The Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s (MDA) “Minnesota Pavilion” will be back in-person at Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, CA, for the first time since 2019.
Eight Minnesota businesses – many of which showcase clean-ingredient, plant-based, and environmentally-friendly food trends – will be featured at Expo West, the largest tradeshow of its kind. Expo West focuses on organic, natural, and healthy foods from across the country.
The MDA works with Minnesota food and beverage companies on business and market development. Our goal is to increase the use of Minnesota agricultural ingredients, create and protect jobs, and promote economic development in Minnesota’s agriculture and food sectors. Learn more about our New Markets Program and the Minnesota Pavilion at Natural Products Expo West.
“We’re glad to be attending this event and bringing renewed attention to the many excellent Minnesota food businesses that deserve wider exposure on a national stage,” Assistant Commissioner Patrice Bailey said. “It’s great that we’re finally able to resume the kind of in-person networking that can be so critical to these businesses’ success.”
Acremade, an offshoot of PURIS Pea Protein, will feature their line of plant-based egg substitutes made from non-GMO, regeneratively grown peas.
Wicked Kitchen Foods, a plant-based company started in England, has launched into the US-market, headed by Minnesota-based CEO, Pete Speranza.
New to the local food scene, Laura Meemken of All Clean Foods is making the only boxed pasta meals on the market that are organic, gluten-free, free from the top 14 allergens, and completely plant-based.
From dorm room beginnings to national sensation, JonnyPops is bringing better-for-you frozen treats made with simple ingredients like real fruit and fresh Midwest cream.
Toom Garlic Spreads will be bringing the garlicky punch with their dairy-free, gluten-free, super flavorful Lebanese garlic dips that inspire culinary exploration.
Seven Sundays, a muesli company based in Minneapolis, will be plugging their real-food, grain-free Sunflower Cereal.
Thousand Hills Lifetime Grazed, from Becker, MN, works with 60 family farms across the U.S. to raise Lifetime Grazed Grass Fed Beef with regenerative agriculture practices that support biological diversity, natural resources, native wildlife habitat, and soil fertility.
Rounding out the Pavilion (and keeping the MN crew awake), Big Watt Cold Beverage Co. will be sharing a variety of caffeinated and infused beverages produced in their Minneapolis manufacturing facility.
Several Minnesota food companies are also attending Expo West as mentees through the MDA’s Walk the Floor Mentorship, to learn about tradeshow preparation and execution and prepare for possible future attendance.
The Minnesota Pavilion at Expo West is supported by the MDA and our event sponsors and partners: Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, GreaterMSP, NearestYou, Xcel Energy, Grow North MN, and the AURI.
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Media Contact
Larry Schumacher, MDA Communications
651-201-6629
Larry.Schumacher@state.mn.us
