WholeFoods Magazine released this recap of Plant Based World Conference & Expo, highlighting the expo floor experience and key takeaways from the business conference.
New York City, NY–The Plant Based World Conference & Expo (PBWCE) was packed—at times, attendees couldn’t make it through the aisles.
Plant-based meat was, to no one’s surprise, a huge segment, and it went beyond Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods. Maika, Abbott’s Butcher, and LightLife were among the brands offering up their products for judgement—and, according to the crowds around their booths, that judgement was favorable. Those looking for bacon instead of burgers found it at Pig Out Pigless Bacon’s booth.
Jerky, one of our Expo West trends, was trending here, too, and there were options. Vegetarian Plus had a vegan jerky; Pan’s Mushroom Jerky had, as the name implies, a mushroom jerky; and if neither of those grabbed you, how about coconut jerky from Foreal Foods?
Plant-based cheeses were abundant, too: Miyoko’s Kitchen, which I fought my way up to after my coworker, Kurtcia Collazo, admitted to elbowing her way up to the counter for a shot at their beloved products (verdict: absolutely worth it); Pleese, another plant-based cheese company holding their own; and Good Planet, which deserves a special shoutout for serving up an absolutely delicious grilled cheese that was absolutely vegan.