After a two-and-a-half year hiatus, Plant Based World Expo North America returned to the Javits Center in New York City on Dec. 9 and 10. Attendees at the 100 percent plant-based business to business industry event were treated to best-in-class plant-based products, product innovations, informative speakers and networking opportunities.
The exhibit space grew by more than 65 percent and the B2B audience more than doubled from the 2019 event.
“The turnout and response to PBW 2021 was better than we expected,” said Chris Nemchek, general manager. “You could feel the energy and excitement on the expo floor as exhibitors, buyers, manufacturers, investors and distributors networked, made deals and discovered how far the plant-based industry has come since our 2019 show and where we are headed.”
Plant-based trends
Trends on display at the Plant Based World Expo included:
- Plant-based chicken everything, including nuggets, southern fried bites, patties, shreds and more from VFC, Gardein, CHKN Not Chicken, Future Farm, Beyond Chicken, Plant-It and Tindle.
- Plant-based cultured butters from Naturli’, Beurremont and Wild Creamery.
- Women-owned businesses including Plant Perks, Nomad Dumplings, Miyoko’s Creamery, No Bones Beach Club and Wonderlab’s Doozy Pots.
- Global cuisine from Thai Union, Brotalia, Century Pacific Foods, Naturise Singapore PTE. LTD, More Foods Innotech Co. Ltd. and OmniFoods.
Whether they were sampling plant-based butter and cheese and plant-based pork filled dumplings, or listening to expert speakers, celebrity chefs and industry leaders, attendees agreed that this was the not-to-be-missed B2B event of the year.
“The Plant Based World Expo was amazing,” said Henrik Lunk, CEO of Naturli Foods. “The organizers were really efficient about connecting the right people with the plant-based industry. It’s a very beneficial trade event for the booming plant-based business, and it’s the right place to connect with the right people from the trade, retailers, distributors, brokers and non-profits. You can meet colleagues, share information and improve products.”
“PBW was a great show this year! The energy in the room was electric,” said Katie Grobman, VP of marketing for Abe’s Vegan Muffins. “It was a great turnout – we had buyers from Giant Eagle, Misfits Market, University of Michigan, DOE NYC, Freshly and many others– our entire team is very happy.”
Plant Based World Expo 2022 has already been scheduled for Sept. 8-9 at the Javits Center. Due to strong demand for exhibit space, the show is expected to double in size, organizers said. To inquire about exhibiting at future shows, contact Sam Morley at [email protected].
Plant Based World Expo, the only 100 percent plant-based B2B conference for the food and retail industry is produced by JD Events.
