episode 49: trend spotting at Expo West

thoughts from our trip to Expo West, some musings on matcha and banana pudding and more!

trend spotting at Expo West 📈

last week I got to go to Natural Products Expo West - a huge conference for the food industry showcasing consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands. there were over 60,000 people there and hundreds of companies selling packaged and prepared foods, supplements, supplies, all that fell into the natural/healthy/organic category. picture a giiiiiant conference hall filled with all the brands you see at Whole Foods giving out samples and lobbying buyers from Wegmans for shelf space. for us, this meant two days of trying well over 200 samples of snacks, milks, seltzers, vegan meats, “healthy” candies, and so much more. i’ve put together some videos here showcasing all the samples (that I remembered to document!) that we got to try, separated out into beverages, savory snacks, and sweet snacks. (you can also see them on TikTok if that’s still your jam!)

i’ve also gathered some notes on our observations about the products and trends we think will trend soon, based on what we saw.

things (of note!) and trends we predict from Expo West

the next dips: toum (garlic spread - so good), tahini-based dips, salsa macha

hot new fungus: Koji (a fungus used for fermentation, like in sake or miso)

the next frozen foods: Kimbap (korean rice and seaweed), chocolate-coated fruit (like Tru Fru)

funky products: oat milk sheets (dried sheets you dissolve in water to make oat milk 👀), sour dates (like sour candy, but dates!), avafina (chia-based caviar), vegan imitation crab (made from tofu)

products we saw a lot of: probiotic sodas, vegan yogurts, non-alcoholic mocktails/spirits, dates (in candies, and sour!), nuts! (edamame), vegan steak products

worst samples: a vegan egg that split like a runny egg but had a vile aftertaste, egg-based yogurt (whyyyyy does that need to exist?)

marketing claims/popular vibes: people still love protein, anti-seed oils (explained below), anti-GMO, pickled things (anti-cramping pickle drinks and pickled vegetables), A2 milk, dumb things framed as health foods (sea moss!!!), white lady branding of ethnic foods (aesthetic kitchari from a woman in a “boho” outfit)

my favs: Topo Chico ginger beer, mushroom-based vegan bacon, Impossible Foods hot dog, Gotham Greens, Dole Whip, Wowza rice crisps, Swingers mocktails, Lapos NA Negroni

there were a ton of packaged goods we didn’t try at the conference that we brought home as well. over the next few weeks i’ll work through the samples and share more thoughts!

mama, a matcha shortage behind you! 🍵

in Japan, matcha has been associated with cultural tea ceremonies for many years. but as the tea got popular in the US and in other countries, its presence in coffee shops has boosted popularity. as demand has grown, the matcha industry is struggling to keep up. suppliers across Japan are doing sales so rapidly, they don’t have enough matcha left.

this is partly because tencha, the tea leaves used in high-grade matcha, are only harvested once a year, and of course, the growth has been affected by climate change. not only can the tea not be harvested on demand, but climate has made the yield less predictable. high demand has also depleted surplus. this trend will likely lead to changes in matcha pricing and supplier relationships. but as Eater has explained, the shortage has also led to criticism of influencers traveling to Japan and participating in matcha overconsumption, returning with hauls of matcha that reduce available product for others. matcha goes bad really quickly, and this behavior is likely wasteful. read more here!

the history of banana pudding 🍌

banana pudding was really following us on our trip - we had a vegan banana pudding at Crossroads, a banana creme pie at Tartine - and it got us thinking, where did banana pudding come from? the dish originated in the American South, and this Serious Eats article has a great overview of how the dessert came to be. bananas were not commonly available until fruit trading from Central America in the mid-1800s ramped up, and fruit from Panama coming into New Orleans ports were a huge share of that trade. the recipe likely first appeared in 1888 in Good Housekeeping, consisting of a custard with sponge cake and sliced bananas topped with whipped cream. in 1921, recipes for banana pudding with custard and vanilla wafers, made popular by Nabisco years earlier, were submitted to local magazines, which the company picked up on and popularized in marketing. read more in the piece here about the dish’s Southern identity.

seed oils are fine, shut up! 🙄

as we saw at Expo Weat, so many food companies (fueled by the MAHA movement) are boasting the absence of seed oils in their products, but are seed oils actually bad for you? ack! no! the term “seed oils” refers to oils derived from seeds, which are pressed and refined and made into soybean, corn, and canola oils. these oils are shelf stable and often used for cooking because of resistance to high heats.

opponents claim that the high levels of omega-6 fatty acids compared to omega-3 fatty acids in these oils increases inflammation, exacerbating chronic conditions. while our bodies do convert some of these fatty acids into inflammatory compounds, they also convert into anti-inflammatory compounds, and research suggests that consumers of omega-6 fatty acids are actually healthier. opponents also say that we are eating more of these oils than we did in the past, and some chronic health conditions have risen since then. but remember kids, correlation does not equal causation! these oils are present in more ultra processed foods, which we consume more than we did in the past — its not necessarily the oils in those foods that are bad for us. replacing seed oils with butter or beef tallow or lard is markedly worse for us - the saturated fat content there creates way more health risks. a reduction in consumption of ultra processed foods could be beneficial for health outcomes, for sure, but it’s not the seed oils alone to blame. read more here.

it’s confirmed, politicians have boring taste….🤑

if you’ve ever wondered where our nation’s leaders (Members of Congress) eat out in our nation’s capital (DC) would you be surprised to hear that they have….boring taste?! I think not! members typically use campaign or PAC money for restaurant meals (as opposed to their official budgets) and all of this money is reported, so Politico combed through these receipts. Republicans love a steakhouse, like Capital Grille where they spent nearly $900,000. French and Italian bistros/wine bars like Bistro Cacao and Osteria Morini were favored by Democrats. for bars, Republicans loved Hawk n’Dove and Bullfeathers, and Dems liked Sonoma and the Dubliner. basically, these people never leave Capitol Hill! they seem to be oblivious to any good restaurant that isn’t within 4 blocks of their offices! eye roll. read more here.

sushi in Ukraine 🇺🇦

I enjoyed this Bon Appetit piece about the surprising popularity of sushi in Ukraine. the presence of sushi on restaurant menus, at military bases, many seem surprising as a staple food. it was likely one of the first “exotic” foods to come to Ukraine after independence, and quickly became a popular symbol of a more cosmopolitan culture. cold appetizers were already very popular in Ukraine, like sliced vegetables or mushrooms, so sushi wasn’t a far stretch. they have, of course, made the dish their own, marrying the fish with more milk and cream based flavors, hence, the popularity of the Philadelphia roll with cream cheese. read more here.

cocktail trends 🍸

new in - cocktail trends for 2025! this piece from Bon Appetit highlights trends in the beveragino world for this year: eliminating waste by using otherwise-discarded food in drinks, leaning into savory flavor profiles, using fresh fruit instead of sugar syrups, smoky flavors, fancy ice, and classic, prohibition-era cocktails. read more about the bars leading these trends, here.

restaurant review: Pijja Palace 🍝

wow this place was so good and lived up to the hype! Pijja Palace is an Indian fusion sports bar in Los Angeles - with great cocktails, and pizza and pasta in Indian flavors. we had the dosa-battered onion rings, which I thought was so inventive and really tasty. we also had a salad, a chutney pijja, and the famous malai rigatoni (that I am still thinking about!). I also had a Vesper with saffron-infused vodka, and a cookies and cardamom ice cream sundae - this should be a more popular flavor combo! would highly recommend if you are in Silver Lake to stop by here, the vibes are casual and the food is really creative and impressive!

f*cked up food 🤢

substitution king

d.c. happenings 📝

openings

• Via Roma opening on Connecticut

• Melange Foods coming to old Roy Boys space near 9:30 club!

• omg. new Taco Bell coming to Barracks Row!

• NA LGBTQ+ Bar Spark Social House opened on 14th!

• Playa Bowls coming to Connecticut Ave

• Jerk at Nite reopened on H St

• new Compass Coffee coming to P St

• new Fresh Baguette coming to downtown

• Timber Pizza coming to old Slash Run space

• Argentianian Tango Pastry coming to H St

• Pitango Gelato coming to 14th St

• Casa Mia coming to 14th St

closings

• Bibimbap Noodles closed downtown

• Bourbon Coffee on L St closed

• Fight Club on Capitol Hill closed

• Tony Cheng’s license suspended in Chinatown

other

• New Kitchens on the Block announced for late April

• responses to Chef Matt Baker’s pro-Elon anti-worker retweets

home cooking 🧑‍🍳

well, I was on vacation so I cooked nothing! when I got home, I was so excited to be reunited with my eggs and cottage cheese and toast for breakfast. ah, the stability of a regular meal! I also ate a lot of salad and kale to balance out from my meals that consisted of samples and coffee from the days prior. really nothing to report here!

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