Newtopia Now 2026 Recap

On Tuesday night, at the Rockies-Dodgers game in Denver, designated hitter Shohei Ohtani pounded a towering home run to straightaway center field. The crowd roared as the burly Dodger rounded the bases.

But Shohei wasn't the only one who knocked it out of the park this week. The organizers of the third annual Newtopia Now put on an outstanding expo that showcased lesser known brands, educated attendees and utilized the host city to perfection. This year's edition built on what I saw and experienced last year in the mile high city, including an increase in the number of vendors.

Newtopia Now is the show that ostensibly replaced Expo East starting in 2024. The focus of Newtopia is slightly different than the better know and more well attended Expo West in Anaheim. Newtopia focuses on emerging brands and trends in an industry always hungry to find the next new thing. The show uses a 'Neighborhood' organization on the show floor to put exhibitors in either Glow, Thrive or Regenerate.

Education is baked into Newtopia, with the Neighborhood stages located on the show floor. An additional space for short, fast paced conversations with brands in the middle of the show floor was called the Front Stoop. A networking space in the back of the show offered curated meetings between brands and buyers, set up by the expo staff. A pickleball court, also located on the main floor, offered those with extra energy the chance to burn it off.

An interesting education panel hosted by the Independent Natural Foods Retailers Association (INFRA) brought together four different store leaders. They talked about trends like turmeric, protein, tart cherry juice, fiber being visible ahead of time by attending shows like Newtopia. "The trends that wind up in our stores and in people's algorithms start at shows like Newtopia Now."

The panel discussed customers at their stores continuing to avoid seed oils and search for alternatives, such as beef tallow or avocado oil. The said customers are watching influencer videos and coming in to buy individual clean ingredients to make their own sunscreen, salad dressing etc. Another trend identified by all was customers going back to full fat dairy products.

A trend in walking the show floor was the variety of wholesaling options that these emerging brands are using. While some were in active distribution or in conversation with UNFI and KeHe, many others were openly avoiding the wholesale giants. More than a dozen brands I talked to were distributing cases to stores through online platforms like Faire. Hard to know if that is a trend that's here to stay, but having attended many trade shows before, the difference in distribution strategy was noticeable.

After three years in Denver, the organizers of Newtopia announced that the 2027 edition would be moving to Chicago. That show will take place slightly later in the year next fall, Sept 14-16.

The show announced their own NEXTY award finalists which can be found here.

Here's some products that stood out to me:

Jennie's House Focaccia from California is a take and bake concept merchandised in the frozen department. Texture and taste cooked up very nicely.

American Vinegar Works was sampling some of the best vinegar varieties I've ever tried. The apple cider and red wine had exceptional flavor. The vinegars are brewed in small batches.

I was blown away with the new Woodstock Everything Bagel Cashews. The bulk company takes everything bagel mix, increasingly popular for a variety of snacks, and ground it up into a fine powder. The result was a full flavored nut, with no seeds in your teeth or falling on the floor. Really good!

Plant Ahead vegan cheeses bills themselves as 'the plant based, alternative cheese you've been waiting for.' I must say after sampling their wares, I agree. The plant based fresh mozzerella had the taste and texture of the real thing. The blue cheese was another stand out. I fully expect to see these products everywhere in short order.

Two River mushroom broths from New Jersey delivered excellent and unique flavors in three different varieties of mushroom broths. The Maitake was my personal favorite, with a bit of coconut milk mixed in.

Other Photos from the Show Floor