As busy and grueling a trade show’s get, last week’s Natural Products Expo West required maximum energy to cover the hundreds of exhibitors and new products. Luckily, as usual RTD coffee was well-represented on the show floor, ranging from authentic recreations of international tastes to function-forward brews and indulgent java treats. Here’s a look at some of the notable new and recently launched products featured at Expo West 2023.
High Brew Coffee
As one of the early entrants to RTD cold brew, Texas-based High Brew has constantly pursued innovation with varying degrees of success. This year’s new debut was High Brew Smart Coffee, a four-SKU line of zero-sugar oat milk lattes in 12 oz. bottles with added functional ingredients (MCT oil, 125mg Cognizin) for boosting focus and memory.
Chamberlain Coffee
Considering its rapid growth and expansion into new categories (tea, accessories), it’s no surprise to see internet star Emma Chamberlain taking her eponymous brand into the red-hot RTD coffee space with a four-SKU line of non-dairy lattes. The line, teased at LA Libations’ booth, includes almond milk and coconut milk in all four 12 oz. slim cans: Vanilla, Cold Brew, Cinnamon Bun and Mocha.
NuRange Coffee
NuRange’s three new canned products look to touch on multiple consumer need states while on-the-go. In addition to the zero-sugar black cold brew, there’s two non-dairy SKUs: Creamy Vanilla Latte (with coconut cream and MCT oil) and zero-sugar Cold Brew With Benefits, those being L-theanine for “no jitters no crash.” Not pictured but also featured at the company’s booth: an 8 oz. pure coffee concentrate that makes over 30 servings per 8 oz. bottle. A RTD espresso martini is also in the works as well.
Sang Vietnamese Coffee
With brands like OmniBev and Nguyen Coffee Supply in the mix, Vietnamese coffee is gaining momentum within the ready-to-drink space. Launched last fall, Sang is the latest brand aiming to bring an authentic cà phê sữa dá experience to drinkers in an 8 oz. can, highlighted by its newest release: Oat Milk Latte with Saigon Cinnamon, available in dairy or oat milk versions.
Brain Juice
Supplement maker Brian Juice has been built around its “daily brainpower mix,” a blend of cognition-boosting functional ingredients (including B Vitamins and Alpha GPC) that feature in its powdered drink mixes and 2.5 oz shots. At Expo West, the brand shared a first look at its next line extension: Brain Java, a four-SKU line of enhanced coffees in 8 oz. cans that pair its flagship mix with coffee (150mg caffeine) and which features three oat milk lattes — Vanilla, Mocha and Peppermint Mocha — to complement its non-dairy House Brew.
Waiakea
Best known for its sustainably sourced pure volcanic water, the Hawaii-based brand continues to dig deeper into its roots on the island with the launch of a pair of nitro-infused dairy lattes in 11 oz. cans: Mauna Mocha and Polynesian Vanilla, each with around 12 grams of organic cane sugar per single serving. Priced at $3.99 each, the line is currently rolling out to retailers.
Chameleon Cold Brew
As one of the best-known names in the cold coffee space, PowerPlant Partners-owned Chameleon has sought to keep cold brew drinkers coming back to the brand for all occasions. With a new crop of versatile cold brew ‘super concentrates’ from names like Pop & Bottle and Jot on the rise, Chameleon is jumping into the market with a “handcrafted” three-SKU line of its own, available in 32 oz. glass bottles in three flavors: Pumpkin Spiced Pie, Cuban Slightly Sweet and Hazelnut. Meant to be used for hot or cold beverages, each concentrate can make “10 recipes” when mixed with water or milk, according to the label.
Chameleon Cold Brew (continued)
For those who take their coffee with a little something extra, Chameleon is also preparing an organic Espresso Martini Mixer for release in 26 oz. glass bottles later this summer.
La Colombe
Like Super Coffee and Nutpods, Philadelphia-based specialty coffee roaster La Colombe also used Expo West to highlight its intent to take a bigger piece of the thriving coffee multiserve space, particularly with sweetened flavors. The brand announced the launch of four new 42 oz. bottles — Little Bit Sweet, Mocha, Caramel and Vanilla Oatmilk – priced at $6.29 each.
Nutpods
Jumping outside the creamer space for the first time, Nutpods is releasing two varieties of 32 oz. cold brew blended with its non-dairy creamer in two flavors, Classic and Vanilla Caramel. The product is currently rolling out to stores including Sprouts, Wegmans, Target, Fresh Thyme and Safeway for $5.99.
Planet Oat
Staying true to its oat-centric ethos, Hood-owned Planet Oat shared a look at its expanding roster of dairy-free coffee creamers in 32 oz. bottles, with Coffee Cake and Caramel new for this year.
OWYN
Organic plant-based protein shake maker OWYN already has a cold brew coffee SKU in its core line, which makes the new Double Shot showcased at the brand’s booth all the more interesting. Teased in a single flavor (Mocha Latte), the new product features the same macro profile (20 grams of protein, 5 net carbs per serving) but with a stronger caffeine payload. Note this is not the final design.
Indo
Backed by rap legend Snoop Dogg, Los Angeles-based coffee venture Indo celebrated its launch at Expo West by showcasing its flagship Indonesian cold brew in 12 oz. cans, alongside an RTD espresso martini (10% ABV).
Nguyen Coffee Supply
Fresh off taking home a BevNET Best of 2022 award for its Classic Black flavor, Vietnamese coffee specialists Nguyen poured up samples of their recently released line extensions – Condensed Milk and dairy-free Coconut.