Food Industry Group facilitates collaboration at Expo West

Expo West, the world’s largest tradeshow for the natural, organic and healthy products industry, took place this past weekend in Anaheim. The event sees more than 3,000 exhibitors and 77,000 attendees from all over the globe. Among these exhibitors were 25 Sonoma County companies working together to showcase the regional food, beverage, and natural products sector.

Facilitated by the Sonoma County BEST Food Industry Group (FIG), a group of marketing representatives from the local natural products sector created a marketing strategy to help highlight the Sonoma County natural products sector and its individual companies during this event. This plan included collaborative signage for Sonoma County-based companies, an Instagram contest that ran during the show, and a Sonoma County “Social Hour”.

Among the participating companies were large manufacturers like Amy’s Kitchen, Traditional Medicinals, La Tortilla Factory, and Alvarado Street Bakery, as well as several next-generation producers like Revive Kombucha, Sonoma Brinery, and Hip Chick Farms.

The Social Hour took place at the Traditional Medicinals booth on Saturday where local cocktails and food were served. The event consisted of representatives from several of the participating Sonoma County companies and several hundred show attendees. Attending the Social Hour were local founders Albert Straus of Straus Family Creamery, Jennifer Bice of Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery, Smari Asmundsson of Smari Organics, and many more to meet and greet attendees.