A look at standout beverage brands showing at Expo West.

Jenna Blumenfeld, Freelancer

March 20, 2017

5 Min Read
12 cool beverages spotted at Natural Products Expo West 2017

You can't say New Hope editors were dehydrated over Expo West this past weekend—we sipped, slurped and chugged a lot of beverages from both new and legacy brands. Out of the thousands of natural brands that exhibited, a few rose to the top thanks to their unparalleled taste, nutrition and innovation. Here are our favorites. 


Ripple Nutritious Pea Milk
A dairy-free milk with half the sugar of cow's milk, and remarkably, 50 percent more calcium. Now available in a single-serve box. 

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Kombucha Dog 
A super delicious kombucha (in some states, this SKU must be sold as alcohol, even though it may contain just 0.5 percent alcohol, give or take) spiked with gingery flavor. Those cute pups on the packaging, by the way? They're rescue dogs available for adoption on Kombucha Dog's website. 

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Humm Hopped Grapefruit Kombucha
A delicious sipper that closes the gap between beer and the bubbly fermented tea. The bitter flavors of dried hops play off grapefruit's tartness. This new SKU will round out kombucha sections, and attract new consumers to the category.

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Vive Organic Immunity Boost 
This easy-to-consume beverage is tiny—but it contains big ingredients. The yellow-tinted immunity-boosting shot features a beautiful blend of ginger root, echinacea, turmeric root, black pepper, lemon and pineapple. Other flavors, such as the Digestive Balance SKU, has inside coconut water, coconut meat, coconut kefir and added probiotics. Totally organic ingredients make this new product a win!

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NOKA Superfood Blend Blueberry/Beet
I was under the impression that pouches intended for adults were old news. But NOKA is a wonderful product that offers whole-food nutrition for on-the-go folks. Think USDA Organic banana, blueberry, apple, beet juice concentrate, flax seeds, brown rice protein, lemon juice, maqui berry and blueberry. All for 110 calories, 4 grams of protein and a reasonable 15 grams of sugar.

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Sherpa Power Lemongrass Green Tea
Already big fans of this product (Sherpa Power won a NEXTY Award in 2016), we were impressed with the beverage's new brand packaging, which reminds us of a cross between a mandala and a shield. Also cool: Sherpa Power is sweetened with yacon syrup, a low-cal, low-glycemic option, and each flavor contains the adaptogenic herbs amla and ashwagandha.

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Green Sheep Sparkling Water
It seems a little odd. Water packaged in an aluminum can. But the founders of Green Sheep say that aluminum is a much better choice for packaging than plastic. While plastic degrades with each recycling round, aluminum can be infinitely recycled while maintaining its quality. Aluminum is also recycled more often and more efficiently than plastic. Green Sheep's new SKU, Sparkling Water, is a pleasantly effervescent, USA-made beverage. 

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Dreaming Cow Lush Grassfed Yogurt
Makers of delicious grass-fed yogurt branch into the beverage category with this creamy, fruity line called Lush. Each bottle contains one full serving of vegetables. Our favorite flavor? The orange-hued Peach, Ginger, Pumpkin & Carrot.

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Beach Tea Cold-Brewed in Coconut Water Black Tea
Founded by rock climbers looking for energy at the crag, this beverage blends the slightly sweet flavor of coconut water with organic black tea. What sets Beach apart is their brewing method. The company cold-brews the tea in the coconut water, which allows the flavor to fully permeate throughout the beverage. Also available: coffee cold-brewed in coconut water. Beach is working to source organic coconut water, too. 

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Oatly Oat Milk 
The milk alternative of choice in Sweden, this beverage brand is just now emerging in the U.S. It’s a smooth, creamy substitute. Plus, we love how Oatly provides a ton of information about their company online, including a detailed overview of the manufacturing process.

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Picnik Butter Coffee Dirty Chai
Picnik was first a brick-and-mortar restaurant and café based in Austin, Texas that caters to customers with dietary restrictions. The café became so famous for its butter coffee, which included grass-fed butter and MCT coconut oil, that it launched this SKU. The ready-to-drink grocery version also contains grass-fed whey protein.

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The Water Kefir People 
Beautiful packaging paired with a delicious product? We’re in! Made in Hawaii and Bend, Oregon, this small brand slings water kefir, a non-dairy, probiotic-rich bubbly beverage spiked with organic roots, fruits and herbs. Our favorite flavor was Original Root Beer, water kefir infused with dried roots and vanilla for a toasty, soda-like flavor.

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About the Author(s)

Jenna Blumenfeld

Freelancer

Jenna Blumenfeld lives in Boulder, Colorado, where she reports on the natural products industry, sustainable agriculture, and all things plant based. 

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