Expo East: some may call it a natural products expo, but I call it heaven. As a business development manager at LMS, I have the pleasure of attending conferences such as Expo East throughout the year. To preface my adoration for this conference I’ll say, outside of work I am an absolute wellness junkie. In my free time I love to cook healthy meals, go to OrangeTheory Fitness, and scour Instagram for the most innovative brands.
On September 12, 2019, I slipped on my most comfortable walking shoes and hopped into an Uber headed to the Baltimore Convention Center – with an intentionally empty stomach. For the next two days, I explored the immense conference floor housing 1,617 booths, networked with hundreds of people, and sampled some of the hottest natural products in the industry.
The trend takeaway? Keto, CBD, and hemp reign supreme in 2019. While there were many emerging brands specifically tailored to these trends, some of my old favorites took advantage of this latest wellness craze to launch new products, as well.
The ketogenic “keto” diet is a high-fat, moderate-protein, and low-carb lifestyle intended to aid your body in weight-loss. Lenny & Larry’s aka “The Protein Cookie” announced three keto cookie flavors, hitting the shelves this October: Coconut, Chocolate Chip and Peanut Butter. I’m quite excited as I’m personally very loyal to anything chocolate chip. Riverside Natural Foods, the parent company of MadeGood Foods (big fan of their allergy-friendly rice crispy treats) recently premiered a new Keto snack bar brand called GOODTO GO. These bars are the perfect solution to eating keto on-the-go.
Next up: CBD. I’m not kidding when I say that CBD and/or hemp was everywhere. Beverages and snacks and topicals, oh my! While CBD has been a growing trend for a while, the industry is beginning to explode. I’m still swooning over the hemp beverage brand, PLNT Blend. Their packing is gorgeous, and I was lucky enough to taste two of their new delicious flavors. Officially obsessed with their Blackberry Ginger!
My co-business development manager, Najilah Belle was able to spend quite a bit of time in the hemp pavilion. That’s right, there were enough hemp brands for them to have their own section at Expo. Of her experience, Najilah said “It was great being able to understand a business’ “why”, for wanting to get into the category.” Belle learned that many CBD and hemp companies have been born out of the need to combat the opioid crisis with alternatives. “These companies have now done the research and discovered the numerous health benefits of CBD and Hemp as a natural aid to wellness and they want to do all they can to be apart of this movement,” said Belle. Two CBD brands that dominated Expo East were CBD Distillery and Medterra. However, we both agreed that Winged CBD was our favorite! Winged is the future of female CBD supplements, and we’re here for it.
While I could go on and onnnnn (*Cue: Celine Dion) detailing all of my “fave” discoveries from this year’s Expo East, I’ve narrowed it down to my top five.
- Tiger Butter: What the heck is a Tiger Nut?
- Mushroom Jerky: $h!itake mushrooms!
- Snoooze: Disclaimer: I did NOT sample during the day.
- Kin and Kind: Dry shampoo for pets!
- Harmony Proteins: Collagen without the tubs.
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Meanwhile, on the other side of the harbor…
After a long day of “work” (aka eating, testing and playing with allll the things) on the conference floor, we scheduled time for some serious play! For the third year in a row we hosted our annual LMS Expo East Influencer Mixer. Held at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Baltimore, this event brings together our favorite influencers, showcases our favorite brands and is always one hell of a party!
Victoria Doran, our Events and Influencer Relations Manager and mastermind behind the Influencer Mixer said of the night, “It was wonderful to see how everything came together to create a super cool, visually striking space. Even better, it was so rewarding to see everyone come together and interact with each other and the event design itself. From posing with props and new friends, to making boomerangs in front of Sweet Earth’s Instagram garden wall, everyone enjoyed the event and made all the work that went into it worthwhile.”
Event sponsor, Sweet Reason, provided the ultimate relaxation combo: drinks, CBD and massages. Influencers got to unwind from a day of walking and talking throughout Expo with a professional massage and a bubbly refreshment of Sweet Reason’s CBD-infused drinks.
Another of our ‘sweet’ clients, Sweet Earth, kept our guests happy by cooking up their new Awesome Burger (entirely plant-based, btw) at our burger bar. The Awesome Burger is a new release and the feedback from attendees was that the burger is, well… awesome!
To round out our ‘sweet’ theme for the evening, LMS brought a little bit of our North Carolina home to Baltimore. Our delectable cookie bar was stocked entirely with local NC favorite and LMS client, Dewey’s Bakery cookies. Piled high with delicious flavors like Brown Butter Chocolate Chip, Birthday Cake and Lemon Bar, it’s no surprise that the literal buffet of cookies was a hit!
LMS Executive Assistant and magic maker, Corrie Franz, said it best when summing up the evening: “My favorite moment of the LMS Influencer Mixer at Expo East was being in the middle of all the influencers. Food lovers and instagram lovers combine to create a truly remarkable experience all captured on various social media platforms. Did I mention all the picture taking?! Everyone wanted to try the products and were ecstatic to share the experience with their followers. In that moment, I truly realized the “why” behind everyone’s hard work.”