The Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s (MDA) Make it Minnesota Program is hosting 10 Minnesota brands at the upcoming Natural Products Expo West (Expo West) tradeshow.
Expo West is one of four national business-to-business (B2B) tradeshows where MDA will gather local brands in “Minnesota Pavilions” in 2025 – an approach that allows for cost savings and cooperative promotion and event execution. Other Minnesota Pavilion events include Winter Fancy Food Show (Las Vegas in January), National Restaurant Association/Taste of the States (Chicago in May), and Sweets and Snacks Expo (Indianapolis in May). Space remains available for any interested food and beverage brands in Minnesota Pavilions at the latter two events.
The following Minnesota Brands will be exhibiting as part of “Team Minnesota” in the Minnesota Pavilion at Expo West 2025:
The annual Expo West event is focused on organic, natural, and conscious consumer packaged goods (CPG) products. It attracts around 3,000 exhibiting companies and as many as 70,000 industry attendees, and brings together buyers and sellers and other supply chain entities from across the national and international CPG and retail ecosystem with great representation from Minnesota.
The Minnesota Pavilion at Expo West will be located on the sprawling Anaheim Convention Center campus in the North Hall, Level 200. The pavilion is also supported by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development’s (DEED) Small Business and Innovation Office, along with the Agricultural Utilization Research Institute (AURI), Haberman, GreaterMSP, and Naturally Minnesota.
“We’re very pleased to work together with the MDA and other partners to support these businesses at Expo West and show the world that Minnesota has a vibrant ecosystem and innovators that create world-class products,” said Neela Mollgaard, DEED’s Office of Small Business and Innovation Executive Director.
“Our aim is to give Minnesota food, beverage, and pet food companies a competitive advantage,” explained MDA Assistant Commissioner Patrice Bailey. “We’re happy to work with some of these companies for more than a decade at this show and watch them grow into national and international brands.”
Bloomington-based breakfast cereal company Seven Sundays has been participating in the Minnesota Pavilion at Expo West since its inception in 2013, and JonnyPops, a fast-growing Elk River frozen pops producer, has participated since 2016. Both brands now boast a national and international retail distribution footprint, validating the difficult dream of many food entrepreneurs and the strategy behind state support at these events.
Tradeshows are taxing for small companies, but they can also be rewarding in terms of sales and relationship-building.
Seven Sunday’s Co-founder Hannah Barnstable said she can’t wait for Expo West 2025. “It’s been so much fun being a part of Team Minnesota, working with the MDA and other Minnesota brands at Expo West over the years,” added Barnstable. “The MDA’s support makes it more manageable, more effective, and our company has definitely benefitted from being there for the past 12 years.”
Make it Minnesota Program Manager Brian Erickson said, “The event has become as much a meaningful gathering for the natural foods ecosystem as it is a place for buyers and sellers to meet.”
Naturally Minnesota and the MDA will again host the sixth-annual Minnesota Mingle at Expo West for pre-registered attendees on Wednesday, March 5, from 5-7 p.m. PST on the Katella Terrace, adjacent to the Minnesota Pavilion. At the reception, relationships will be forged and solidified, and AURI will present a prize of complimentary AURI services to one lucky Minnesota brand.
“We love being a resource for Minnesota’s homegrown businesses and finding novel ways to support them, such as AURI’s Virtual Assistant, AVA,” says Jason Robinson, AURI’s food business development director.
More than 250 guests are expected, including founders, industry leaders, investors, retailers, and more.
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Media Contact
Allen Sommerfeld, MDA Communications
651-201-6185
Allen.Sommerfeld@state.mn.us
