I've been wanting to go to Expo West for years. As someone who's been quietly falling in love with the CPG space, the branding, the storytelling, the way a product can build a real community, it felt like the one event I needed to experience firsthand. And this year, somehow, it happened.
Not through a purchased ticket. Not through a work connection. Through a mac and cheese brand.
If you know me, you know Goodles is a staple in my house. My kids eat it once or twice a week. So when I got an email from them asking if any local subscribers wanted to join them at their Expo West booth, I didn't think twice. I hit reply and hoped for the best.
A day later, I found out I was the one they picked. Their first time ever doing something like this, and I was their person.
I was asked to come Thursday from 11 to 2, hang out at the booth as a super fan, bring some energy, and just be myself. And honestly? That's exactly what happened. I wore Goodles gear, including a fuzzy hat that everyone wanted, talked to strangers about noodles, and had the time of my life doing it.
But let me tell you about this booth, because it deserves its own moment.
Goodles showed up. Fully, completely, unapologetically showed up. The theme was fuzzy, warm and fuzzy, just like how their mac and cheese makes you feel, and they committed to it from every angle. Fuzzy booth. Fuzzy hats. The team was dressed head to toe in the best brand gear I saw from any brand the entire weekend. And leading it all was CEO and co-founder Jen Zeszut, in full pink with a Goodles bling necklace, bringing an energy that set the tone for everything around her.
The activations were chef's kiss, every single one. A conveyor belt of samples that kept people stopping and staying. A mac and cheese bowl you could literally jump into, like a ball pit but make it noodles. A plushie vending box where you press a button and a plushie comes out. And the charm bracelet scavenger hunt, where they partnered with nine other emerging CPG brands exhibiting at Expo West for the first time. You started with a Goodles charm and a map, then visited each partner booth to collect the rest. The charms were gone within hours.
Every detail was intentional. Every element tied back to the brand. It was the kind of booth experience that reminds you what's possible when a team is truly aligned around a vision and genuinely loves what they're building.
The entire Goodles marketing team had that same warmth. They introduced me to investors, included me in conversations, and made me feel like I belonged there. I'm so grateful I got to be a part of it.
Here's something I didn't fully anticipate about Expo West. A huge part of what made it so emotional and exciting for me was walking the floor and seeing brands I had already fallen in love with, before ever meeting them, right there in front of me.
As a creative director, I'll be honest: I've bought products because of their packaging before I ever tasted them. Bold colors, unexpected formats, designs that stop you mid-scroll or mid-aisle. That's what drew me to so many of the brands I now consider staples. And getting to see them in person, to see how they translated their visual identity into a full booth experience, was genuinely one of the highlights of the entire trip.
Poppi had a stunning mirrored walk-in booth with cool video running throughout, great swag including water bottles and tote bags, and that same bold, vibrant energy that made me fall for them in the first place. Graza, Gruns, Sauz, Brez, Ayoh!, De Soi, Yerba Madre, and of course Goodles, seeing all of them in one place felt like finally meeting people you've only ever known online. You already knew you liked them. In person, you just liked them even more.
And then there was Haazah. I have to give this one its own moment because it genuinely stopped me in my tracks. The branding, the booth, the packaging, the display, everything was just breathtakingly beautiful. Haazah is rooted in Afghan heritage, and you feel that in every visual choice they've made. The name itself means flavor, taste, and joy in Farsi, and that spirit comes through in everything. It's the kind of brand that makes you proud to work in this industry, because it proves that when a founder pours their culture and their story into a product, people feel it. I picked up a tote and I'll be thinking about that booth for a long time.
Beyond the brands I already knew and loved, I spent two days absorbing everything new. Here's what the floor was telling me:
Dates are having a major moment. Not just regular dates, sour dates. Sour apple, sour watermelon, unexpected flavor combinations showing up across at least four different brands. It feels right on the edge of breaking into the mainstream.
Pickles are everywhere. The pickle trend has fully arrived at Expo West. Pickle-flavored everything, and the crowds around those booths were proof that people are absolutely here for it.
Mushrooms are mainstream now. Functional mushroom products were all over the floor, and the branding around them has gotten so good. Fun, colorful, bold interpretations of an ingredient that used to feel niche. It's niche no more.
Beverages are having a renaissance. So many new canned drinks, functional, flavored, sparkling. But the zero-proof and mocktail category is where I felt the most excitement. The branding in this space is some of the most intentional and beautiful I saw all weekend. Especially among women-owned brands in the cocktail and spirits-adjacent space, founders telling deeply personal stories through their products and packaging. That energy was contagious.
I've been saying for a while that I want Aurange to go deeper into the CPG space. Walking Expo West for two days, studying hundreds of brands, talking to founders, dissecting packaging and messaging and activations, only confirmed it.
The brands that stood out weren't always the biggest or most polished. They were the ones with a clear point of view. Where you could feel the founder's personality in every single touchpoint, the booth design, the packaging copy, the way their team spoke about the product. That's the work I want to do more of.
CPG is one of the most creatively rich spaces to work in right now. Good design and authentic storytelling aren't nice-to-haves. They're the difference.
Expo West was a masterclass in all of that. And I'm already thinking about next year.
Shaily Savla is the Creative Director & Co-Founder of Aurange Creative, a boutique creative agency with a growing focus on CPG branding and storytelling. Say hello at aurangecreative.com.
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