and easy to stack, pack, and stick anywhere you need them!  (Allison may or may not mix several of them together and chug them all at once... everyday! ). The bottom line? We will all have stick packs in our purses, in our cars, in our junk drawers, and in every hoodie pocket we own. Stick Pack Everything is here to stay! Expect to see a lot of them in future My Companion Boxes across may different types of products.  Make sure to read the labels so you don’t mix your bone broth and kiwi punch electrolytes together!! 

Gut Health Is Having Its Moment (And It Makes Total Sense).

We know that so many of the side effects people experience on their GLP-1 journey begin in the gut — and that tracks, because GLP-1 receptors naturally live there. So it was no surprise that we met an incredible number of brands building gut health solutions specifically formulated with the GLP-1 consumer in mind. We saw capsules, beverages, and powders addressing everything from constipation support to the full spectrum of biotics:

Educational Tip: Prebiotics feed the beneficial bacteria already living in your gut. Probiotics introduce live beneficial bacteria directly. Postbiotics are the byproducts those bacteria produce — think of them as the finished goods your microbiome creates when everything is working right. All three matter. All three were well-represented on the floor.

One gap we noticed? Not a ton of specialty-formulated nausea solutions — though we have something incredible coming in the April box that we can't wait to tell you about. And we're still on the hunt for a real solution for the burps. Calling all brands with burp solutions: we need you, let's talk. Fizzy Lifting Drinks - where you at? 

Skin and Hair Care: The Gap Is Real.

Skin and Hair Care products were sprinkled around the show, if you blinked - you missed them! Honestly? We felt the white space hard. Collagen was everywhere — in powders, gummies, stick packs — but topical skincare and hair care formulated specifically for the GLP-1 journey? Largely absent. This is a category we are actively diving into as the year progresses, and we are looking for brands doing real, formulated work here. If that's you, we need to be friends. Seriously.

Snacks?  Protein in Everything.

Pretzels. Popcorn. Chips. Pasta sauce. Bars. Chocolate. If it was edible and had a booth, there was a good chance it had protein added to it — and honestly, we are not mad about it. GLP-1 snacking is one of our favorite categories and it showed up fully at this show. We tried some genuinely great new bars, pretzels, chocolate, chips, seltzers, and so much more!!  

A tiny self-plug (bear with us)

While we were in Anaheim, we were also out there sampling Sleet Pops — protein and fiber freeze pops, and the other company near and dear to my heart. There is truly nothing like them, and if we're being completely honest... we may have been the most innovative new snack at the whole show. Don't take our word for it. Join the waitlist →

If we had to wrap the whole show into a single sentence: Gummies, stick packs, fortified snacks, gut health, creatine, collagen, protein, and fiber were absolutely everywhere — and the GLP-1 consumer is firmly on the industry's radar. We cannot wait to bring products from every single one of these categories into your hands through My Companion Box.

To every brand we connected with at the show — we are following up very soon. Your energy, your openness, and your genuine enthusiasm for what we're building meant the world to us.

The April box is about to be absolutely insane. And June planning? Already underway. Every journey needs a companion — and we're just getting started.

XO — Sarahmarie

One more thing we can't leave out — we carved out time to catch our dear friend Ashley Koff, RD speaking about her new book, Your Best Shot. The talk was fantastic, the book is amazing, and if you're not already following Ashley's work, consider this your sign. Highly, highly recommended.

About My Companion Box  

My Companion Box is a bi-monthly subscription box curated specifically for the GLP-1 journey. Every box features some of the most innovative wellness, nutrition, and lifestyle products on the market.  Every journey needs a companion.