Expo East 2023: Consumer Products Innovation Evolves

As they sharpen their M&A and innovation agendas, large consumer products companies can take a page from emerging brands. Many larger players are focusing on consolidating their core scale positions in the face of low volume growth and inflation-driven margin pressure. Meanwhile, their smaller counterparts (like those on our Insurgent Brands list) are actively tapping into new pockets of growth.

Nowhere was this more evident than at Expo East 2023, the annual trade show featuring the latest consumer products innovations from over 1,000 emerging brands. There we saw the extension of existing trends (like ingredient replacement), as well as the emergence of new ones, such as bigger, bolder, more authentic flavors to meet consumers’ growing willingness to experiment. This explosion in innovation served as a reminder that growth avenues abound—and that all consumer products companies would be wise to seek them.

Risa Cretella, chief sales officer at Sovos Brands, has her eye on the white space. “We like to target sleepy categories where incumbents have failed to address consumer needs,” she explains. This approach helped her drive remarkable growth as EVP and group general manager for Rao’s, which Sovos Brands acquired in 2017 before being acquired by Campbell Soup Company in August of this year.

We sat down with Risa at our “Building the Next $1 Billion Brand” panel at Expo West to hear the story behind Rao’s success—from her commitment to a founder’s mindset to getting distribution right (hint: don’t be everywhere).

When Brian Rudolph feels tempted to dive headfirst into new categories, he pauses to remember his strategic roadmap. Cofounder of chickpea pasta and pizza phenomenon Banza, Rudolph is on a mission to create a bean-based version of all foods made from refined grains. But despite already transforming the pasta category, he’s in no hurry to rush future innovation.

Instead, he’s committed to spacing category launches two to three years apart, making sure his team is focused on the core business while also driving continuous improvement through a test-and-learn approach with new products. At Expo West, Rudolph shared other morsels about breaking into a big category.